From my bench at the avionics shop, I see a lot of interest in Avidyne’s new IFD-series navigators. Many potential buyers are intrigued by the ability of the IFD540 and smaller IFD440 to slide into an existing Garmin GNS 530 or 430 installation, without the significant expense of rewiring the interface. This plug and play avionics upgrade concept is far from new. But what is new is Avidyne’s approach to making IFR flying easier, with an advanced FMS feature set that has step-saving flight planning features and a combination of touchscreen and traditional controls.
Avidyne Ups the Ante
Key Takeaways:
- The Avidyne IFD-series navigators (IFD540/440) are designed as a plug-and-play upgrade for existing Garmin GNS 530/430 installations, minimizing rewiring costs.
- They offer advanced Flight Management System (FMS) features, including step-saving flight planning, GeoFill for data entry, and graphical drag-and-drop route modification.
- The units feature a "Multi-Touch" hybrid control interface, combining a capacitive touchscreen with traditional buttons and knobs, offering pilots versatile input options and addressing concerns about pure touchscreen operation in turbulence.
- The IFD navigators boast higher resolution, full-VGA color displays compared to their Garmin predecessors, enhancing readability and graphical capabilities.
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