Despite reports that the hugely popular Garmin GNS-series navigators are at the end of their service life, Garmin says that 99 percent of GNS users can keep using their units. [Courtesy: The Aviation Consumer/screenshot]
Key Takeaways:
Garmin is curtailing support for its legacy GNS 430 and GNS 530 products primarily due to a lack of available parts for the 25-year-old technology, not planned obsolescence.
Repair options for these units are increasingly limited, especially for GNS 430 displays, with a flat fee of $2,000 for repairable units, and a small credit or assessment fee if unrepairable.
Garmin offers various new replacement units, such as the GPS 175/GNC 215 combo starting around $11,000, or the GTN 650xi/750xi for higher prices, with trade-in rebates available for operable legacy units.
Owners face a dilemma of whether to risk waiting for their units to fail (and potentially be unrepairable), or to proactively upgrade, factoring in the high cost of new systems and potential long installation wait times.
A service advisory issued by Garmin on January 4 threw some operators of its legacy products into a tailspin, inclusive of conspiracy theories about planned obsolescence.
No one should be surprised at the situation. Garmin has been whispering about this possibility for a handful of years.
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Les Abend is a retired, 34-year veteran of American Airlines, attempting to readjust his passion for flying airplanes in the lower flight levels—without the assistance of a copilot.
