Differences between HDX and Classic worth the cost?

BalsaBat

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Sep 22, 2020
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I am at the point of having a panel built for my EAB. On their website, Dynon lists a comparison of HDX vs. Classic, but it doesn't really show much difference except one is touch, the other is not. But from this forum, I gather that the HDX screen is brighter, but off axis viewing and glare is worse. Well, adding touch and an EMS band on the bottom of the screen is hardly justification for a $1500 difference per panel. So, I was reading other posts on this forum, and it appears that there is a lot more than that, evidenced by the fact that the two systems are not compatible anymore. I am guessing that perhaps one has updated processors, memory, etc ??? But if so, why doesn't the Dynon web site discuss it?

So, I was wondering if there is a more comprehensive list of differences that anyone might have found. Also, does HDX have reliability improvements?

I am planning on a dual 10" display (HDX or Classic), with Garmin gtn650. With this, of course I won't need the Dynon radios. Do I still need the GPS 2020?

Thanks

Ted L
 

jakej

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# 1 - it's always your choice - there's a school of thought that says get the best you can afford. I've had the Classic system & now have the HDX for the last 200+ hrs & never regretted it.
# 2 Negative, you don't need the Gps 2020 as the 'approved' position source for ADSB OUT can be via a Tso 145 Navigator or other 'approved' source- I have the Avidyne IFD 440 with the big display of it on my iPad Pro. Some use the Gps 250 as a 'backup' Gps source.
 

airguy

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I spent 3 years with dual 10" Classic and the last year and a half with HDX, and in my opinion yes it's absolutely worth the upgrade. I had reservations about it at first, but those have evaporated.
 

Raymo

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The Classic screens come with the touch option as well. I plan to upgrade my D1000T screens to HDX and sell my current screens to the highest bidder.
 

HFMan

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I upgraded my 7" Classics to HDX this past summer. IMHO, it was well worth the cost of the upgrade. I was able to sell my Classics to help offset the cost of the HDX, and I simply love the bottom panel for engine instrumentation. The HDX has more powerful processors and more memory, and hence is faster. The resolution is WAY WAY better, the visibility and readability is hands down better than the classic. In addition, there are new features coming that many will only apply to the HDX.
 

RVDan

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If not the touch screens, then the better knob feel is worth it. Also the engine display can be across the bottom.
 

DBRV10

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The Classic screens come with the touch option as well. I plan to upgrade my D1000T screens to HDX and sell my current screens to the highest bidder.


Not for about a year or so. SVT is no longer.


As for is it worth it? Hell Yeah.........but not if that extra expense means you will compromise on something really important, like fitting the EMS or a transponder. If the budget is that tight get a really good system with Skyview classics. I would even say fit the AP servo's, button and knob panel and classics if the budget only went that far.

YMMV of course!
 

sstearns2

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I am at the point of having a panel built for my EAB. On their website, Dynon lists a comparison of HDX vs. Classic, but it doesn't really show much difference except one is touch, the other is not. But from this forum, I gather that the HDX screen is brighter, but off axis viewing and glare is worse. Well, adding touch and an EMS band on the bottom of the screen is hardly justification for a $1500 difference per panel. So, I was reading other posts on this forum, and it appears that there is a lot more than that, evidenced by the fact that the two systems are not compatible anymore. I am guessing that perhaps one has updated processors, memory, etc ??? But if so, why doesn't the Dynon web site discuss it?

So, I was wondering if there is a more comprehensive list of differences that anyone might have found. Also, does HDX have reliability improvements?

I am planning on a dual 10" display (HDX or Classic), with Garmin gtn650. With this, of course I won't need the Dynon radios. Do I still need the GPS 2020?

Thanks

Ted L

I have both an GTN-650 and a GPS-2020. My thinking at the time was that the GPS-2020 was not that much money and everything seems to work better with it's own brand accessories. It seems like overkill, but I had an electrical transient a few weeks ago that caused the GTN to reboot so it was nice to have the Dynon system running on its own GPS data. If you've even thinking of flying IMC then put the GPS 2020 in for sure IMO. I think GPS ground speed is used in the AHARS algorithm, so you really don't want to lose GPS data.

I was faced with the same dilemma on classic vs HDX. I went with the non touch screen classic and saved the money. It's still a great system and does everything I want it to do. It's still about seven million percent better than what we had 20 years ago. The amount of information at your finger tips is just amazing.

Scott
 

Dynon

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II think GPS ground speed is used in the AHARS algorithm, so you really don't want to lose GPS data.

GPS is only used in the attitude algorithm if you lose airspeed.

Still, it's a REALLY good idea to have GPS position source redundancy if you're flying IFR. I always tell people to virtually take a hammer to any single component and think through what capability you still have.
 

JWS

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HDX is great. I've only used Classic on a training simulator, but I assure you HDX is worth it.
 

jethound

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Aug 4, 2011
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I fly with the classic Skyview have flow with other SkyView classics also and on an approach the flight director is always hunting more than the actual aircraft turbulence. Is there a way to dampen the flight director so it is a more accurate representation of what is happening during an LPV approach.
also on the glide slope indicator I the flight director may be showing a more pitch up or down when the actual snowflake is nailed on the vertical nav GS indicator
Thanks for any input on this.
I know this is not an Honeywell NZ2000 system we have on our jet but I would expect it to represent the correct information.
 

BalsaBat

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Sep 22, 2020
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Thanks for all the replies on the HDX and Classic, and value of the GPS 2020 alongside the gtn 650. From the Dynon web (unless changed since I was there), The HDX didn't appear worth the money, and with no trade shows this year to look at the product, I would have gone with the classic. But, following the consensus here, I ordered the HDX system via the kit supplier/panel builder and also retained the gps 2020 (Dynon, if you are monitoring this, you really need to list the HDX upgrades on your web site comparison!)

My biggest constraint is panel real estate. I MAY still have room for one horizontal supplemental panel, like the "knob" panel. If I can squeeze it in, which panel should it be? If you have both, which do you use the most, or which is the biggest hassle to work around not having?
 

Raymo

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I use both the Knob and AP panels every time I fly. If I had to pick one, it would be the AP Panel, which provides auto-trim and advanced AP features.
 

AlanR

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Without the Autopilot Knob panel you won't get Autotrim which is a must have IMHO.
 

Grizzly

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There is one argument that I haven't seen exposed here: the obsolecency of the components of the classic version. Dynon does not develop all of the electronic boards and displays found inside its products. The production of computer equipment is a perpetual headlong rush, taking recent versions is the guarantee of benefiting from a greater durability.
 

Marc_J._Zeitlin

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Without the Autopilot Knob panel you won't get Autotrim which is a must have IMHO.
I've got a different take on the Autotrim capabilities found in most EFIS's, and here's what I generally say to my customers when they ask about it.

If you're flying VFR only, Autotrim is great - takes a small load off the pilot and makes sure the plane is trimmed so that when you turn off the A/P, you don't get surprised with an attitude change before you realize and take full control of the stick. However...

If you're flying IFR/IMC, I feel that Autotrim is contraindicated. See Colgan flight 3407 in 2009. If you start picking up ice and you don't realize that the airplane is continuously changing its trim condition, and then eventually the A/P gives up and says "sorry - I can't do this anymore - here's a terribly out of trim plane for you to fly that _I_ can't deal with", you're going to be in a world of hurt. Whereas if the system had been continuously asking for a trim change over time, you'd have had a head's up that SOMETHING is changing, and you should consider what to do about it.

My HDX system is set up without Autotrim (although I DO have the A/P panel, which is wonderful) and I've set the system up to ask me to trim in whatever direction it deems necessary. I blip the hat switch and am back in trim. Workload is minuscule.

My $0.02.
 

airguy

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I've got a different take on the Autotrim capabilities found in most EFIS's, and here's what I generally say to my customers when they ask about it.

If you're flying VFR only, Autotrim is great - takes a small load off the pilot and makes sure the plane is trimmed so that when you turn off the A/P, you don't get surprised with an attitude change before you realize and take full control of the stick. However...

If you're flying IFR/IMC, I feel that Autotrim is contraindicated. See Colgan flight 3407 in 2009. If you start picking up ice and you don't realize that the airplane is continuously changing its trim condition, and then eventually the A/P gives up and says "sorry - I can't do this anymore - here's a terribly out of trim plane for you to fly that _I_ can't deal with", you're going to be in a world of hurt. Whereas if the system had been continuously asking for a trim change over time, you'd have had a head's up that SOMETHING is changing, and you should consider what to do about it.

My HDX system is set up without Autotrim (although I DO have the A/P panel, which is wonderful) and I've set the system up to ask me to trim in whatever direction it deems necessary. I blip the hat switch and am back in trim. Workload is minuscule.

My $0.02.
In any airplane built for FIKI, I would agree - but I don't think Dynon systems have been STC'd for any FIKI models, am I wrong?
 

Marc_J._Zeitlin

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In any airplane built for FIKI, I would agree - but I don't think Dynon systems have been STC'd for any FIKI models, am I wrong?
FIKI or not, people occasionally encounter ice when in IMC. Better to know there's something going on than not know, is my point. And E-AB aircraft, which is (at least so far) the majority of Dynon installs, there's no such thing as STC'd or not - people just do what they do...
 

airguy

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FIKI or not, people occasionally encounter ice when in IMC. Better to know there's something going on than not know, is my point. And E-AB aircraft, which is (at least so far) the majority of Dynon installs, there's no such thing as STC'd or not - people just do what they do...
Valid point - I've found ice in my RV on 3 occasions in just over 700 hours - never by choice. Your concern about autotrim in an ice situation is valid, but suggesting that we never use autotrim in IMC because of the possibility of an out-of-trim airplane being handed back to the pilot is simply not valid.

First, the autotrim is such a useful feature in IMC flight, and so workload-reducing in a single-pilot IFR cockpit, that the benefits would be hard to overstate and most certainly outweigh the drawbacks.
Second, if a pilot is so blissfully unaware of their situation while flying in an icing environment that A) they do not notice and B) don't do something immediately about it while C) disconnecting the entire autopilot as well as the autotrim, then I posit that this pilot is so clueless that they would be unable to safely extract themselves from that situation and land the airplane, in which case it's already a lost cause, and through no fault of the autotrim.

Thats my opinion only, worth what you paid for it. Don't mind me, I'm just all old and cranky and stuff.
 
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