Anyone have an Aspen E5 Installed?

[Flybuddy]

Getting a few upgrades at a first class avionics shop and have had an RSM issue with the Aspen E5. Replacement was sent and same problem evident (you can see the gauss readings on the diagnostic page). Even with the RSM isolated away from the aircraft the readings are bad. RSMs on way back to Aspen for another replacement.
The E5 is fairly new and I believe the new RSM is specific to the E5. I'm not able to find anyone online with a review or mention of an actual working E5 except for Aspens own video. My main concern is that it's a widespread issue and that my plane and others would be down for an extended period. Would appreciate hearing from anyone with a working unit. thx

 

[Jesse Saint]

So far that’s been one of the more frustrating processes I’ve dealt with. My dislike of Aspen is returning.

 

[Unit74]

Getting a few upgrades at a first class avionics shop and have had an RSM issue with the Aspen E5. Replacement was sent and same problem evident (you can see the gauss readings on the diagnostic page). Even with the RSM isolated away from the aircraft the readings are bad. RSMs on way back to Aspen for another replacement.
The E5 is fairly new and I believe the new RSM is specific to the E5. I'm not able to find anyone online with a review or mention of an actual working E5 except for Aspens own video. My main concern is that it's a widespread issue and that my plane and others would be down for an extended period. Would appreciate hearing from anyone with a working unit. thx

Correct. It is a non GPS RSM. If you ever upgrade, they will send you a new RSM with the GPS antenna in it. Get a hold of Andy Smith at ASPEN and chew his ear off.

 

[Flybuddy]

Correct. It is a non GPS RSM. If you ever upgrade, they will send you a new RSM with the GPS antenna in it. Get a hold of Andy Smith at ASPEN and chew his ear off.

Good suggestion, I've spoken to Andy before and he's a good guy and very helpful.

 

[wgrasquPA28]

Damn sorry to hear this, I am in Orlando and looking to add the E5 to my Trutrak and IFD440 in my Arrow IV. What shop are you using in FMY?

 

[Flybuddy]

Damn sorry to hear this, I am in Orlando and looking to add the E5 to my Trutrak and IFD440 in my Arrow IV. What shop are you using in FMY?

I'm actually using a shop closer to you..Saint Aviation in Dunnellon, good work and reasonable up front pricing. They installed same equipment as you have, the TT and 440 which work perfectly well. They had actually done all 3 installs in just a week.

 

[Jesse Saint]

We have now tried 5 different -002 RSM's and they all failed. We hooked up a -001 RSM (the GPS model) and it is rock solid. I'm waiting to hear from Aspen on how to proceed, but we have spent more time testing and retesting and swapping RSM's than we did on the full install. It's a little disappointing and makes me a little gun-shy on recommending the E5. The worst part is that they don't seem to accept that there is a problem. YMMV, but this is my experience so far.

 

[Unit74]

We have now tried 5 different -002 RSM's and they all failed. We hooked up a -001 RSM (the GPS model) and it is rock solid. I'm waiting to hear from Aspen on how to proceed, but we have spent more time testing and retesting and swapping RSM's than we did on the full install. It's a little disappointing and makes me a little gun-shy on recommending the E5. The worst part is that they don't seem to accept that there is a problem. YMMV, but this is my experience so far.

Given this prob and the G3X drop, I’m thinking the Garmin is the way to. Have you done any of these? Thoughts?

 

[Jesse Saint]

I have installed many G3X systems. I still greatly prefer the Dynon system, but the G3X is a nice system. Still, comparing the Aspen E5 to the Skyview or G3X is kind of like comparing the KT76A to the GTX345. The E5 is comparable to a dual G5. A 3-screen Aspen is comparable to the G3X or SkyView. In that comparison, it’d be Skyview, then G3X, then Aspen as a very delayed third.

 

[Flybuddy]

Got to fly my plane today for first time and I feel the wait was worth it. The Aspen E5 is an excellent choice, especially for the money. Great, super clear display and simple to use. Saint aviation did a great job and stuck to the agreed upon price even given all the extra work they had to do.

 

[Unit74]

Hard to argue about the price point.....so what was the issue with the RSM? You end up with the GPS RSM instead? Curious what Aspen has to say about it.

 

[Lynn Dixon]

My Cardinal is getting it's E5 installed now. I had a bunch of other work done while she's in there, but my Avionics guy will be starting the E5 portion of the work next week. I've told him he might have issues with the RSM as has been discussed here in this thread. I did not get the GPS RSM, but I am thinking I maybe should. Here is a photo of my RSM:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/Mc1AXSwPbKSSudtdA

I wonder if its something that happened during a production batch? This is a very early release unit, that went out on the first shipments.

Jesse... did you guys ultimately just swap over to using the GPS RMS version? If so, can you share what the cost delta was between them? I do plan on upgrading this E5 sometime next year to a Pro version...

 

[Unit74]

My Cardinal is getting it's E5 installed now. I had a bunch of other work done while she's in there, but my Avionics guy will be starting the E5 portion of the work next week. I've told him he might have issues with the RSM as has been discussed here in this thread. I did not get the GPS RSM, but I am thinking I maybe should. Here is a photo of my RSM:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/Mc1AXSwPbKSSudtdA

I wonder if its something that happened during a production batch? This is a very early release unit, that went out on the first shipments.

Jesse... did you guys ultimately just swap over to using the GPS RMS version? If so, can you share what the cost delta was between them? I do plan on upgrading this E5 sometime next year to a Pro version...

I wouldn’t think there would be any if it’s Aspens issue.... better be free

 

[Lynn Dixon]

I wouldn’t think there would be any if it’s Aspens issue.... better be free

Sure, a like-for-like replacement will be free. Meaning my non-gps RSM would get traded for another non-gps RSM. However, the GPS version of the RSM is not standard for the E5 and therefore would cost a delta in price difference.

 

[Unit74]

Sure, a like-for-like replacement will be free. Meaning my non-gps RSM would get traded for another non-gps RSM. However, the GPS version of the RSM is not standard for the E5 and therefore would cost a delta in price difference.

Sure. But if none of their RSMs work, should the owner have to pay for their screw up?

 

[Flybuddy]

Currently I've got the GPS RSM on it which works great. The serial numbers I saw seem a lot different from Lynns (one was #3). I test flew it yesterday but I'm actually flying it home today (150 nm away). They will eventually ship a new unit and RSM to shop and I'll need to fly back for install as they want my unit and original RSM back for testing. According to the Aspen tech rep, there have been many successful installs so it seems like I have either a compatibility issue with the head or an early batch of bad RSMs.

 

[vancinad]

I've got an E5 awaiting installation by Gary Jet Center. Should go in w/in the next month. Have a KT 74 coming in too. All will be mated up with an IFD440 that was installed last September. Stay tuned...

 

[Jesse Saint]

He has a loaned GPS RSM right now. Aspen is going to bench test an E5 with RSM and send the pair to swap out. They say the have units flying, but all I see here is that they have a lot of units shipped. Does anybody here have one flying with the -002 RSM?

 

[Lynn Dixon]

He has a loaned GPS RSM right now. Aspen is going to bench test an E5 with RSM and send the pair to swap out. They say the have units flying, but all I see here is that they have a lot of units shipped. Does anybody here have one flying with the -002 RSM?

Hopefully mine will be in a week or so. She's been in the shop for several weeks now as I had a huge list of stuff for my avionics guy to tackle. We're still trying to decide what to do with a old strike finder thats giving us fits. Lol

But he's hoping to get the E5 wired to power and he's going to test the RSM as soon as he can after I had told him of the trouble others are having with them. I'll post back what he finds hopefully early this week.

So far you guys are the only one I know of that has fully installed and is flying.... Other that Scott smith's demo that he uses for videos.

 

[Unit74]

Did you guys pull the VAC system at vac indicators? Wondering what the weight savings were overall? Vac pump, hoses, AI, DG... What did you save on the W&B sheet?

Getting a few upgrades at a first class avionics shop and have had an RSM issue with the Aspen E5. Replacement was sent and same problem evident (you can see the gauss readings on the diagnostic page). Even with the RSM isolated away from the aircraft the readings are bad. RSMs on way back to Aspen for another replacement.
The E5 is fairly new and I believe the new RSM is specific to the E5. I'm not able to find anyone online with a review or mention of an actual working E5 except for Aspens own video. My main concern is that it's a widespread issue and that my plane and others would be down for an extended period. Would appreciate hearing from anyone with a working unit. thx

My Cardinal is getting it's E5 installed now. I had a bunch of other work done while she's in there, but my Avionics guy will be starting the E5 portion of the work next week. I've told him he might have issues with the RSM as has been discussed here in this thread. I did not get the GPS RSM, but I am thinking I maybe should. Here is a photo of my RSM:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/Mc1AXSwPbKSSudtdA


I wonder if its something that happened during a production batch? This is a very early release unit, that went out on the first shipments.

Jesse... did you guys ultimately just swap over to using the GPS RMS version? If so, can you share what the cost delta was between them? I do plan on upgrading this E5 sometime next year to a Pro version...

 

[Lynn Dixon]

I'm pulling the entire vacuum system on my airplane. We are expecting to loose about 6 lbs or so. Once I get it all done I plan on having the airplane weighed on some scales because there have been a number of changes since the w&b has been verified. I want to be absolutely sure of the numbers since my Cardinal can get nose heavy

 

[alaskazimm]

Did you guys pull the VAC system at vac indicators? Wondering what the weight savings were overall? Vac pump, hoses, AI, DG... What did you save on the W&B sheet?

When we installed the dual G5s in the 206, all the vacuum components weighed around 10 pounds. Not as much as I thought at first, but the reliability over the vac system is incalculable.

edit - oops I see this an E5 thread and not a G5 one. Still the vac parts weigh what they weigh.

 

[Unit74]

When we installed the dual G5s in the 206, all the vacuum components weighed around 10 pounds. Not as much as I thought at first, but the reliability over the vac system is incalculable.

edit - oops I see this an E5 thread and not a G5 one. Still the vac parts weigh what they weigh.

It's OK.... Not everyone gets to have the E5. Some got cheated into buy the dual G5s.....

 

[Flybuddy]

Did you guys pull the VAC system at vac indicators? Wondering what the weight savings were overall? Vac pump, hoses, AI, DG... What did you save on the W&B sheet?

Pulled pump, vac gauge, vac filters, hoses, AI and DG. After install of Aspen, it amounts to a 6.2 lb savings. I had a KX155 and DME replaced by an Avidyne 440 and my Century 21 a/p was pulled for a TruTrak (2 servos instead of one) The blower assembly was also pulled out of the back of the Archer. Total savings was 13.5 lbs and it only moved the CG forward by .05".

 

[Lynn Dixon]

Aspen is hosting a webinar on the E5 later tonight (8pm Eastern) .

Here's the link:

http://marketing.aspenavionics.com/.../l-0320/l-0320:18a5/ct2_0/1?sid=TV2:YaNUWoajj