After I read the article on avweb by Mike Busch about the Garmin 530 I started thinking about ways to incorporate this unit in the SR22. My first thought was the possibility of relocting the Garmin 340 audio panel or the Garmin 327 transponder. I can’t think of a place to put these units. The only possibility might be to relocate the audio panel above the basic flight instruments, but this would interfere with my eventual plans to mount the Insight air data computer and the Trimble radar altimeter there. Even this change would require a relocation of the annunciator light unit. I would hope that the annunciator light unit could be mounted above the ARNAV display on the bottom side of the glareshield.
I sent an email to Garmin regarding this specifically asking if they had a com/nav/loc/gs unit in the works. I thought that this would give one certified GPS and a backup com/nav/loc/gs unit. Garmin says they have no plans for a “slim line” com/nav/loc/gs unit.
There is only possibility, however. There is an Appollo SL30 com/nav/loc/gs unit. It is 1.3" high, 6.25" wide and 10.5" deep. Further information is at www.upsat.com/sl30des.html.
This would make the avionics stack as follows: Garmin 340 audio 1.3", Garmin 530 4.58", Apollo SL30 1.3", STEC control/display 1.5", Garmin 327 transponder 1.63". Total height 10.31".
The SR22B configuration is: Garmin 340 audio 1.3", Garmin 430 2.65", Garmin 430 2.65", STEC control/display 1.5", Garmin transponder 1.63". Total height 9.73".
The new configuration would be .58" higher.
The plus factors would include (1) the larger screen and resolution of the 530. This is, of course the major factor in this whole matter. If you haven’t seen Mike’s article, take a look at it now at www.avweb.com (2) more nav information on the 530, combining the nav 1 and nav 2 pages of the 430 and adding the compass arc display (3) a somewhat smaller data maintenance expense from Jeppesen with only one unit instead of two to maintain (4) total cost probably a little less for the Garmin 530/Apollo SL30 compared to a Garmin 430/430 pair. I don’t have the cost of the Apollo SL30 available.
The minus factors would include (1) only com/nav/loc/gs redundency - no GPS redundency (2) no frequency database for the Apollo SL30 for nav/com/loc (except that it does store 250 4 character names/frequency type pairs in it’s own database, see owner’s manual at above website for details). Thus, unless the frequencies were saved and named, you would have to rely on paper charts for the data (which you have anyway!) (3) no separate map display for Stormscope or TCAS information other than the 530 and (hopefully) the ARNAV mfd and (4) possible other disadvantages from mixing the Garmin and Apollo avionics that I don’t know about.
Finally, I don’t know how much flexability there is in the Cirrus SR22 as regards the physical height. I don’t know if there is another .58" available.
Assuming that the Garmin 530/Apolllo SL30 could be made to fit, is this a good idea or not?