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Unread 11-15-08, 10:55 AM
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gkey gkey is offline
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Very valid question. Short answer: no. I did not even occur to me. I guess this one went past me because I do not regard myself as a B/K fan.

But at quick glance the B/K MFD looks very cool, I agree. I'll have to read up about it first though. For starters, if I have to give advice so far to others planning a similar venture with their panel, I would caution on available estate on the panel. These panels are a lot smaller than we think. The B/K is 8.5" wide x 7" tall. It actually works out better (read:smaller) than the 3-piece Aspen glass, which is (per unit) 3.5" wide x 7" tall. Something to consider indeed. With my setup I do not have enough panel space to install all three 2" mini instrumetns in a cluster together, hence the mini-ASI and mini ALT on the left side and the normal attitude indicator on the right side (it would just look funny if it was a mini too).

Another winning ingredient is the cheaper price for the B/K vs. the full set of 3 Aspens.
OTOH, the Aspen can direct the MFD to take over PFD duties in case of failure, which the B/K can't do. It is very unlikely that all three or even two Aspen screens will die simultaneously.

Make no mistake, I am still very smitten with the Aspen setup. But I do know of at least 2 problems it has (defaulting to HDG mode during landing and attitude problems in certain conditions), but Aspen is working on a software solution to be released (hopefully) soon. I would like to study the B/K unit as well and see if it has similar quirks.
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