After long certification delays, Avidyne is now shipping its IFD540 navigator, a unit billed as a while-you-wait slide-in replacement for Garmins GNS530W. Since Garmin has not offered a slide-in version of its flagship GTN750 navigator, the 540 is appealing to buyers looking for better flight planning capability, improved graphics and a hybrid touchscreen display, all without having to deal with a time-consuming and pricey installation. With a list price just shy of $17,000, the 540 is a sizable investment that has many readers asking if the unit offers enough real-world functionality to ditch a functional and reliable GNS530W. Further, how tough is the learning curve, especially for those not intimately familiar with a GNS530?In this article, Ill attempt to answer this, based on months of flying with the IFD540 during a variety of IFR and VFR missions. We covered the IFD540 feature set in previous articles, so Ill jump right into advanced system operation here.

In todays always-connected environment, the light airplane cabin is almost uniquely cut off from the world. For some, the sneaky workaround has been to simply use a smartphone for texting and talking at lower altitudes, but that violates an FCC ban.

The market for high-end noise-cancelling aviation headsets has become crowded over the last few years. At $1100, high-end aviation headsets are expensive, but in inflation-adjusted dollars, they’re half what they cost when Bose introduced them in 1988.