FSX-MS Flight 1 or Reality XP GTN 750

[mypupdaisy 8]

Anyone who has these products, could you let me know which one you purchased and why. Was there a reason you didn't buy the other companies version. Which one appears to be the most compatible and works the best. Opinions?

Thanks

[himmelhorse 1,276]

mypupdaisy,

I have the Flight1 GTN 750/650 combination, a purchase I do not regret. However, I found that I never use the 650 so I paid for that for nothing.

I do NOT have the RealityXP version and in "reality," looking at it, I can so no great differences in looks or performances.

In retrospect, I think I would have been better off with RealityXP because (again in retrospect) I could have purchased it as the 750 alone and it has the added advantage of being able to be used across all the ESP platforms, including FS2004 which I still use very frequently. I was not aware of this factor and the Flight1 Complete (750 and 650) was cheaper than buying both of the RealityXP versions....Important as I am a pensioner. It is also available for XPlane (which, AFAIK, does not apply to the Flight1 version) so in my opinion it is more versatile because of the FS2004 factor.

If you don't want the 650 and you don't fly FS2004 then I think both products are excellent and you cannot go wrong with either. Both offer excellent support  but I would favour the Reality support just going by the content of its forum.

Good luck with your eventual purchase.

Regards

Tony

[scianoir 610]

I too have the Flight1 GTN750/650 bundle and I can recommend it is an excellent product. However I can understand Tony’s comment about the 650 as I too find that I rarely use it, almost always opting to fly with the 750 in preference, mainly because the 650 is a little more cumbersome to use. However if you like to use an instrument that is integrated into the VC panel (rather than in a 2D window), the 650, because of its smaller size, offers more opportunities for this.

I don’t have the Reality XP version but I used one of their GNS products in my FS9 days and it was excellent.

Bill

[airernie 263]

I don't have either, but the second question I would ask is what data source does it use and what is the cost to keep it up to date?  

I may be wrong, but I think the Flight1 GTN uses Garmin proprietary data, which is not cheap to keep up to date.

Again, I could be wrong and talking about a previous version..

[fppilot 4,335]

Reality XP.  I have both. The RXP gauges are under constant enhancement. That at a rate of what has been about once per every month or two. The RXP GTN gauges are highly configurable so it stands a better chance of being adapted to the more and more sophisticated autopilots we are seeing, like those from A2A and the Milviz Cessna 310R Redux.  RXP is also quick to act after updates to P3D, and quick as well if and when Garmin updates their GTN Trainer.  Those Garmin Trainer updates, when they occur, normally include a near current database.

Oh. Almost forgot. With the RXP you get two instances of the GTN gauge.  So if you buy the RXP 750 you get RXP GTN 750_1 and GTN 750_2.  That allows you to install (2) into any aircraft that provides adequate support and space.  I have (2) RXP GTN 750's in my Realair Turbine Duke v2.  I use one for my flight plan and the other for features like traffic. Note: when you install two into an aircraft, it has to be a _1 and a _2.  Not a pair of _1's or pair of _2's.

Also, you may install either _1 or _2 into a particular aircraft.  Why? As an example in my 750_1, I store longer flight plans that I normally fly in higher and faster aircraft, such as the Turbine Duke v2, Alabeo C421 Golden Eagle, or Carenado Malibu PA46T.  And in my 750_2, I store flight plans that I use in smaller aircraft for shorter, lower flights, such as my A2A C182 Skyhawk or Milviz Baron B55.

Edited April 4, 2019 by fppilot

[DavidP 1,406]

3 hours ago, airernie said:

I may be wrong, but I think the Flight1 GTN uses Garmin proprietary data, which is not cheap to keep up to date

Both versions are affected the same way.

[mypupdaisy 8]

@fppilot: I purchased the RXP. Took a bit of work, but got itcurrently working. Do you use Little Navmap? If so, have you been able to export the flight plan as RXP Garmin GTN into the 750 and able to load it from under Flight Plan>Catalog. Thanks

Edited April 4, 2019 by mypupdaisy

[Bert Pieke 7,584]

23 minutes ago, mypupdaisy said:

@fppilot: I purchased the RXP. Took a bit of work, but got itcurrently working. Do you use Little Navmap? If so, have you been able to export the flight plan as RXP Garmin GTN into the 750 and able to load it from under Flight Plan>Catalog. Thanks

Little navmap exports the flightplan to the wrong directory for RXP.

The author is aware, but has not fixed it..

Check the documentation.

I created a link to C:\ProgramData\Garmin\Trainers\Databases from

C:\ProgramData\Garmin\Trainers\GTN\FPLN

[fppilot 4,335]

35 minutes ago, mypupdaisy said:

@fppilot: I purchased the RXP. Took a bit of work, but got itcurrently working. Do you use Little Navmap? If so, have you been able to export the flight plan as RXP Garmin GTN into the 750 and able to load it from under Flight Plan>Catalog. Thanks

Yes.  There are some limitations you should be aware of.  The limitations are inherent in the Garmin products, not flaws in the RXP products or Little Navmap.  Let me find a link to earlier message I posted on this.

 

 

Edited April 4, 2019 by fppilot

[Bob Scott 7,704]

2 hours ago, fppilot said:

Oh. Almost forgot. With the RXP you get two instances of the GTN gauge. 

The Flight1 GTNs also allow two independent gauges to be installed on a single panel, either two of each, or a 750 plus a 650.  The Flight1 package also allows use with FSX, FSX-SE, P3D v3 and v4.

Both add-ons are really interfaces to the same real-world Garmin PC trainer software.

I chose the Flight1 version because I value long-term support.  Jean Luc (the RXP guy) went on walkabout for years, leaving his users of the previous generations of RXP GNS430s to fend for themselves, and I have not forgotten that experience.  Those that do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it.

Regards

[fppilot 4,335]

Per importing flight plans into the GTN, the most common issue I have found are locked waypoints.  The issue with locked waypoints has been that in the Garmin database there are multiple waypoints with the same name, thus the Garmin does not choose for you during the import.  A good example of this is intersection/waypoint BUNKA on low altitude V221, just west of OOM (Bloomington, Indiana, USA).  There is another fix in the database named BUNKA in the African country of Ivory Coast. I had BUNKA locked when I imported a flight plan from St Louis to Bloomington.  There are quite a number of these duplicates.  You can observe this happening when you manually enter a waypoint into a flight plan in the GPS when it shows you duplicates and asks you to choose.

Another cause may be when you use an airway in your plane and a named intersection appears to be on an airway, but is not.  This can happen occasionally where two airways cross each other and that fix is in the database on one airway, but not the other.

If you attempt to import a flight plan that contains a Departure or Arrival be aware that the sequence numbers from your flight planner may not match what is in your GPS database.  CHICKN3 arrival soon becomes CHICKN4, then CHICKN5.  So I avoid including them in the import, and instead add them manually after the import.

Another issue is if you include an Approach.  The import routine does a good job until it comes across an approach-type with more than one instance of the same name.  Ex.RNAV (GPS) Y RWY 05R and RNAV (GPS) Z RWY 05R, -or- ILS RWY 05R (SA CAT I)   ILS RWY 05R (SA CATI-III)

Just some examples.....  And where these occur in a GTN, they for me at least also happen in a GNS.  It's Garmin database and import-rules related.

I then keep the flight plan for import as simple as possible and do the enhancements after the import.

 

Edited December 3, 2018 by fppilot

Edited April 4, 2019 by fppilot

[fppilot 4,335]

Also to learn about the .gfp format, read the final messages in the following topic.

 

 

[mypupdaisy 8]

@Bert: I just exported the flight plan to C:\ProgramData\Garmin\Trainers\Databases\FPLN. Worked like a charm. Everything is working great. Now I need to try and add a better auto pilot to the C310R. Next step in my adventure.

Thank you everyone for your comments

[fppilot 4,335]

2 hours ago, mypupdaisy said:

Now I need to try and add a better auto pilot to the C310R.

Which 310 are you flying?

[mypupdaisy 8]

2 hours ago, fppilot said:

Which 310 are you flying?

Opps... sorry. Carenado C310R. Just bought it. After owning FSX since it came out, the C310 is the smoothest plane I have flown yet. Really nice.