For owners of older aircraft, upgrading to a glass cockpit with most systems will often not make sense from a cost standpoint plus the technical headaches such a transition may involve. However, as Max Trescott writes on his blog, upgrading to the EFD1000 Pro by Aspen Avionics may in fact make sense from both a technical and a value standpoint. As Max puts it, the EFD1000 is like a G1000 in a box and although the system will only cover two holes in an instrument panel – it will act as a digital replacement for all six instruments.
Furthermore, the current list price for the EFD1000 Pro version is US$9,995 while the list price for the Pilot version is US$5,995. And although installation times may vary, 40 hours seems to be the consensus among shops that install the Pro version.
Max’s thorough review provides excellent information regarding the capabilities of the system, transitioning to it and flying with it after it is installed. As he concludes:
Aspen has come up with a very compelling value proposition for upgrading older aircraft to give them most of the capabilities of glass cockpit aircraft at a tiny fraction of the cost. Candidly, if I ever own an older aircraft again, it will be a no-brainer to upgrade it with an Aspen EFD1000.
So for readers who have older aircraft, upgrading their aircraft with the EFD1000 is something well worth looking into.
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