Sport Pilot Talk

So I decided to replace my Garmin 696, with the new iFly 740 from Adventure Pilot, with the complete VIsion-Pro ADS-B ARHS package.

Total cost about $2800.

After discussing the package with their marketing guy numerous time, he convinced me that it was going to be an easy install and all I needed was a USB to Serial cable, which I ordered from them. I made arrangements for my Avionics guy to fly in on Saturday, to install the set up.

I order an AirGizmo mount from Aircraft Spruce, along with the (2) antennas I needed, that the iFly people neglected to tell me about.

I paid an extra $35 for expedited delivery of the iFly and Aircraft Spruce assured me that my order would arrive on Friday.

I got home today, no order from Aircraft Spruce and their customer service was less than helpful or sympathetic. They offered to ship me an new order overnight today, if I pay $120 for overnight shipping. Even then it probably wouldn't arrive until Saturday afternoon.

The iFly package, didn't include the USB to Serial cable, so I wouldn't have been able to set that up, either.

So I played with the iFly for an hour or so. NO manual with the product. No instructions at all, other than how to activate the subscriptions.

It took almost 40 minutes to finally get it to connect to my home network & every few seconds it would drop the connection. It woudn't connect to the iFly Server ... for an hour, it told me I either wasn't connected to the Internet or to try iFly, "later".

This GPS is like a toy and not a very sophisticated one. The screen is bright, I'll give them that ... but virtually unreadable. The quality of their scans or the resolution on the screen, is atrocious. Screen re-draws take forever, which makes the "pinch/spread" process, valueless.

When I pulled up "Airport Information" on my local Class D airport, I had to scroll down to find the Frequency for their Tower & Ground, the top spot was occupied by the CTAF. If I didn't know the airport was towered, I'd be dialed in to the CTAF and announcing my position, while the tower was getting ready to shoot me.

Did I mention the screen seems tiny? It's supposed to be Gamin 696 size, but it sure doesn't seem so. The "touch" feature of the screen is about 6 generations back. I can't express my disappointment in this product. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone, other than as a cheapo backup for a grownup, professional product.

Oh ... I can run a video camera from it or add music. Whoopie!

.......

Hi Brian,

This is Shane with Adventure Pilot. I am so sorry for your frustration. I believe there may have been a misunderstanding regarding your install and we apologize for that. The iFly 740 and SkyGuardTWX communicate via WiFi. The USB to Serial cable would only be needed if connecting the iFly 740 to send NMEA data to a Fuel Flow, ELT, EFIS or even an autopilot in a non-certified aircraft.

The iFly 740 should have included WiFi Instructions and the SkyGuardTWX should have included setup Instructions. Please let me know if this was not the case. Also, we offer an online owners manual at http://www.iflygps.com/manual as we are constantly adding new features and a mass printed manual becomes dated very quickly. We also have some new video tutorials on our site under the Support tab, there is one for WiFi and connecting to an ADS-B and we are working to add more each week.

The iFly 740 is a dedicated aviation portable and uses a lower power WiFi as to reduce changes of interference. The WiFi connection delay time almost sounds like it may have been a bit far from the router. The chart clarity concerns me as we sharpen and process our charts to be clearer than our competition. I suspect you may have a bad SD card or low-res data load. We should be able to resolve that easily. This is a shock to us as the iFly 740 has received high praises from Aviation Consumer, AOPA, and just this month from Plane & Pilot. I'm sorry your experience has not been the same. We'd like the opportunity to resolve that.

SkyGuardTWX currently makes two models of the Vision-Pro Plus. A, "VP+EX" model for Experimental/LSA compliant model and a "VP+" non-certified portable model. The VP+EX version does not come with antennas/cables as the install instructions outline a Delta Pop, Rami AV-22 or AV-74 are the recommended antennas. These antennas vary in cost and form factor and cabling varies depending on the aircraft installed in. The VP+EX must be installed in accordance with the included instructions to be compliant for the 2020 mandate for EXP/LSA aircraft. The VP+ version comes with portable antennas and is not 2020 compliant yet as it is currently in the certification stages with the FAA. This may have been a possible source of confusion on the antennas.

If you or your installers need any help with setup or configuring the two, please do not hesitate contacting me. If you'd like to contact me offline, I'd even be happy to provide my cell number if needed.

Please contact me at 888-200-5129, x804 and we would be happy to help in any way. If you can provide me an update of your install and order with Spruce, I'd be happy to reach out to my contacts there for some expedited assistance. We are fellow pilots and are here to help. We strive to offer "Industry Leading Customer Service" and would greatly appreciate the opportunity resolve any issues like this promptly and directly.

Thanks,
Shane Woodson

Great way to step up to the plate, Shane. You guys are a class act.

Shane,

The iFly package will be shipped back to you on Monday.

I'm thoroughly disgusted and wouldn't put it in my airplane.

How difficult would it have been, for who ever packaged my order up on Wednesday, to confirm that everything on the Invoice was in the box?

(& the iFly was sitting 6' from my router)

Wow, I looked closely at adding the iFly 740 as a backup to Dynon SkyView but in the end opted to go for an iPad Air using Foreflight with synthetic vision linked by a wi-fi adapter.

Even more glad a I did too, and I think the iFly has a lot going for it but...

.......

It's true the brightness is better than the iPad and it can get warm but the iPad combo with FF is less than half the price and it can do other things as well as be a back-up navigator.

I tried the iFly for iPad app too and thought it was okay.

Most reviews I've read are about it being used as the primary GPS nav source rather than the backup which is what I was thinking of using it for.

It still may be an option in the future and I might just bite the bullet and simply add a 7" Dynon screen although that's a much more expensive option and I'd add a second ADHRS if I did. Right now the type of flying I'm doing I'm okay with the iPad and I also have FF on my iPhone.

From the sound of it, it's a lot more fiddling to install than I first thought. Itake the point about the customer service, except…considering the run around he's had, it should have been handled better first time around and he was calling and asking for help. Just saying..

.......

I worry about mine getting a bit hot. I took it in to the FBO with me and then in the air I put it in the air stream from the vent and fly a bit higher for cooler and s,other air.

I may try the app and see how it goes.

.......

Based on Shane's response, I gave the iFly an actual "in the cockpit" test today, using it as a backup to my Garmin 696.

Suffice to say, my opinion hasn't changed a whit.

I've already made my point and it has nothing to do with customer service, it has to do with the quality and usability of the product.

I'm not going to continue to beat a dead horse in public. If anyone wants a more complete review and opinion on the iFly, PM me.

I've had the iFly 740 for some time now. No problems. Love it! As I did the 720 and 700 before.

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I have IFly 720, and I have I-Fly on my I-Phone. They have worked great, and given that I am electronically challenged setting them up was a piece of cake.