Garmin GNS430/530 - exciting news!

[twharrell 38]

Today, I talked to the developers at Mindstar Aviation, makers of the Mindstar G1000, who are located not far from me.  They gave me the OK to publicly share that after Oshkosh they will be releasing a GNS430/530 gauge package for use in FSX and P3D.

 

Many are familiar with and have used Reality XP gauges in FS9 and FSX.  You also know support is now nonexistent by the developer, and the nav database is old.  Well, get ready to put those GPS units aside.

 

The Mindstar GPS units will be full-featured units that can be used in almost any 3rd party aircraft with a Garmin GPS. And forget about outdated nav data.  The same nav data used in their G1000 will also be used in the GNS 530/430 units.  That navdata subscription is only $40 annually.  I use it in my G1000 and it's awesome flying with up-to-date navdata in a GA aircraft.

 

Both the 430 and 530 will be included in the same package. You won't have to buy separate gauges.  So, you can install any combination of the 2 GPS units and, get ready, cross-fill is included! You read correctly. No additional fee will have to be paid for crossfill. So, you'll get both the GNS 430 AND GNS530, with cross-fill ability, and updateable nav database for - wait for it -   $50 USD, whether you use FSX or P3D. That price is unbelievable!  I would keep an eye on their Facebook page for release.

 

Todd

 

 

[LeeL 272]

Wow! Relly good news, especially since the RXP gauges cannot be used in P3d unless you pay thousands of dollars

[fs4fun 366]

That sounds great. Hopefully they will work in VC's that have been modeled to accommodate the RXP units.

[mosteen 111]

Bummer, just got the RXP Oh, well...

[AndyPaul 11]

Great news! How are they going to integrate the gauges in FSX? The easiest would be if they could use existing RXP integration facilities. That way we could use them on aircraft that already have that integration... *hint hint*

 

Cheers

 

 

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[GHarrall 494]

Whilst the RXP gauges are brilliant in their own right, the expense of buying the 430 and 530 seperately ($50 each) plus the 'unlimited' pack at another $99 goes down as being excessive at best. The fact that the support and communication from the developer is non existant yet the things are still for sale is downright lunacy!

 

Good luck to Mindstar with this project, especially welcome is the P3D compatability. Im sure this will become more and more important in the coming months.

[RamonB 449]

Great news!!!

 

 

Thanks for the Info.

[TheLurk 7]

well since they still don't offer paypal payment...certainly no buy from me as i dont own a CC...also do these units have TCAD and WAAS capability? if not i don't think its a real alternative at least for me for the time being 

[RWFeldman 159]

Put RXP right down the old toilet.

[mosteen 111]

Put RXP right down the old toilet.

:)

[TheLurk 7]

also..they seem to have shut down their forums...at least i cant find it anymore...nope...i stick to my RXP units (with updated database through different means...)

 

same goes for that navdata provider...no paypal no purchase...there are people who don't own CC's

[LeeL 272]

also..they seem to have shut down their forums...at least i cant find it anymore...nope...i stick to my RXP units (with updated database through different means...)

 

same goes for that navdata provider...no paypal no purchase...there are people who don't own CC's

Their forums are down for a moment cause they got hacked

[Manny 1,293]

I don't believe the Mindstar G1000 has WAAS. (I bought their G1000...but I don't use it anymore) I prefer the F1 G1000 since thats the real deal. .. So not sure if mindstar  G530 would have WAAS and LPV approaches... 

WAAS and LPV is the best part of Realty XP 530 and TAWS

What support is anyone loooking from RealityXP? Its basically the demo version of the real Garmin G530.

[captain420 3,099]

Awesome! Any word for X-Plane support though?

[tttocs 301]

OK, a couple of things that seem missing here amongst some of the "goodbye RXP" excitement. 

 

The biggest "support" issue these days seems to be for developers looking to integrate to 3D panels for the first time (I'm thinking of the Twotter here), not for end-users.  Most of the installed base has long since moved past any issues.  The units just sit in our (many) panels and work.  From an installed base perspective, other than navdata this is going to be a tough sell, and even on the navdata issue, quite honestly the biggest thing missing from the older data is newer WAAS approaches. 

 

Off the top of my head, here's what I think will be needed for this to become the new "go-to":

 

1) Panel integration.  Will this work on planes which currently support RXP 3D integration?  If not, what plans will be in place to address the integration issue on a wide range of planes?

 

2) WAAS approaches.  Will they be supported?  US only?  Canada?

 

3) Will data output fully support and drive other devices, similar to the relatively new LinkGPS=On flag in RXP?

 

4) Performance - the RXP gauges are very low impact, in many cases lower than default or 3D party devices.

 

5) And last but not least, will these really be full-featured, same as the real thing simulations, or just similar.

 

I don't mean to sound like an RXP cheerleader.  In fact, I've recently commented that the RXP's have become very hard to recommend to new users as they are obviously an orphaned product.  But for the installed base, there's going to be a tough bar to get over for Mindstar to become the new standard.

 

This is a very interesting development, but right now it generates more questions in my mind than it does pure "woo hooo!" excitement.  Sorry if that sounds overly wet-blanket.  Hopefully there are great answers to all of these questions.

 

Scott