Tag: Instrument Panel

I’m well versed in the world of the GTN650 as it has been the main platform for almost half of my small amount of hours. It makes up for roughly 75 hours of my flight time, where the other half has mostly been spent in the G1000 series cockpits. I have a little bit of training with the 430, but that really is only about 3 hours in total if I remember correctly. So having a decent screen has been most of my experience in flying.

I had seen most of the guys use the two or three panel combo of the G3X or some other vendor in conjunction with a GTN650. I had contemplated for a while, why don’t I just use a GTN750 instead? I could get my approach plates on the moving map which would make flying IFR even that much easier, rather than having to look down at ForeFlight and see where I was in relation to the approach chart there.

I decided to specifically look up that topic as I imagined that there were quite a few people who had made that comparison, considering they are very similar platforms. Garmin actually made a really good write up entitled Stay in Touch with GTN: Differences Between GTN 650 and GTN 750

In this article they discuss the main issue I had with the GTN650, which was the ability for it to display both NAV and COMM radios frequencies, where the GTN650 only displays one set at a time and you have to toggle between them using the push functionality of the knobs on the bottom right. Many a time I’ve forgotten to check the NAV frequency and put it to the active when loading and activating an approach. I would prefer that to not be a problem, granted that should just be a habit change for me to push that nob to check it, but it’s just easier to look over and see it without having to take your hands off of the controls and push the knob especially if you are in real IFR conditions and possibly getting close to task saturation already.

I do like the feature provided in the GTN750 platform of having the approach chart on the moving map. Granted, this isn’t super critical if you load the full approach as it will show you the entire path you should fly on the map. I still like to have the chart up to reference items, though if you are coming in on the approach from the top of the chart, it will display upside down, which probably won’t benefit me in the long run LOL

I also like that the GTN750 integrates natively with the audio panel if you have their specific model installed. I prefer simplicity and if I can get one panel to run the entire plane with another panel in the middle for all of the navigation, weather, and approach information, that would be best.

On top of these differences, which really aren’t that many, the cost is one thing that is helping me make this decision. The GTN750 is $5,500 more than the GTN650, where a G3X is only $3900 in total. And going back to my mantra of simplicity is better, I can control everything through the G3X, whereas the GTN750 would only be able to control the transponder and the audio panel. I want my secondary NAV/COMM, engine instruments, as well as my autopilot integrated as well.

Now to just plan out how I’m going to put these three panels together. I really like Good Plane Living’s idea so that I can have the same control instruments on both the pilot and passenger side, with the engine and navigation/weather related information on the middle panel. The only thing I might skip is having the physical autopilot controls on the panel. Something similar to what you see below just without the autopilot.

Or, possibly this scenario to give me more room below the middle panel. I like the idea of having that storage in the front middle console for things like sunglasses, wallet (which I hate having in my pocket so it usually comes out with I drive/fly) and then have the center console for things like maps, audio panel hookups, manuals, etc. I think I like this option better.

While I’m waiting for this lockdown to conclude, I’m really just continuing my research. I wanted to discuss the build with my local EAA chapter here in Oklahoma City before I made the purchase of the empennage kit which would need to include tools as well. I’m hoping they will have some good insight, tips to share, and recommendations. So, in my continued research, I am most interested in the panel setup and the avionics, which is something I’ll be using quite a bit of during flight both in VFR and IFR conditions.

I don’t want to call any companies and get them riled up or waste their time on how to set up my panel, but the Garmin setup looks very fascinating! They have so many backend modules that integrate with the G3X and it reminds me very much of the days of my private pilot training using the G1000. I’m very impressed by the Garmin G3X Autopilot system. According to the literature I’ve read, the additional components you would buy are the smart servos for either the roll, roll/pitch, and roll/pitch/yaw configuration you desire and it will integrate with the system. You then access all of the controls through that panel.

I’m also interested in the ESP (not telepathy, lol but it stands for Electronic Stability and Protection. It allows the system to protect you from going beyond your airplanes operating envelope. Their video explains it better than I can, but it works in both the roll and pitch categories to keep you from over banking or stalling/overspeeding the aircraft.

I will say I’m torn about weather to get a GTN650 and have a third G3X panel for viewing weather, etc, or if I should go with a GTN750. The only thing that has ever bugged me about the GTN650 is not being able to see my COMM and NAV radios at the same time. It takes longer to make sure I’m listening to the right NAV frequency and actually caused me some issues during training where I kept forgetting to make the frequency active when I would load an approach because I would just forget about it. Out of sight, out of mind. But I’m not sure if it’s worth the additional cost to do that and not have as big of a screen. Still looking into that as I might be able to see both the COMM and NAV frequencies on the G3X instead which would fix my one and only issue with the GTN650 at this time.

I ran across another RV-10 builder’s log this week as well. I couldn’t find any name to reference, but here is a link to his Blogger site:

http://buildingrv10.blogspot.com/2018/02/a-tour-of-rv-10.html

He had an excellent setup as well that was more focused on his side of the plane and only used two G3X panels. I think that would put the GTN650 further out of reach than I would like, but if all of the functionality of the GTN650 is available through the G3X it might not matter. His panel was very clean though. Here are some pictures of it.

I would have saved room on my panel by removing the autopilot controls, but it is still very slick. I like that he has a tertiary attitude indicator, but maybe that’s overkill? I need to see if both of the G3X’s rely on the same source for attitude information. If that’s the case then having a cheaper standby would be good to have in the event of an AHRS failure.

Here are some more pictures of his panel with everything up and running.

I hope to get a good setup mocked up in some visual format. Again, having something to admire and drive to gives me the most motivation so I want to have alot of visual help to keep me going 🙂