Kln 89b Gps

The KLN-94 was designed by polling the owners of KLN-89B's and fixing all the things they hated about the 89B. It was a long list. Get the 94 and you'll never regret spending the extra money; get the 89B and every time you fly you'll kick yourself for not spending the extra money. And the only upgrade available for the 89B is to trade it for a 94 (which does work, as the 94 is plug-in compatible).

I had a 94 in my Cougar and flew it several hundred hours over three years. Fine unit if you have a good set of nav/comms (I had dual KX-155's) and would rather spend $5K or so to add a standalone GPS rather than $10K to replace one of the 155's with a Garmin 430.
 
89B is sort of a lowest cost entry point for an IFR-certifiable GPS; they can be bought for very little money if you have patience. And, the 89B is a competent navigator, although it has a very clunky user interface.

I would not buy one used with the intent of installing and getting certified for IFR use; the cost of installation and certification by a good shop will narrow the gap between this box and other, more capable units.

KLN94 comes to mind, and can also often be had for a reasonable price, and it is a lot better to use.

edit: What Ron said (while I said what I said). Except I never had a Cougar.
 
I haven't used the 89 but I've used the 94 in all of the Cessna Nav II Skyhawks I've flown. I actually think it's easier to use than the 430/530 boxes in the Skylane.
 
OBTW, there are sometimes good deals to be had on Garmin GNS 400s (like a 430 w/o the NAV/COM stuff). Again, like Ron said for the 94, decent choice if you have good Nav/Coms already.
 
I haver used the 89B a lot. It is a fine cheap IFR GPS. If you are looking at a plane with one in it it is a good enough GPS for most recreational IFR flying. One nice thing about the 89B is that you can just swap in the 94 without any changs to the tray or existing wiring. Wish I could do that with my 90B.
 
That is the route I'm going to go. I'm still waiting for a quote from the 2 local avionics shops. The cheapest is a GX50 that will use the same tray as my Apolo 618. Other options are the 155XL and of course the 94B.

John
 
If the 89B is installed, keep it. It's a good gps especially if it is already certified for IFR. And I think once you get used to it, you'll find it easy to use.
Spend the extra money on flying!
 
Ken Ibold said:
I just started using a 90B a few months ago. With every flight I dislike it more.
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I use it a lot. It is fine, the display is not all that great compared to other GPS but I find it pretty easy to use and edit while on the go. I do like the split screed feature a lot.
 
silver-eagle said:
If the 89B is installed, keep it. It's a good gps especially if it is already certified for IFR. And I think once you get used to it, you'll find it easy to use. Spend the extra money on flying!
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I suggest saving the extra money so you can get a slide-in 94 when you get frustrated with the 89B.
 
Flyfishingpilot said:
Thanks everybody!!! The GPS is already installed. I think pulling out the 89b and sticking a 94 may be the best way out. I'll have a 486 also (for weahter)...
Thanks again guys..
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That's definitely what I'd do as evidenced by the fact that I actually did upgrade from an 89B to a 94 and the improvement was pretty awesome. I had the 89B for several years (early adopter) and AFaIK was the first in my state to get a '94.
 
I'm not a big of the KLN89B because I "grew-up" on KLN94. Once you've gone to the KLN94 the 89B will not stay for long. The "proc" button alone is worth the upgrade. The ability to "monitor" non-GPS approaches is one of the biggest improvements to situational awareness over the 89B.

I got the ZD Publishing book on the 89B/94 to help with the transition back to the 89B. The T206H that I rent has the 89B with a MX20. I do like the MX20 with ADS-B, but I still grit my teeth using the 89B. I love the plane, so I just grit away or fly VORs. :)
 
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I have flown a lot of IMC approaches using my KLN-89b. It works just fine.

I think it would be crazy to pull it out and replace with another King unit. The UI just is NOT as hard to use as people who don't fly with it think. Just remember that instead of a 'proc' button you selected 'apt 8' to activate an approach. The book from ZD publishing is an excellent tutorial to go with the official manual.

If you were doing a new install, or if your 89b is not approved for IFR, then by all means get a 94, but if you have an approved 89b you ought to just stick with that or go to a Garmin.

If your existing 89b is IFR approved then keep it and buy a Garmin 496 with XM weather.

You'll thank me.
 
JimNtexas said:
I have flown a lot of IMC approaches using my KLN-89b. It works just fine.[...]
If your existing 89b is IFR approved then keep it and buy a Garmin 496 with XM weather.
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I agree. The lack of SA for non-GPS approaches in the 89B is a hassle, but the 496 will help with that. PLUS you get WX (if you subscribe, but why on earth wouldn't you?)
 
The whole FedEx Caravan fleet had 89bs in them. They are in the process of switching to all Garmin 530s with GMX 200 attatched. The GMX 200 is great with the XM WX.

One night I flt a 89b, one night a 530/200.

I would not spend any extra money if I had a 89b unless I won the lottery.

The 89b works just fine for IFR.

Now for VFR, you cant beat the large, detailed moving map on a 430/530
 
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