Alan Carroll
Well Known Member
My vacuum gyros recently began to show signs of early senescence (after about 700 hours of faithful service), so I decided to replace them with an EFIS. Initially I chose one of the several “most popular brand” 6.5” EFIS’s (not TruTrak). The installation was fairly straightforward; the hardest part was retrofitting a magnetometer bracket in the tail cone. The new unit worked fine at first but then failed completely at only 1.5 hours, due to a bad backlight (it was promptly repaired by the manufacturer).
After I had flown the new unit a few hours I began to realize that I really didn’t like it. The screen seemed not bright enough in the RV-8 cockpit, and the information it presented was abundant, complex, and small. Normally I like to fly with my head up and swiveling, taking advantage of the wonderful RV visibility. Now I was spending a lot of time head down and squinting, and fussing with arcane menus. Functionally it was a fine unit that worked exactly as advertised. No doubt I could “get used to it” with more flying time, but I just didn’t want to. So I sent it back, at a penalty due to being past the window for returns.
I was always intrigued by the clean simplicity of the TruTrak EFIS, but had been put off by their rather cryptic approach to marketing it (the early Sport Aviation ads in particular were hard to comprehend). I decided to give it a try however, trading in my ADI Pilot II. Installation was a bit easier than the previous unit, and my first impression flying it was “wow, what a difference!” The screen appears to be noticeably brighter and higher contrast than the previous unit. My hangar mate has a Dynon Skyview in his RV-8A, which I understand leads the pack in this regard. We recently compared both displays in full sun, parked next to each other, and I couldn’t detect a difference in visibility.
To my eye the Trutrak EFIS is way less cluttered and easier to read than most other EFIS units. I can get all the important flight data at a glance, without any menus or video-game distractions. The display movements are silky smooth with no jerkiness at all, and its accuracy seems to be about the same as the EFIS I had previously installed. The best part is perhaps the autopilot integration, which is very simple to use and nearly flawless in operation.
There are a few minor gripes as well. The pitch indication is very sensitive to small changes in attitude, which can make it seem a bit “jumpy”. Once you get used to it though it holds altitude very accurately. I’ve found that the roll/turn rate indication can be slightly off-kilter under some circumstances (by perhaps 5°). I saw the same thing on the previously installed EFIS, and on the expensive RC Allen digital AI that was being demonstrated at Oshkosh. The ASI is labeled only in 10 kt increments; 5 knot markings would be better. You can’t display engine info from a GRT EIS; apparently the only option is to buy Trutrak's engine system. You have to have a Garmin 430 in order to have GPSS; this feature doesn't work with my GX60.
Perhaps more significantly there is no option for synthetic vision, HITS, charts, etc. If these features are on your “must have” list then this is not the box for you. Personally I like the lean simplicity of the Trutrak presentation; it gives you exactly the information you need and no more. It strikes me an elegant design that won’t quickly become obsolete. The other stuff is cool but is now starting to show up on portable units, which might be a cheaper way to always have the latest bells and whistles?
After I had flown the new unit a few hours I began to realize that I really didn’t like it. The screen seemed not bright enough in the RV-8 cockpit, and the information it presented was abundant, complex, and small. Normally I like to fly with my head up and swiveling, taking advantage of the wonderful RV visibility. Now I was spending a lot of time head down and squinting, and fussing with arcane menus. Functionally it was a fine unit that worked exactly as advertised. No doubt I could “get used to it” with more flying time, but I just didn’t want to. So I sent it back, at a penalty due to being past the window for returns.
I was always intrigued by the clean simplicity of the TruTrak EFIS, but had been put off by their rather cryptic approach to marketing it (the early Sport Aviation ads in particular were hard to comprehend). I decided to give it a try however, trading in my ADI Pilot II. Installation was a bit easier than the previous unit, and my first impression flying it was “wow, what a difference!” The screen appears to be noticeably brighter and higher contrast than the previous unit. My hangar mate has a Dynon Skyview in his RV-8A, which I understand leads the pack in this regard. We recently compared both displays in full sun, parked next to each other, and I couldn’t detect a difference in visibility.
To my eye the Trutrak EFIS is way less cluttered and easier to read than most other EFIS units. I can get all the important flight data at a glance, without any menus or video-game distractions. The display movements are silky smooth with no jerkiness at all, and its accuracy seems to be about the same as the EFIS I had previously installed. The best part is perhaps the autopilot integration, which is very simple to use and nearly flawless in operation.
There are a few minor gripes as well. The pitch indication is very sensitive to small changes in attitude, which can make it seem a bit “jumpy”. Once you get used to it though it holds altitude very accurately. I’ve found that the roll/turn rate indication can be slightly off-kilter under some circumstances (by perhaps 5°). I saw the same thing on the previously installed EFIS, and on the expensive RC Allen digital AI that was being demonstrated at Oshkosh. The ASI is labeled only in 10 kt increments; 5 knot markings would be better. You can’t display engine info from a GRT EIS; apparently the only option is to buy Trutrak's engine system. You have to have a Garmin 430 in order to have GPSS; this feature doesn't work with my GX60.
Perhaps more significantly there is no option for synthetic vision, HITS, charts, etc. If these features are on your “must have” list then this is not the box for you. Personally I like the lean simplicity of the Trutrak presentation; it gives you exactly the information you need and no more. It strikes me an elegant design that won’t quickly become obsolete. The other stuff is cool but is now starting to show up on portable units, which might be a cheaper way to always have the latest bells and whistles?
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