Dynon support,
Thanks for your quick responce. According to you responce in other threads inside this forum, there is no way for a D-10 to by linked up to a Skyview system beacause of the new communication buss. So the two units cannot share a flight plan. Although I do like the redundancy fact and getting a completely secondary back-up EFIS for less money. There is one major point that you are lacking. If I want to have my autopilot navigate from a flight plan in my EFIS, Dynon does not offer a way to do that that doesn't have a single point of failure. If my skyview craters, then so does the A/P... :-[
Also, If I want my A/P to fly on victor-airways, transition direct to a FAF, transition to a hold, or go missed, I can get all of those features from running my Trutrak via a 430W. Does your A/P allow it to accept commends directly from a 430W and bypass a failed EFIS?
BTW, I'm not bashing here. I really like your new Skyview system but I want to make sure I understand the capabilities before I make the plunge. I already own a Trutrak. And if I can't get it to talk to a Skyview, its not the end of the world. I believe the Dynon servos can fit fairly easily as a drop-in replacement. But If I can't have the A/P transition to a missed approach, then perhaps it not right for me.
No vendor is all things to all people.
As for using a D-10A as backup for Skyview to drive your AP, not a problem. Since both use the same servos, just install a switch to control which EFIS drives the AP. However (and obviously), the D-10A has no flight planning capability, so you will need a backup GPS or SL-30 or something similar to provide course info to the D-10A.
Dynon is the low-price leader for having an EFIS + AP. It is not, at least yet, a Flight Management System. It may grow into that, depending on demand from their user base. Or, it may not - the "hard IFR" crowd is not Dynon's principal customer base.
The combination you are looking for exists a couple of other ways, always for more money than you would pay for a Dynon system (hey, nothing is free!). My personal solution pre-dates Dynon's AP, and consists of a GNS 480 plus TT II VSGV plus 496 for backup GPS (can drive the AP for non-precision approaches). A Dynon D-180 was then the obvious choice at the right price for what I lacked - an inexpensive EFIS to display all that info and to allow me to hand-fly in IFR if the soup. Unfortunately for you and many others, Garmin discontinued the Apollo GPS line.
Today the market is getting "fuzzier." GRT (and, I think, Advanced) are attempting to be an FMS in addition to EFIS - but with both you must have an external AP, leaving 2 points of failure. MGL is going down that road, too, but my research is rapidly falling out of date since I made my decisions 2 years ago (I'm pretty sure MGL can flight plan and drive the AP, but don't know if they have a data source for all the airways/approaches/etc. yet). In addition, MGL is working on an AP, so if they do get the EFB data it will be an all-in-one solution. For an in-dash EFB not claiming to be a primary EFIS, the
Flight Cheetah has some excellent features but t will not "drive an autopilot" either. However, it and perhaps some of the other EFB solutions provide excellent situational awareness, and may one day provide outputs suitable to drive an AP, too.
The choices are tough, and everyone is improving daily. Good luck with your selections!