Thanks @Mooney_Driver both for the recommendation and pm.
I’m headed to an MSC, and will ask them when I have the other avionics installed (not upgrading this next go-round b/c I don’t need it yet)
Maybe, AF, it might be an idea to get an offer by a reputable avionic shop for your particular plane and eliminate the guesswork and hearsay.
If the IFD440 is as slide in as they claim, then it may indeed be a variant. However, I can´t see how a WAAS box will work with a non-Waas antenna, that goes for the IFD as much as for an upgraded 440. If it is really this cheap to have, then of course it is a variant. But again, you will have shipping etc to consider as well as import tax. 10k Euros may be more up to it.
As I said, a good avionic shop such as @Jesse or Avionic Straubing will give you a quote which will be more accurate than our guesswork here.
From what I’ve experienced and read so far, 5k exactly because of what Alexis wrote (cable, shipping, etc).
I’m sure that’s a little high, but I’ve learned to round up to the nearest AMU and then I won’t have sticker shock when it actually happens that way.
The IFD440 is a slide in replacement for the 430, which drastically reduces the installation costs.
And if you are a good shopper with access to the US market, you can trade in your 430 for a 440 for around $7700.
The exchange rate covers VAT, so install should then be basically the same cost as the 430 upgrade (2k), so I probably should have put 10k in there for the 440.
Maybe I’m trying to sell myself the upgrade to a 440 and am not exactly letting the math speak for itself… :)
I was lucky then :) My antenna cable was not exchanged as it apparently was good enough. But even if. When my ELT was mounted a few years back, it was done when the inner walls had to come off anyway for corrosion check of the steel tubes and thus was a piece of cake. It helps if upgrades are planned together with scheduled maintenance so it´s possible to profit from stuff which has to be done anyway and facilitates the mounting of avionics.
Not all cables ar egood enough for WAAS, many times the cable has to be replaced, which can mean some hours of work, depending on aircraft type and position of antenna. I did not know the antenna is included in the upgrade.
Yes, expensive, but I am only the messenger and I speak from experience.
Alexis wrote:
€ 3000 plus VAT, plus freight, antenna, cable, work …. 5000 is not unrealistic
Antenna is included. What cable work? You exchange the antenna but the cable can stay in position, at least that is how it was with me. 2000 Euros overhead for a simple upgrade is simply crazy. Maybe that is why most airplanes fly with archaic avionics, if even such straightforward stuff is so extreme loaded with overhead costs.
But even then, if he was to change his 430 for a GTN or Avidyne box, the cost would at least double, because if that is how you calculate, you can´t then say ok, 5000 Euros for a GNS430-W upgrade and the IFD costs 9000? Because also that one will have VAT and so on, so with that logic, 12-13k in total?
This is btw something I see all the time. People ask for “minimal” upgrade and usually get the answers they are looking for. Then the plane-porn effect starts and the minimalistic upgrade turns into something which has nothing to do with the original project anymore. That is fine but then why kid yourself in the first place if the outcome you want is a mini-A380?
If a 430 is there in the panel and you want to upgrade reasonably (for IFR you don´t even need to, only if you want LPV e.t.c.) then there is no alternative to the upgrade unless you want to pay double or tripple.
ploucandco wrote:
I would go for 2 times a Garmin G5. You have full redundancy and replaces your AI and DI. Also will be able to drive your future G500 autopilot and interface with the GNS430.
That would be nice, but as I see it you would limit yourself to the Garmin eco system and as far as I understand the SN3500 has more capability when it comes to the amount of sources it can display?
Although I have to admit that the GFC 500 seems very nice and affordable vs. the overpriced S-TEC stuff. But I don’t like the Garmin philosophy of boxing it’s customers in. If I’m not misinformed the GFC 500 can only take it’s heading and NAV-input from the G5 and the G5 can only be used to drive a Garmin autopilot. Correct?
The replacement GA35 WAAS GPS antenna is included in the cost of the GNS upgrade.
€ 3000 plus VAT, plus freight, antenna, cable, work …. 5000 is not unrealistic
3300$ is pretty much 3k Euros? So where do the other 2k come from? As I was told mine was converted in Europe somewhere where Garmin has a plant to do that. The changing of the Antenna is not a big deal either.
And of course, if you calculate like this that DOUBLE the price is already fine, then of course you should go for a new one, but that is not what this thread is about. How to do it economical…
