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Garmin/Apollo GX-55 GPS

miyu1975

Well Known Member
Seeking opinions on the Garmin/Apollo GX series GPS...particularly an IFR rated version. These show up for sale on ebay all the time now. I know that Garmin no longer supports them. Does anyone have any experience with these units. Can data cards still be bought and update (every 28 days per IFR)....?... As usual thanks.

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GX-55

I had the GX-60 IFR in my Cherokee and it was rock solid. Yes you can still get card updates. Great GPS. Garmin also says they will fix them as of 6-2010
 
I had the GX-60 IFR in my Cherokee and it was rock solid. Yes you can still get card updates. Great GPS. Garmin also says they will fix them as of 6-2010

I also have a GX-60. Works great for the past 8 or 9-years with no repairs. Garmin reported they they were still fix them late last year and that the software upgrade that I need was available free from my local Garmin dealer. Garmin did report that the display was no longer available and if the display goes bad, the unit is not repairable.

Jeppesen sells the database updates.
 
thx....My understanding has been that the IFR gps must be updated every 28 days to be current?...is this a subscription from jepp, garmin?...what is the cost involved. I did some searches with no luck.
 
thx....My understanding has been that the IFR gps must be updated every 28 days to be current?...

That's the easiest way. Though with the GX's, if you can determine that the specific data you're using hasn't changed, you can legally use an 'outdated' card.

is this a subscription from jepp, garmin?...what is the cost involved. I did some searches with no luck.

Jeppesen doesn't make it particularly easy. You could try phoning them, but but you'll probably have to wait on hold. Or you could try starting here: http://jeppdirect.jeppesen.com/main/store/avionics/.

--Paul
 
We had a GX55 in our Cessna 180, and it worked well. The 55 is only good for IFR enroute. The 50 and 60 have a few more bells and whistles. The 55 was designed as a slide-in replacement for the flybuddy loran series.
 
The GX-50/60 is approach certified, the GX-55/65 is only enroute certified.
We have a few of them in our planes at work and they work quite well. Not quite the bells and whistles of a 430, but it'll get you from point A to point B and down the the runway when you get there.

By the way, I'm happy to $hare my Jeppesen subscription. We have subscriptions for each of our planes, but seldom update all of them on any given month. Email me for details.
 
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Possibly some confusion here about the capabilities of all the various GX's. Let me see if I can get it straight.

GX50: TSO-C129a Class A1 GPS

GX55: TSO-C129 Class A2 GPS. Plug compatible with older IIMorrow and Apollo LORAN receivers.

GX60: TSO-C129a Class A1 GPS, plus 760 channel VHF comm transceiver

GX65: TSO-C129a Class A2 GPS, plus 760 channel VHF comm transceiver

The big difference between Class A1 and Class A2 is that class A1 is certified for IFR en route, terminal, and non-precision approaches; class A2 just for IFR en route and terminal operations.

Pretty sure that's correct...!

--Paul
 
thx....My understanding has been that the IFR gps must be updated every 28 days to be current?...is this a subscription from jepp, garmin?...what is the cost involved. I did some searches with no luck.
It is about $130 per update or around $300 for unlimited updates for a year.
 
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It is about $130 per update or around $300 for unlimited updates for a year.


I have several subscriptions (we have some of these in our fleet), and we almost never update all of our planes every month.
I'm happy to share my updates for $50 anytime you need one.
 
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