Glass
Hi 3top,
I can't give you any kind of comparison between Aspen and Garmin, as I've not had any exposure to the Aspen myself.
We had our new R66 delivered about 7 weeks ago, and have the G500 hooked up to a GTN750, Synthetic Vision, 2-axis autopilot, Radalt and remote transponder.
My biggest argument for going Garmin was that it is a fully integrated suite of equipment designed to fit together as a system, and I think they've got it about right. The G500 display will show the Radalt height, which is always useful, and obviously the autopilot links to the GTN750 and will follow a pre-programmed route, including vertical nav and GPS approaches.
It makes the panel look a lot cleaner and more modern as well, but it does take some getting used to. For what it is worth, I personally found the VSI to be the biggest adjustment versus a standard 6-pack, as with the traditional needle you pick up very quickly any vertical acceleration really quickly, and I find it a little harder with the tape display, but then I am only 20 hours in so far.
On the negative side, the GTN750 is much less intuitive than say, Sky Demon, and to be honest, in spite of all the built-in tech, I still take my Ipad with me.
As a private user, I think the best way to go is either a traditional panel layout, or a full install of everything Garmin. I'm not sure a halfway house of just the G500 is worth it, just my 2 penneth.
Finally, our machine will be having a Garmin traffic system fitted next month, which again, will intergrate perfectly, displaying either on the MFD of the G500 or on the main display of the GTN750.
Synthetic vision is brilliant, and doubtless adds an additional layer of information from which to make safe airmanship decisions.
It is worth mentioning that if you have a GTN750, certain elements of its functionality are lost in the install in an R66. I can't remember all of them off the top of my head, but a major one is the ability to play back ATC transmissions. Apparently this is down to this feature not being FAA certified for light helicopters, but it annoyed me that RHC do not make you aware of this when you place an order.
Overall, I'm really happy with what we have, but bear in mind if you load yours with a similar spec, (and we have air conditioning also), you do start to eat into the payload a bit.
If you want any more specific info, feel free to PM me, and I'll do my best to answer any questions you have.
FF