Jeroen, the D180 is certainly a very relevant choice as EFIS/EMS. It is still
produced
in quantities and I see plenty of planes (typically being produced in
Central/East Europe) being sold with this one. So you can't be wrong in
installing
one.
At the same time, it is based on a 10 years old product architecture. For sure,
Dynon will still support it for many years as it is still a very popular
product.
But don't expect anymore updates as they fixed their last annoying bug some
months ago.
If you could afford the price difference, you should go with Skyview. It is a
completely
modern system with capabilities being expanded on regular basis (e.g.
recently they added European VFR approach plates). Also, you could have the
benefit of a cheaper mode S transponder and an advanced autopilot with an
integrated
gps map. The only item that Dynon is missing today for European pilots
is a 8.33Mhz radio at a good price. I am sure that Dynon understands that and
will come with a solution in a reasonable timeframe.
Bob is right that Grand Rapid also produce very good piece of equipment. But
these
are being sold for the huge majority on the US market. And you want to have
a EU local dealer if you want to ship any equipment back (and that will
certainly
happen if you consider a lifetime of more than 10 years). Dynon has 2 major
dealers in EU who can provide local support or ship your equipment back to
the US for the price of sending it to the UK or to CZ.
There are other players in this market, like MGL or TL-elektronic. The MGL
system
has certainly tremendous capabilities but this company seems to lack the level
of customer orientation (e.g. draft manuals) that is required to become a
real market leader. TL-elektronic and some others are marginal in terms of
quantities
being sold.
Then there is the Garmin gorilla who recently entered the experimental market
with
a dump on the prices for their G3X system. It is Garmin quality with Garmin
certified products as base. You can't go wrong with going with them. But Garmin
is a gorilla that has partnership with other gorillas like Jeppesen. Look
at the price difference between a yearly subscription for skyview with a
pocketfms
database and a Garmin G3X with Jeppesen. Not sure if that is inline with
the Europa philosophy.
Good luck with your decision. This is a crucial one as you will spend all your
Europa flying time behind this system.
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