IFD540 Upgrade to 550 Special

Any of our members looking to upgrade your 540 to a 550? We are running a special price of $5499 with the trade-in of your 540. Brand new 550 with a new warranty period. Click this link if you're interested: http://www.avidyne.com/landing/540-to-550-upgrade.asp

Thanks for the offer, could you provide some info regarding the benefits of upgrading?  Not just a list of features, but why would I want to upgrade?  I've got a IFD540, AXP340, PMA450A, Navomatic 300A, KX155A and steam gauges.  I'm looking to upgrade to either the Tru-Trak or Trio AP and would love to install a dual-band ADS-B in receiver that integrates into the 540.

I guess I don't understand why anybody would upgrade unless you have a radar or IR camera that you want to use the 550 as a display.  The SVS is neat for a moment until you go back to the MAP page - I can't see why people would fly using the SVS page rather than the MAP.

oskrypuch wrote: I think that folks that do not have a PFD, and are not planning to get one soon, could in particular see a real benefit to the IFD550.

I suppose, but $5500 (the price of a 540-to-550 upgrade) will more than buy a PFD and its installation these days.  Might even buy two of them.

I have to admit that other than for the gee-wiz factor I almost never use the SV view on my 540.  Then again, the "terrain" around here doesn't provide much entertainment in that view anyway.

If Avidyne would get the IFD 550 certified to display and replace the primary flight instruments I would jump on it in a second. Just think an all in one box in the pilot side panel not the center stack that provides primary flight information and navigation 

Cruiser wrote: If Avidyne would get the IFD 550 certified to display and replace the primary flight instruments I would jump on it in a second. Just think an all in one box in the pilot side panel not the center stack that provides primary flight information and navigation

Not exactly.  If the 550 was your primary attitude indication, it would have to be locked onto that screen permanently while in motion.  You would have access to the communications radios maybe, but you would not be able to access the flight plan or the auxiliary screens or anything else.

I have the 550.  Crazy good SV.  If I want to fly my plane 100% off that SV it's easy.  If I'm doing that my map / communications / FMS are all running on the IFD 100 app that is panel mounted beside the 550.  I do not have to leave the SV page on the 550 for anything.

The biggest plus with the 550 IMHO is that ridiculously good SV.  Granted, when I got my 550 I had all vacuum primary instruments.  Since then I added a Garmin G5 AI.  Comparing the two (as far as attitude situational awareness) isn't fair at all.  The 550 absolutely smokes the G5 when it comes to situational awareness, even though it's to the right of the primary scan.  Doesn't matter.  It's good.   

The entire left side of my panel could die and I could fly an instrument approach with ease given my IFD 550.  Try that with any other GPS.

*** The only big thing that the IFD 550 lacks IMO is Airspeed.  That's on my wish list. 

Oh, and FWIW I have an ipad Pro 9.7 that I had used previously with a stratus 2.  I used to play with SV on the Ipad / foreflight.  I thought it was pretty cool but often questioned it's reliability.  Between ipads crashing or getting laggy and worrying about the stratus falling off it's mount I just never got comfortable with the thought of the SV foreflight being a backup to any large degree.  Even when it was working as expected I just didn't geel comfortable with it.  The IFD 550 SV is exponentially better.

That being said, if you've got an Aspen, G500, Dynon skyview, etc  then the value of the 550 over the 540 may not be there.   


Edited by arkvet - 12 Feb 2018 at 3:53pm

Regarding Aspen PFD’s, it’s actually a very good idea to have a good backup AI and DG/HSI if you fly behind one since they have a nasty cascading failure flaw. The Aspen PFD will fail it’s AI and HSI if it loses Pitot airspeed input. Very nasty failure problem.

My pitot heater failed in IMC earlier this week and froze up my pitot and lost my ASI. My Aspen then proceeded to failed its AI and HSI one input failure resulted in the loss of three primary instruments. Have a Sandia Quattro backup so that was good but the IFD 550 would have been better than my IFD540.   Not happy with Aspen on this. They know about it and are promising a fix but who know when. If you fly behind Aspen email them and ask for the fix. The more that do the faster it will likely come.

It was a certification issue, the G500 panel is the same. You need to have a certain confidence range in the data, otherwise if cannot be displayed. Airspeed is one of the data inputs that is used.

For that matter the G5 will also red X it it loses enough data inputs.

The Quattro will continue to display degraded data, with a notice, but I think it cannot be used as primary, only a backup - - so it is in a different category.

* Orest

Edited by oskrypuch - 17 Feb 2018 at 11:14am

I should have been more specific.  The Quattro is approved as a primary instrument for attitude.  It is not primary for either airspeed or altitude.

Correct, I believe.  The existing airspeed and altimiter must be retained, but the vacuum AI may be removed.  I chose to keep my vacuum AI in the panel.

oskrypuch wrote: The airspeed and altitude are certified outputs as well, perhaps only in a backup role? * Orest

:-)

I’m new to the 550 having just traded in a 540 so can someone explain the difference between the TVV and the ARS.  I understand the TVV is where you are going and the ARS is where you are pointing but when I’m in straight and level, the TVV is on the horizon as expected but the ARS is 5 degrees down from the horizon.  Why is that?  I tried to upload a photo but that function wasn't working.


Edited by teeth6 - 10 Jun 2018 at 10:02am