I have seen a few a/c that come fitted with 2 GPS units. eg it appears that the new payware Cirrus has two GNS430 units fitted.I guess that if you are rich enough to buy a new Cirrus , then you can have whatever you want -- but there must be some practical reason for it.Any thoughts ?Thanks Barry

Same reason you have two vors, two navs, two comms, two engines.... When #1 one breaks there is #2 :-)http://mywebpages.comcast.net/geofa/pages/rxp-pilot.jpg

Another good reason - aside from redundancy - is that when you have two, you can do more "preplanning."For example, you can have your alternate airport "preloaded" and ready to use instantly in case of need...You can have the default NAV page displayed on #2 while you are looking at the map (which is less needed with the big Avidyne)...You have twice the knobs to twiddle and buttons to push when you're bored... ;) Just kidding on that one!

It's very common in new aircraft, and not just Cirrus either. When folks retrofit older aircraft, they may pull out two KX155 NAV/COMs and put in two GNS430's. Look at what Piper and Cessna offer, they do the same thing. As Geoff also said above, it's redundancy.The GNS430 / 530 is basically today's new "NAV/COM", and most planes have two of those, so.... ;-)Yeah, not everyone can afford this, but if you can afford it, who wouldn't do it?Here's an Archer with dual Garmins.http://www.newpiper.com/fleet/archerIII/se...images/arc3.jpgRegards,http://www.dreamfleet2000.com/gfx/images/F...R_FORUM_LOU.jpg

As one of our UK folks stated the other day, oddly enough none of the newer a/c with "only Garmin units" can be certified in the UK for IFR. They have to add-on a "steam powered com/nav radio" aftermarket!Now how silly is that? :)

A couple critical issues on real aircraft are weight, power needs and physical panel space.For many aircraft a 430 and a 530 will not fit. If you have the Cirrus with the two big displays - how much room is left. (BTW will a 430 drive the big display - or is that two 480's in the plane?)The 430 takes 2.65 x 6.25 inches of panel space - the 530 4.3 x 6.25 inches - both are 11 inches deep.The 430 weighs 6.6 lbs, the 530 weighs 9.5 lbs.Both have similar power demands but the 530 uses a bit more.It's hard to find prices on the web this evening - but it's my understanding that a 530 cost a little over 250% the price of a 430. So you could buy two 430's or one 530. But I could be wrong about the current price ratio.

Note - according to www.cirrusdesigns.comThe only Garmin options for the SR-20 or SR-22 are two G-430. The 530 is not an option for these aircraft.If a STC has not been approved for the aircraft, you can't install one even if you want and have the money.But it really looks like a space issue.

Regarding the "If you are rich enough to own one" comment. At one time a few years ago, I was in the market to purchase one. A new Cirrus was, and I imagine still is, considerably less expensive than any other 4 place aircraft on the market. And given the avionics options it comes with, was, and I imagine still is, an amazing bargain. It is about half the price of a new home here in New England, and, I considered it at the time to basically be a vacation home for me, albeit a mobile one, one which I could have used to travel comfortably to many location which I wished to visit in the U.S.. Unfortunately, other issues got in the way. But I am hopeful I will turn things around soon. At the time, I figured with one partner it would have been affordable on our $150K income to purchase one.ThomasN15802KASH

how much is average maint. per year and gas?

Is anyone having problems wioth the checklist page? Mine are blank, no checklists. I'll try a reinstal, see if that helps.Dave F

Dave,You need to move the fonts from the installation folder to your WindowsFonts folder. See the readme for more info.

Thanks........

>Dave,>>You need to move the fonts from the installation folder to>your WindowsFonts folder. See the readme for more info.Actually the zipped fonts are in the documentation folder and as the readme states...they are there because some machines do not have them installed.:-)

For IFR flight it is either mandatory or considered prudent (forgot which one) to have backups for many NAV/COMMs. For VFR flight - sure you don't need it.Michael J.

>I have seen a few a/c that come fitted with 2 GPS units. eg>it appears that the new payware Cirrus has two GNS430 units>fitted.>>I guess that if you are rich enough to buy a new Cirrus , then>you can have whatever you want -- but there must be some>practical reason for it.>>Any thoughts ?>>Thanks >>BarryFor all the reasons others have pointed out here and ONE that was not listed here...a garmin 430 has only one com and one nav radio even though each has a "flip flop" or standby freq. capability.The addition of a second garmin 430 provides a com2 nav2 capability to the aircraft:-)