Avidyne IFD440 and 540... who has one?

AggieMike88

AggieMike88

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The original "I don't know it all" of aviation.
Anyone have the Avidyne IFD 440 or 540/550 on your panel?

I'm interested in what you have to say about it now that you've had it a while.
 
Great units
The combination knob, touch an keyboard input is great
Wireless flight plan transfer and full function iPad app gives complete remote control and a huge display
 
We have an IFD 540 combined with an AXP340 and an MLB100 for full ADS-B in and out. We are very happy with the 540. A bit of a learning curve if you have flown garmins but not a big deal.
 
Have dual IFD 440s. Overall very nice - especially the automatic keyboard function using both displays. I have always had Garmin in the past, but starting to like the Avidyne as well. Also have the DFC 90, 240 audio panel and 340 transponder. Seems like good equipment.

My #2 IFD is having a "Transmit failure" error every time I try to key the mic. I guess it will have to go in for warranty.
 
AdamZ said:
We have an IFD 540 combined with an AXP340 and an MLB100 for full ADS-B in and out. We are very happy with the 540. A bit of a learning curve if you have flown garmins but not a big deal.
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Do you use the synth vision that the recent software update provides? How about the iPad app?
 
How has support for the product been from the factory and local techs?
 
I have a 440, love it.

Learning curve after 12 years of 430-ing, but very pleased.
 
jkgoblue said:
Do they talk with Foreflight?
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You don't need to...... The Avidyne iPad app does everything the panel unit does. You can load the flight plan, change the layout and switch COM or VOR freq from the tablet

On my last flight I had my passenger in the back seat controlling the radio
 
I just did the 430 to 440 upgrade deal. I got ~$6500 for my 430W. My IFD440 is arriving tomorrow, so I plan on doing the "slide in replacement" tomorrow afternoon. We'll see how that goes. They say it's fully compatible with my G5 and GTX345.

One thing I've learned is they use Jep nav, terrain and charts, sounds like it can be a little costly. They do have a deal with Jep, one subscription covers up to 4 boxes, 2 nav/com and a couple mobile devices, but only if ordering the full nav/terrain/chart combo the way it sounds.

Anyway, I'll find out more after getting mine installed, excited to try the 440 paired to ipad, turns 1 box into a box and huge panel.
 
AggieMike88 said:
Anyone have the Avidyne IFD 440 or 540/550 on your panel?

I'm interested in what you have to say about it now that you've had it a while.
Click to expand...
All things considered we have been happy with the 540 but not without some issues. We had a transmit failure that got me in hot water with Minneapolis center. Avidyne replaced the 540. FAA determined in the end that I handled it properly but was a hassle at the time. Then our traffic on the ADSB in did not work properly and had to have a component replaced. Support by Avidyne was good. I want to link up my I-Pad to it, to accomplish this you do have to purchase the Jeppesen package and keep it current which is pretty pricey. So did that but still do not have the I-Pad in sync with it. Personnel changes at the FBO the reason it has not been done yet. Wondering if using the ForeFlight system to sync them up will be better than Avidyne and if anyone cares to share their experience comparing the two I will appreciate it! Seems like every time the FBO works on it they mess with the squelch controls, and the co-pilots squelch control affects the pilots ability to hear any transmission if not set right for some reason. This has also led to major frustrations during flight following until I made the connection. Threatening to send Guido into the FBO next time they touch my settings ( have a CFII giving me instrument reviews that was duly informed not to touch also). Currently have an issue with a post light on an engine gage making an intermittent connection and when it blinks for some reason the auto dimming system on the 540 resets and it goes full bright, not cool when you are on close final. The light or lack of is not hitting the dim switch control so must be an electrical flow change doing it? Scheduled to get this fixed next week. It is a lot easier to use than a 530 though.
 
GBSoren said:
I just did the 430 to 440 upgrade deal. I got ~$6500 for my 430W. My IFD440 is arriving tomorrow, so I plan on doing the "slide in replacement" tomorrow afternoon. We'll see how that goes. They say it's fully compatible with my G5 and GTX345.

One thing I've learned is they use Jep nav, terrain and charts, sounds like it can be a little costly. They do have a deal with Jep, one subscription covers up to 4 boxes, 2 nav/com and a couple mobile devices, but only if ordering the full nav/terrain/chart combo the way it sounds.

Anyway, I'll find out more after getting mine installed, excited to try the 440 paired to ipad, turns 1 box into a box and huge panel.
Click to expand...

The 440 doesn't use the charts
All you need is the nav. It is a little more than Garmin sub but not much
 
Cruiser said:
The 440 doesn't use the charts
All you need is the nav. It is a little more than Garmin sub but not much
Click to expand...

From what I understand the only way to get the bundled price for all you IFD's (in my case the 440 and IFD100) is if the account includes charts. I know the 440 doesn't support charts, but does the IFD100?

In any case it sounds like you're better off doing just the nav data, and paying an extra "add on" for the IFD100.
 
GBSoren said:
From what I understand the only way to get the bundled price for all you IFD's (in my case the 440 and IFD100) is if the account includes charts. I know the 440 doesn't support charts, but does the IFD100?

In any case it sounds like you're better off doing just the nav data, and paying an extra "add on" for the IFD100.
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If you have the nav data subscription for the IFD440, the nav data for the IFD100 is included at no added cost. The IFD100 App is no cost.

It works very well, too!
 
Isn't there an issue displaying Nav frequencies on the 440? I believe Nav frequencies are not displayed without extra button pushing.
 
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NordicDave said:
Isn't there an issue displaying Nav frequencies on the 440? I believe Nav frequencies are not displayed without extra button pushing.
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The NAV frequencies (active and standby) are not normally displayed. If you press the tuning knob (left knob), the NAV frequencies will be displayed and can be changed, and then the display will revert back to the COM frequencies after a few seconds.

If you're running the IFD100 app, you'll see the NAV freqs there all the time, and can change them there as well.

It is a difference from the 430 which preceded, but not a problem (to me).
 
SCCutler said:
If you have the nav data subscription for the IFD440, the nav data for the IFD100 is included at no added cost. The IFD100 App is no cost.

It works very well, too!
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Thanks for clarifying. I installed the 440 yesterday, everything went pretty well. I have a couple config questions for avidyne tech support so I plan on finishing it up this afternoon.

I also have to enable the wifi and bluetooth yet, they ship disabled but they send you a file that you put on a usb drive that enables them.
 
So I got the 430w to IFD440 "plug and play" swap out done and configured....kind of. I needed some help from Avidyne tech support, which I have to say was very good. I have a Garmin GTX345 and a Garmin G5 that complicated it somewhat. It isn't quite "plug and play" with the GTX345, I won't have ADS-B weather on the 440 unless I take it to an avionics installer and have another wire ran from the 440 to the 345. I never used weather on my 430, or traffic for that matter, because I have the 345 bluetoothed to my tablet running Garmin Pilot and got my ADS-B traffic and weather on that. The 430, and the 440 have to small a screen to use for that IMO.

I plan of flying this weekend so I'll find out then if all is working as it's supposed to.
 
Thought I'd give an update on my IFD440 install now that I've had the chance to fly with it a couple of times.

The install itself went pretty well, I took pictures of every config page from my 430W so I always had them to fall back on if needed. I had a few pages that I needed to call Avidyne support on, they don't always have the same options, at least worded the same, on some of the config drop down menus. Avidyne support is very helpful, they actually have a dedicated support person for each area of the country so you get that person's direct line.

After getting it all configured I didn't fly until Friday, everything worked EXCEPT no ADS-b, nothing on the 440 or my tablets running Garmin Pilot. So I emailed support, and included all the pictures on my 430W screens for reference. I got an email back, they thought I had to make one change in the 440 setup, I did that and flew again today. Still no ADS-b, emailed support and asked if they'd call. He called me right away, went over the config pictures while on the phone with me and thought it seemed to be set up correctly. We then moved on to the setup of the GTX345, turns out that was where the problem was. Made a couple of changes in the setup of the GTX345, flew it again and it now works! Have ADS-b traffic on the IFD440, and ADS-b traffic and weather on my tablet.

Shot a couple of approaches, both an Rnav and an ILS, both worked perfectly. Love the syn vision too.

Today, when I got home from the airport I had a package from Avidyne, a bluetooth keyboard! One more thing to set up, but I'm sure it'll be handy.
 
Do the IFD’s communicate with the Garmkn G5’s?
 
GBSoren said:
Thought I'd give an update on my IFD440 install now that I've had the chance to fly with it a couple of times.

The install itself went pretty well, I took pictures of every config page from my 430W so I always had them to fall back on if needed. I had a few pages that I needed to call Avidyne support on, they don't always have the same options, at least worded the same, on some of the config drop down menus. Avidyne support is very helpful, they actually have a dedicated support person for each area of the country so you get that person's direct line.

After getting it all configured I didn't fly until Friday, everything worked EXCEPT no ADS-b, nothing on the 440 or my tablets running Garmin Pilot. So I emailed support, and included all the pictures on my 430W screens for reference. I got an email back, they thought I had to make one change in the 440 setup, I did that and flew again today. Still no ADS-b, emailed support and asked if they'd call. He called me right away, went over the config pictures while on the phone with me and thought it seemed to be set up correctly. We then moved on to the setup of the GTX345, turns out that was where the problem was. Made a couple of changes in the setup of the GTX345, flew it again and it now works! Have ADS-b traffic on the IFD440, and ADS-b traffic and weather on my tablet.

Shot a couple of approaches, both an Rnav and an ILS, both worked perfectly. Love the syn vision too.

Today, when I got home from the airport I had a package from Avidyne, a bluetooth keyboard! One more thing to set up, but I'm sure it'll be handy.
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Thanks for this. You answered one question which was compatibility with the GTX345. That helps.

Photos during different flight phases would be nice, if able.

On the BT keyboard, there are some good YT videos explaining how to pair this with your IFD’s
 
Yes, I have 1 G5 and it's position source was my 430W, now it's the IFD440. No issues.
 
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AggieMike88 said:
Thanks for this. You answered one question which was compatibility with the GTX345. That helps.

Photos during different flight phases would be nice, if able.

On the BT keyboard, there are some good YT videos explaining how to pair this with your IFD’s
Click to expand...

Yes, it is compatible with the GTX345(and according to Avidyne an approved GPS source), it takes getting the configuration correct, gut it works fine now. One thing you won't have unless you run an additional wire though is ADS-b weather on the IFD440. Like I said in an earlier post, the 440 screen is to small for weather IMO anyway, so I may not every get that wired.

When I have time to get back up I'll try to get some pix for you.

Yes, I've watched some of them already, but thanks.
 
A4170932-8385-4477-99AC-6457A0F4923B.jpeg @AggieMike88 if you’re ever near Washington DC (especially IAD) coordinate a visit with me in Leesburg (KJYO) and I’ll take you up for a flight in my 182 to experience flying them real-life with my dual IFD540s. I have my iPad integrated and can show you what Foreflight can and cannot do with it (based on my configuration). Short answer is, I love the setup. Super-slick FMS provides a workflow I feel is quite natural. I run mine with an Aspen so I can’t help you much with the Garmin integration.
 
That's a beautiful panel, thanks for sharing. Here is a picture of how I have mine currently set up. The Garmin 496 is coming out and in its place will be a MVP50.
 

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I'm running Garmin Pilot on the yoke mount Samsung tablet (7"), and IFD100 on the ipad pro. I think I'll replace the Samsung with an ipad 4 mini, Garmin Pilot seems very unstable on the android tablet, and I could use the ipad mini as another IFD100 if I want to.
 
Another happy IFD540 user here. Have had a handful of early-adopter / pathfinder type issues that required unit replacement, and Avidyne customer service has been very responsive. Very happy with the unit performance and service after the sale.
 
I have been a pretty loyal Garmin customer.

But . . .

After seeing what my friend with a non-WAAS, non-ADSB compliant G1000 would have to spend to upgrade, I am not so sure any more. I feel (as does he) that he has been left swinging in the wind with a non-upgradable Garmin. At least, not upgradable at any sort of reasonable price.
 
AggieMike88 said:
Anyone have the Avidyne IFD 440 or 540/550 on your panel? I'm interested in what you have to say about it now that you've had it a while.
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I havde all three

I have the 550/440 in my Mooney and the 540/430 in my Baron. I'll probably swap the 440/430 but I love all the Avidynes and they are so much better than anything Garmin has now.
 
After spending more time with the IFD440 I have really come to love it. I just did the upgrade to 10.2.1 this weekend (myself), free software upgrade, that's something you won't get with Garmin. I also now have updated my data bases so they are matching in the IFD440 and IFD100, being able to share flight plans between the two is awesome.
 
I was planning to go from 430W to 750...but now you've got me thinking. Have they got it officially working with G5s yet?
 
I have a G5 and a GTX345, works with both. The only thing I don't have is the ADS-b in weather (I do have traffic) on the IFD440 and IFD100, not that it won't work but it does need a dedicated wire ran from the 345 to the 440 for weather and I haven't had that done. I don't use the 440/100 for ADS-b anyway, as I prefer Garmin Pilot reading it direct from the GTX345 anyway.
 
We have had an IFD540 for about two years in our T210N. It's a great instrument in all respects as others have described. I have no regrets at all.

We did have one problem early on, which Avidyne handled by replacing our unit. When tuned to 125.0, the comm made a buzzing noise through the headsets. It still worked, but the buzzing was loud enough that reception was barely readable. This frequency is ground control at an airport I visit frequently (KPAO). At first I thought it must be coming from the tower's ground transmitter, because otherwise the 540 reception was crystal clear. But then I landed at KSAC which also uses 125.0, and there it was again. Avidyne said they never encountered this problem before. They quickly swapped out our unit, saying they wanted our problem child back so they could properly trace down the problem. No issues since then. Can't ask for better service than that.

At last, Garmin has real competition!
 
Ok...so what is the cost for the 440 and 540 compared to a GTN? Important comparison...
 
To me that seemed such a simple solution for Garmin. With the level of proliferation of GNS installs in the legacy fleet, Garmin would have absolutely crushed it by making the GTN lineup slide-in tray replaceable.
 
bflynn said:
Ok...so what is the cost for the 440 and 540 compared to a GTN? Important comparison...
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My IFD440 was right at $6k trading in my 430W. I don't think you'll find much difference in the cost of a 440 and 650 or a 540 and 750. Huge difference in install time/cost. I've done the slide in replacement myself, so my plane wasn't stuck at an avionics shop for days plus of course the cost. Remember too, with the IFD series you don't need flight stream because of the built in wifi and bluetooth. Avidyne sends you a free bluetooth keyboard when you register you're IFD also, but i use the IFD100 so i seldom use the keyboard.
 
GBSoren said:
That's a beautiful panel, thanks for sharing. Here is a picture of how I have mine currently set up. The Garmin 496 is coming out and in its place will be a MVP50.
Click to expand...

How is the ram mount for your ipad pro attached?
 
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