| Notify me of new responses |
PHILLIP HAS BEEN CRITICAL OF GARMIN 430/530 IN EARLIER ARTICLES. HAS
GARMIN CORRECTED THE ITEMS HE WAS CRITICAL OF AND DOES HE NOW
RECOMMEND THEM FOR IFR FLIGHT. JWC
-- jack carter, June 18, 2005
Garmin hasn't changed the 430/530. They are working on a WAAS update for precisiom GPS approaches but it has been pushed back until "late 2006". The update won't come with a touch screen or soft keys or anything else that would change the user interface to involve less head-down time. Things have been complicated by the fact that Garmin bought UPS and the 480, which probably means that development will stop on that line of products. Nobody seems to be bothering trying to compete with Garmin, which means that more and more planes are coming with the 430/530 and more and more pilots are learning them. Garmin is now the Microsoft Windows of avionics! It could be a lot better but on the other hand it is the only thing that anyone knows how to use so maybe it is the most reasonable choice.
-- Philip Greenspun, June 18, 2005