A lot of the choice is very subjective - here's one pilot's biased
thoughts ----
I was VERY disappointed with the Blue Mountain EFIS in Pierre's
Rebel - particularly the crude "moving map" gps display, and the
wildly inaccurate and uncorrectible remote magnetic compass !!
<I> certainly would not buy one !! The Dynon, for half the price,
looks like a better bet, although I hear from some RV drivers
that the horizon tends to 'lean' a bit .... all this will get better
with time, I'm sure.
I am leaning strongly towards the Grand Rapids EIS for our new
custom Smith Super Cub - they have lots of experience, and the new
larger display looks good --- the Advance EIS in Pierre's Rebel
works very well, and has a great display, but I think the Grand Rapids
unit is a fair bit less expensive. Of course, prices are changing
quickly right now.....
For GPS, my hands-down choice is the AVMAP EKP-IV - a full 7"
(largest out there) colour display, with terrain, in a portable
unit that's only about 1" thick !! There is a panel mounting
pocket available for the AvMap too - and the electronics allow
you to switch viewing from horizontal to vertical, if panel
space is short. Pierre has just added one to his Rebel -
makes navigating a joy !! I've been flying a Digi-Fly, the
8" display grandaddy of the AvMap, for over 10 years - great unit !
Here's an AvMap link to Sporty's - lots of suppliers sell them -
http://www.sportys.com/acb/showdetl.cfm ... ct_ID=6844
I would keep the GPS display near the top center, if possible
- maybe above the radio stack... Remember, the Rebel is a fun,
VFR machine, and you'll want to spend most of your time looking
out the window ! Next priority would be navigating ....
You really don't need a lot of instruments in a Rebel ! :-)
Having your head 'down & locked', staring at the panel, is a
recipe for trouble !
The best advice is - wait until you are ready to fly ! There
will likely be a better & cheaper EFIS/EIS or combo by then !
......bobp
-------------------------------orig.-------------------------
On Thursday 29 December 2005 12:17 pm, Ron Shannon wrote:
Other contenders include Grand Rapids (
http://grtavionics.com) and Blue
Mountain (
http://www.bluemountainavionics.com/). Both make EFIS panels
in various sizes and prices. Blue Mountain makes their own autopilot,
while Grand Rapids prefers to leave that to others, and integrates well
with the excellent TruTrak A/P's (
http://www.trutrakflightsystems.com/)
among others.
Grand Rapids features their EFIS One, and the very popular engine info
system (EIS), which is now available with graphical display. With two
screens, you can have any of the many EFIS/EIS functions displayed on
either screen, in full screen or split screen, etc. For a very
interesting introduction to what's it's like to use a glass panel, be
sure to read the "Impressions of Use" article
(
http://grtavionics.com/Impressions.htm).
Ron
Jeff McMurrer wrote:
this unit at Sun & Fun 2003. We were impressed with the lite weight, 1.75
pounds with internal battery. Check their website, very infomative.
Jeff
----- Original Message -----
From:
pequeajim@dcsol.com
Date: Wednesday, December 28, 2005 8:31 pm
Subject: Rebel Avionics
I'm thinking of maintaining the minimum standard avionics for my
panel as a
fail safe. Then I would like to add an EFIS on top and Garmin
GPSMAP 296 on
the bottom. I think I have pretty much made up my mind onthe
Garmin, but not
the EFIS.
Any thoughts?
-----------------------------------------------------------------
List archives located at:
https://mail.dcsol.com/login
username "rebel" password "builder"
Unsubscribe:
rebel-builders-unsubscribe@dcsol.com
List administrator:
mike.davis@dcsol.com
-----------------------------------------------------------------