Brantel
Well Known Member
No kidding. Data for the GTN650xi and my G3xs is about $700 a year for IFR plates and data.
I really didn't think this through before going with an all Garmin panel - I love the functionality and I have several hundred hours behind G1000s, but this annuity back to Garmin to pay them to repackage data that they get for free from the government (which I'm already paying for - see my 1040 form) is frustrating.
Some reasonable fee to take the government data and reformat it to their system is okay with me, but $700 a year isn't in the reasonable range.
Any certified IFR navigator is going to cost you to keep the databases updated. This goes for ALL of them not just Garmin. It is the price you have to pay to play in the IFR system. There is no escaping it....
The cost to keep the G3X systems up to date with all the chart goodies is just noise in the scheme of all things aviation. I won't let $149.95 a year dictate what brand of system I want to be trusting my life to in IMC.