Register
Aircraft Stepups Avionics Instruments

Budget EFIS Shootout: Dynon Versus Garmin

The FAA turned a regulatory corner last year when it gave the green light to replace spinning attitude gyros (and vacuum systems) with TSOd standalone solid-state electronic attitude instruments. It wasnt long before Dynon-partnering with the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA)-announced an AML-STC to retrofit its experimental D10A EFIS into lower-end Part 23 aircraft. As expected, Garmin competitively and swiftly earned a more extensive AML-STC for its experimental G5 EFIS just a few months later.

Larry Anglisano
Verified

The FAA turned a regulatory corner last year when it gave the green light to replace spinning attitude gyros (and vacuum systems) with TSO’d standalone solid-state electronic attitude instruments. It wasn’t long before Dynon—partnering with the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA)—announced an AML-STC to retrofit its experimental D10A EFIS into lower-end Part 23 aircraft. As expected, Garmin competitively and swiftly earned a more extensive AML-STC for its experimental G5 EFIS just a few months later.

The D10A and G5 have similar form, function and pricing, which confuses the buying decision. They both sport decent color displays that mimic primary flight displays (PFDs) and they’re designed for an easy retrofit. Plus, they are both priced under $3000. In this article, we put the two instruments side-by-side for a look at their differences and limitations.

Larry Anglisano

Editor in Chief Larry Anglisano has been a staple at Aviation Consumer since 1995. An active land, sea and glider pilot, Larry has over 30 years’ experience as an avionics repairman and flight test pilot. He’s the editorial director overseeing sister publications Aviation Safety magazine, IFR magazine and is a regular contributor to KITPLANES magazine with his Avionics Bootcamp column.