Question for the group. I'm doing a panel upgrade do to wanting a full engine monitor. So I'm installing the GRT Horizon 10.1 and getting rid of my steam gauges. However, I do have a fairly new AV-30-E installed and have a new magnetometer and AV-Link to be installed. I will be eventually installing the sport efis for the passenger side and probably a mini efis for engine gauges. Is there a reason to keep the AV-30 or just stay with the GRT efis's. seems to be plenty of redundancy.
Van's Air Force
Don't miss anything! Register now for full access to the definitive RV support community.
GRT EFIS and a AV-30 E
- Thread starter Humrnv
- Start date
Just a different perspective here ...
I would sell that nice AV30 (nothing wrong with it) and get the GRT mini.
Reason: Part of the ecosystem and thus similar button ology. You can put engine data on the bottom of the 10.1 if you are running split screen. Then use the Mini to be a backup PFD if ever needed, access to map information during flights OR as engine monitor when you want FULL SCREEN PFD (or MAP). I have such a setup and the 7" EX on the passenger side. Then, whoever my copilot is, likes that because she too then has access to all data needed for flying.
I would sell that nice AV30 (nothing wrong with it) and get the GRT mini.
Reason: Part of the ecosystem and thus similar button ology. You can put engine data on the bottom of the 10.1 if you are running split screen. Then use the Mini to be a backup PFD if ever needed, access to map information during flights OR as engine monitor when you want FULL SCREEN PFD (or MAP). I have such a setup and the 7" EX on the passenger side. Then, whoever my copilot is, likes that because she too then has access to all data needed for flying.
Canadian_JOY
Well Known Member
OK, I'll chime in with what admittedly is a HIGHLY biased opinion...
If going GRT, go ALL GRT.
Here's the story of the evolution of the panel in our Glasair Sportsman.
First it was a basic VFR panel with a GRT Horizon WS display and TruTrak ADI autopilot and AF2500 engine monitor... Before the panel went into the airplane a whole bunch of changes were made. The Horizon became and HX, the autopilot became a Vizion, the standby steam instruments became one of the first production batch Mini-X devices. Along came first and subsequent flights. While I loved the AF2500 I suffered a confidence-killing event in the air at night - an attitude miscompare between the HX and Mini-X. I didn't have a tie-breaker source of attitude and the only real estate available in the panel was taken up by a dedicated engine monitor screen. As much as I loved the AF2500, it was replaced by a Sport EX EFIS over on the right side of the panel, and, behind the panel, a GRT EIS-66R remote engine monitor was installed.
In this entire installation the weakest link is the EIS-66R, and only because it has a couple of idiosyncrasies relative to its EIS-4000 brother. As an example, it's internal MAP sensor cannot be calibrated, thus engine percent power is always off (by 3% in my case).
This final configuration, Mini-X, HX, Sport EX and Trutrak Vizion make a cockpit which is extremely capable, well integrated and a delight to fly. Speaking of which, the Sportsman is pre-heating right now so I can go for a quick flight!
My recommendations if buying a GRT device would be:
- buy as many serial ports as you can... remember things like the external GPS receiver will ADD ports rather than cost you ports
- Synthetic vision is a must-have - I can't believe how much more intuitive it makes navigation and flying in general
- sensed AOA is a total no-brainer - hook the audio output to your audio panel so you can hear the tones - fly the wing by using your ears while keeping your eyes outside the cockpit
- get their dual-frequency ADSB receiver so you have a full picture of ADSB-based traffic, available both on the GRT screen as well as on external tablet devices
If going GRT, go ALL GRT.
Here's the story of the evolution of the panel in our Glasair Sportsman.
First it was a basic VFR panel with a GRT Horizon WS display and TruTrak ADI autopilot and AF2500 engine monitor... Before the panel went into the airplane a whole bunch of changes were made. The Horizon became and HX, the autopilot became a Vizion, the standby steam instruments became one of the first production batch Mini-X devices. Along came first and subsequent flights. While I loved the AF2500 I suffered a confidence-killing event in the air at night - an attitude miscompare between the HX and Mini-X. I didn't have a tie-breaker source of attitude and the only real estate available in the panel was taken up by a dedicated engine monitor screen. As much as I loved the AF2500, it was replaced by a Sport EX EFIS over on the right side of the panel, and, behind the panel, a GRT EIS-66R remote engine monitor was installed.
In this entire installation the weakest link is the EIS-66R, and only because it has a couple of idiosyncrasies relative to its EIS-4000 brother. As an example, it's internal MAP sensor cannot be calibrated, thus engine percent power is always off (by 3% in my case).
This final configuration, Mini-X, HX, Sport EX and Trutrak Vizion make a cockpit which is extremely capable, well integrated and a delight to fly. Speaking of which, the Sportsman is pre-heating right now so I can go for a quick flight!
My recommendations if buying a GRT device would be:
- buy as many serial ports as you can... remember things like the external GPS receiver will ADD ports rather than cost you ports
- Synthetic vision is a must-have - I can't believe how much more intuitive it makes navigation and flying in general
- sensed AOA is a total no-brainer - hook the audio output to your audio panel so you can hear the tones - fly the wing by using your ears while keeping your eyes outside the cockpit
- get their dual-frequency ADSB receiver so you have a full picture of ADSB-based traffic, available both on the GRT screen as well as on external tablet devices
Attachments
