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Dynon vs Advanced Flight

219PB

Well Known Member
I had decided to go with the Skyview system and installed Dynon autopilot servos and their heated AOA probe. Before I purchase the Skyview EFIS I started looking at the Advanced Flight system (AFS). Right now I can still go either way. I looked at their website and their EFIS has a better resolution and their software has the synthetic glide slope. Their software will also allow me to program my airstrip at home so that the synthetic vision will display a glideslope to my runway.

I have flown behind the Dynon many times. I have not had the opportunity with the AFS. I read on the forum that the AFS EFIS had more issues with glare. I do not know of any in my area that has a AFS. I know that Dynon owns both and Dynon is by far the larger part of the company and might get more long term company support.

Has anyone had experience with both?
 
What I like about the AFS is the lay out of the screen regarding the engine instuments. They are along the bottom of the screen. I really like my AFS but have flown behind the skyview along with some who like there Dynon unit as well. I wasn't aware that one could use the Dynon servos with the Advanced? I thought that the Advanced used the TT servos. Larry
 
I told Trisha at AFS what I currently had installed and she did not say anything about that. I will call when they open today and ask point blank.

Thanks,
 
You certainly want to double check with the guys at AFS, but the AFS5000 series EFIS is compatible with most of the Dynon support equipment. (A/P, XPDR, ADSB, ARINC, etc). I am just finishing up an AFS panel installation right now and that is my current configuration.

Tell Tricia that I said Hi... ;)
 
I just got off of the phone with a service technician with AFS. I missed the name. I need to improve on that. He did tell me that the autopilot servos, AHARS, etc are common between the two companies. The only real difference for my installation would be the EFIS. AFS does have voice alerts, W&B calculations, emergency glide and when I give them my airport data they would input into their database and I would have the synthetic glideslope that would put the plane on the numbers (grass runway, no numbers).

I still am on the fence however. I have a lot of friends with the Dynon to go for advice. I would like to hear from other AFS users and potentially find one that resides somewhere close to Victoria, TX.
 
I just got off of the phone with a service technician with AFS. I missed the name. I need to improve on that. He did tell me that the autopilot servos, AHARS, etc are common between the two companies. The only real difference for my installation would be the EFIS. AFS does have voice alerts, W&B calculations, emergency glide and when I give them my airport data they would input into their database and I would have the synthetic glideslope that would put the plane on the numbers (grass runway, no numbers).

I still am on the fence however. I have a lot of friends with the Dynon to go for advice. I would like to hear from other AFS users and potentially find one that resides somewhere close to Victoria, TX.

Paul,

I assume that you know that AFS is now a Dynon Company. Over the last year, many of both companies products are interchangeable.

Also, Trish is Joe Blank's wife. It's a small world.

You've identified many of the differences already.

At lunch last Saturday, there was a group of local RV-10 pilots talked about this subject. As a reference, it was the three RV-10s featured in July on the Van's calendar. One has two AFS 5500s, one has two AFS 4500s, AFS 3400, and a Trutrak Gemini, and the other one has a Skyview. The pilot who has the Skyview installed flew with the RV-10 with the AFS 5500s in it for the first time. His comments were along the line of that he thought the user interface was much more intuitive than what he had on the Skyview.

With that said, which user interface is more intuitive is a rather subjective comment. I can say that Rob made major interface changes after getting his IFR rating. The touch screens even make things easier to use in my opinion as well. Only you can tell which one is more intuitive for you.

You are going to find that most people are going to be rather biased towards one or the other. (I've got AFS 4500s). IF you can find somebody locally that has them installed locally that you can go fly with is the best bet. Then you can formulate your own opinion. I really like all the audio alerts. (or do I really like just hearing Jenny's (Rob's wife) voice.

Both are great products. I think the AFS line has a few more bells and whistles. The good news is that I've seen the best of each get implemented into each other's product line. You can't go wrong with either decision.
 
Does the synthetic GS have provisions for terrain/obstacle clearance/avoidance? That would be neat.
 
I have installed many of each and have flown extensively behind both. Feel free to call and pick my brain about the differences. There are significant differences in philosophy, but both are fantastic systems.

Edit: Don't necessarily make your decision based on current features. That goes for just about everything out there. Software changes add features on a regular basis, and when a feature like synthetic Glideslope becomes available on one, and proves to be well liked, then the others will add hat to their development roadmap.
 
Thanks Jesse,

I will give you a call. I have not reviewed the videos on AFS's website yet. I will do that first.
 
Now with the HDX out, what are the comparisons between the 5600 and the HDX? I'm changing my panel and am drawn to the "new," but I don't what that to be the deciding factor.
 
Now with the HDX out, what are the comparisons between the 5600 and the HDX? I'm changing my panel and am drawn to the "new," but I don't what that to be the deciding factor.

VPX support is not available on the HDX, but is on the 5600.
 
Now with the HDX out, what are the comparisons between the 5600 and the HDX? I'm changing my panel and am drawn to the "new," but I don't what that to be the deciding factor.

Feel free to call me and I can talk you through the differences, but I will highlight some differences now.

One main difference is the screen aspect ratio and the number of buttons and knobs. The HDX has 8 buttons and 2 knobs. The menu structure on the HDX is quite shallow now, and the HDX has some functions that require touching the screen. With the bezel as it is, and the size and format of the required touching, I see this is not a drawback. The menus are much nicer in their shallowness. There still is a huge benefit with adding the Dynon Knob panel with the HDX. The AFS is a more square screen versus the widescreen of the Dynon, so it probably has a little more screen real estate. The number of buttons (18) and knobs (3, one of them a joystick) make the AFS able to access all functions without ever needing to actually touch the screen, and the knob panel is much less beneficial. The AFS has shallow menus as well, which is very nice, especially once you learn where to do what. The Dynon is probably slightly more intuitive, but the AFS probably slightly more powerful in the menus.

As far as screen brightness, processing power and resolution, not regarding the actual specs, but my experience, puts them fairly close, with the HDX possibly a little higher resolution.

The touch screen features are much closer between the HDX and the AFS as the Skyview Classic was. Other than menus, the philosophy is somewhat different, neither of which is better or worse.

The screen layout work well with the AFS, but has very little flexibility. You can't customize the engine layout and the pfd is always left and map is always right, with a 60/40 split, or either item full screen. The AFS also has flight plan and waypoint info at the top of the screen with little customization. The Dynon layout is somewhat less flexible than the Skyview Classic, but is still quite customizable. You can completely customize the engine layout with tons of different data points that you can put anywhere on the engine display. You can put PFD and Map on either side, but now there is only a 50/50 the flight plan and waypoint data points are in an optional sidebar with a lot more options for information (VSR, ETA/ETE to Waypoint or Destination, etc).

Probably the biggest difference is in the serial port and compatibility philosophy. Each AFS screen has 5 serial ports, each of which can talk to one item. This gives you a total of 10 serial ports. The HDX has 5 serial ports per screen, but both screens have to be tied to every serial item the same. This gives you a total of 5 serial ports. I can only think of a few scenarios where 5 serial ports may not be enough for a Skyview because it is only compatible with certain third party hardware, and most of the Dynon hardware connects to the SV Network, which is unlimited (the AFS now uses this network for most of its hardware as well. The benefit of the Skyview in this way is that you can lose either screen and everything still works because the serial ports are tied to both screens. The AFS loses whatever serial items are tied to a screen that dies. The overall benefit of AFS in this area is compatibility. It can work with a TruTrak auto pilot, a remote audio panel, a number of different ADS-B receivers, several different engine monitors, XM weather and the list goes on.

Overall, both systems are very powerful and you will be happy with whichever one you go with. I have spent a lot of time with both systems and wouldn't put either of them as a clear winner. I will say that AFS is slightly more buggy on the software side, but are also much faster at fixing bugs. The bugginess comes because of the wide compatibility and frequent additions to the list of compatible items.

Overall cost is fairly close between the two, with likely less than $1,000 difference in a full panel.
 
Jesse -- thanks for the comparison and insight

Very helpful in my decision process ---- compatibility with my existing "stuff" is important.
 
I had dual AFS 4500 displays in my 10 and loved it. I had Skyview in my 12 and currently have dual Skyviews in my 7A and I love them. Both of these products are outstanding, I give a slight edge to Skyview because I really prefer the autopilot in Skyview. Customer service at both organizations is outstanding however Rob and the AFS team have previously added a personal touch that just cannot be beat. When I built the 10 Rob gave me his cell phone number and told me to call anytime, I called him on weekends and he would walk me through whatever issue I had.

I have a buddy who I have been helping with the upgrade to his steam gauge 7A panel. We are going with Skyview however we are using Rob and his team to build a quick panel. I realize this response does not help with your decision, they are both outstanding products. You will be thrilled with either display.
 
Both of these products are outstanding, I give a slight edge to Skyview because I really prefer the autopilot in Skyview.

With the 5000 series AFS the autopilot is identical to the Dynon in almost every respect. There are a few slight software differences, but the hardware is the same, and the feature list is the same.
 
Feel free to call me and I can talk you through the differences, but I will highlight some differences now.

One main difference is the screen aspect ratio and the number of buttons and knobs. The HDX has 8 buttons and 2 knobs. The menu structure on the HDX is quite shallow now, and the HDX has some functions that require touching the screen. With the bezel as it is, and the size and format of the required touching, I see this is not a drawback. The menus are much nicer in their shallowness. There still is a huge benefit with adding the Dynon Knob panel with the HDX. The AFS is a more square screen versus the widescreen of the Dynon, so it probably has a little more screen real estate. The number of buttons (18) and knobs (3, one of them a joystick) make the AFS able to access all functions without ever needing to actually touch the screen, and the knob panel is much less beneficial. The AFS has shallow menus as well, which is very nice, especially once you learn where to do what. The Dynon is probably slightly more intuitive, but the AFS probably slightly more powerful in the menus.

As far as screen brightness, processing power and resolution, not regarding the actual specs, but my experience, puts them fairly close, with the HDX possibly a little higher resolution.

The touch screen features are much closer between the HDX and the AFS as the Skyview Classic was. Other than menus, the philosophy is somewhat different, neither of which is better or worse.

The screen layout work well with the AFS, but has very little flexibility. You can't customize the engine layout and the pfd is always left and map is always right, with a 60/40 split, or either item full screen. The AFS also has flight plan and waypoint info at the top of the screen with little customization. The Dynon layout is somewhat less flexible than the Skyview Classic, but is still quite customizable. You can completely customize the engine layout with tons of different data points that you can put anywhere on the engine display. You can put PFD and Map on either side, but now there is only a 50/50 the flight plan and waypoint data points are in an optional sidebar with a lot more options for information (VSR, ETA/ETE to Waypoint or Destination, etc).

Probably the biggest difference is in the serial port and compatibility philosophy. Each AFS screen has 5 serial ports, each of which can talk to one item. This gives you a total of 10 serial ports. The HDX has 5 serial ports per screen, but both screens have to be tied to every serial item the same. This gives you a total of 5 serial ports. I can only think of a few scenarios where 5 serial ports may not be enough for a Skyview because it is only compatible with certain third party hardware, and most of the Dynon hardware connects to the SV Network, which is unlimited (the AFS now uses this network for most of its hardware as well. The benefit of the Skyview in this way is that you can lose either screen and everything still works because the serial ports are tied to both screens. The AFS loses whatever serial items are tied to a screen that dies. The overall benefit of AFS in this area is compatibility. It can work with a TruTrak auto pilot, a remote audio panel, a number of different ADS-B receivers, several different engine monitors, XM weather and the list goes on.

Overall, both systems are very powerful and you will be happy with whichever one you go with. I have spent a lot of time with both systems and wouldn't put either of them as a clear winner. I will say that AFS is slightly more buggy on the software side, but are also much faster at fixing bugs. The bugginess comes because of the wide compatibility and frequent additions to the list of compatible items.

Overall cost is fairly close between the two, with likely less than $1,000 difference in a full panel.

Great write up Jesse. Thank you!
 
Feel free to call me and I can talk you through the differences, but I will highlight some differences now...

Holy smokes, Jesse. Wasn't expecting such a detailed write-up. Thank you very much, it's appreciated!
 
The screen layout work well with the AFS, but has very little flexibility. You can't customize the engine layout and the pfd is always left and map is always right, with a 60/40 split, or either item full screen.

Great write-up and I pretty much agree, except I am pretty sure the screen can be set at either 60/40 or 50/50. I have it at 50/50 on the 5600 screen that is in my personal RV-6A
 
One difference I discovered

albeit two years ago when researching vendors for a panel upgrade was that AFS, GRT and MGL offered synthetic approach into private strips like my home field, whereas Dynon (like Garmin) did not, and wrote me saying they had no plans ever to do so, suggesting it was for philosophical/safety/legal CYA reasons.

This heavily influenced my decision back then to go with GRT, and my subsequent experience with GRT documentation and limited helpline hours (not that they aren't very helpful when you do get through) has pushed AFS to the top of my list for the -10, at present time. What I read here about Rob Hickman's availability and helpfulness is very compelling.
 
What I read here about Rob Hickman's availability and helpfulness is very compelling.

I called him yesterday and talked to him about this topic for over 30 minutes. He never once put me on hold or made me feel as if he was doing something else. He's either a great multi-tasker, or actually stopped what he was doing to talk to a potential customer.
 
Both the HDX and AF-5600 are really awesome systems and we are building a lot of panels with both of them. Both systems use the same CPU, Memory and connect to the Dynon remote SV-Network devices (ADAHRS, EMS, ARINC, AP Servos, Knob Panel, AP Panel, Advanced Control Module). With a HDX system the 5 serial ports on each screen get paralleled together and on an AF-5600 each screen has five separate serial ports. The HDX has the advantage if a screen fails you can still operate all the devices from the other EFIS. The AF-5600 has the advantage that you can connect a lot more RS-232 devices. In my RV-10 I have 15 available serial ports and I am using 10 of them.

N402RH RV-10 EFIS Serial Ports
1 Advanced Control Module
2 Remote Transponder
3 ADS-B Receiver
4 Fuel Flow Data to IFD540 GPS Navigator
5 IFD540 Radio Tuning from EFIS
6 Remote PS Engineering Bluetooth Audio Panel
7 Dynon GPS 250
8 CO Detector
9 Fuel Flow Data to GTN650 GPS Navigator
10 GPS data to ELT

Rob Hickman
N402RH RV-10
 
AFS Customer Service

I purchased an early AFS 3500 way before I needed it probably about nine years ago. Since upgraded to a 4500.

You can't make a bad decision WRT Dynon / AFS - but for me, the AFS customer service was the key. Absolutely amazing.

Rob and company figured out that they were offering a product with technology/capability way beyond what most of us ever thought possible, and realized that we mere mortals would have lots of delta sierra questions and would continually find ways to screw up their products. He instituted a customer service philosophy that was amazing in its responsiveness and consideration for customer concerns.

When I do eventually do a panel upgrade in my -8A, it'll be AFS.

I have a single screen and fly with the 3-view presentation. Flight/Nav, Moving Map and Engine Instruments. Don't need a second screen.
 
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