Navdata, Obstacles, Terrain, Charts, Oh My!

Obstacles are a bit more sensitive but given that they don't change all that much either, many people update only from time to time (say, once a year) and take the small risk that a tower goes up between updates where one regularly flies or just when one wants to fly there. I'm also surprised to hear that these are available as a subscription.

IMHO, I'd get the terrain and obstacles once and leave it at that. You can always order an update if/when you think it justified.

Vince

 

I don't think charts adds much to what you can see on your iPad (or in my case, my Aspens).

Agree about obstacles and terrain.  Terra firma is terra firma.

Obstacles might be worth revising annually?

Expensive  ones and zeros, don't you think?

Great comments already - Thanks!

If terrain is in the unit, I see no reason to pay $225/yr for that.  Great point on that.

Obstacles - meh.  If IFR, you should be clear of obstacles using normal procedures.  I'll admit, it would be nice for VFR operations.  Can I assume obstacles are in the 540 from the factory?  If so, I might take the risk of updating those once a year.  I've got a question in to Jepp about the cost of that. (I suspect it might be $180 LOL)

Even if I got Navdata and Obstacles for $645/yr, the bundle is $349 more.  I just don't think the charts are worth that to me at the moment.  We'll see how it goes...

Heard back from Jepp.  Here are the one-time update charges:

Obstacles (US) $60

Obstacles (Americas) $75

Terrain $225

I'm thinking I might do an obstacle update once a year, probably when I renew the subscription.

I am forced to get full Americas coverage, to get US + Canada, just like with *armin. The Avidyne full bundle is $1500. But I am still saving $500/year compared to my old GNS subscription, and now I'm getting charts on the device.

I'm not 100% sure, but I THINK that Jepp essentially has a monopoly on the GPS databases.  I live at a private airport with two private instrument approaches.  After we pay the FAA to develop our approaches and bless them, we then have to pay Jepp to add them to the database.  I guess I can understand the need to keep very tight control on the IFR databases which include the approach procedures.

That being said, I don't think that same need applies to charts.  A Foreflight subscription with all charts and georeferenced plates is $150/yr.  But I would have to spend a minimum of $529 extra to get the bundle with charts for the IFD-540.  Where's the value?  I really think it would make a lot of sense to allow at least one other vendor in the mix for the supply of charts (including geo-referenced plates).  I wouldn't want to fly with the charts on the 540 as my only charts, anyway.  In my limited time with the new box, I already have determined that the plates are somewhat hard to read.  I'm very comfortable staying with plates on the iPad.  But, if the charts/plates could be added for a $150 price point, I suppose I'd pony up even with Foreflight in my lap.

Just my take. 

If I could buy JUST Eastern Canada and JUST Eastern US, it would be a lot less. No such option. I have to buy the entire Americas (Canada, US, Mexico, C.A. & S.A) for the navdata and obstacles, in order to get the US & Canada. That drives the price way up. It also doubles the update download/upload times.

I was campaigning earlier here to see if we could break that up, but it hasn't happened, so I pay through the nose.

* Orest

But as a company, every experience I've ever had with Jepp feels like, "We're a monopoly and everyone loves us, so we don't have to worry about customer service or competitive pricing.  We can name our price and act like a bunch of disinterested arrogant jerks and our customers will still throw their money at us."

I *hate* that there's no option to buy nav and chart data from anyone but them.  I feel like I'm rewarding/enabling their horrible business performance, and that just irks the hell out of me.

Is there a bundle for the IFD 540?

 

Includes nav data, terrain, obstacles, and digital charts for the IFD and up to 4 iPads or PCs for $1267 for the US or $1029 for west of the Mississippi!  I guess it's a discount if you were going to go full out to start with.

 

Just nav data for the US (no bundle pricing) is $465, the west is $385, and a 1 time east coast update is $130 so if you ever plan on crossing the Mississippi, you should have paid for the entire US.  The picture on the website is incorrect.  It shows west/central as including WI/MI, IL/ID, but when you hover over it, it only shows west of the Mississippi.  I sent a screen shot and they confirmed the picture was wrong and it is only west of the Mississippi.  That's a shame because I fly from CA to WI about once a year but seldom east of MI.  Now I'll  have to buy the whole US.

 

Since flying IFR will avoid obstacles and the terrain doesn't move much, I can't see paying an additional $802 for the bundles when you can get charts for free.

 

Okay, I'm nearing the finish line of my panel upgrade, and will need to buy a data subscription soon.  I want full US coverage, including charts.  I went back and reviewed Steve's post here for pricing data.

I think the two candidate options for me are:

$1267:  Full USA IFR navdata, obstacles, terrain, and Jepp charts for the IFD540 + up to 4 portable devices

$994:  Same as above, but charts are only for the IFD540--no portable devices are included.

So, $273 for the option to use Jepp charts on portable devices.

Am I understanding this correctly?

I just tried going to the JeppDirect website to see if I could find a bundle price that matched these numbers.  I entered my aircraft info (or as close as I could...I had to select my model from a pick list but there is no option for a Piper Cherokee 180, a Piper Challenger, or even a Piper Archer, so instead I told Jepp I had a 1973 Piper Archer III :rolleyes:).

I then selected full USA nav data for $940, then full USA IFR chart data for $465.  Nowhere (yet) did it say anything about portable devices, but the site did say something about "you may see different pricing depending on the combo of products you select, so continue on to see final pricing details".

OK, so I hit "Continue", and it takes me to my shopping cart for checkout.  Here's what I see.  Note the small icon in the upper right that says "Shopping Cart (2)", yet there is nothing listed.

How this company can have a website that looks like it was set up in 1993 in 2015 is beyond me. AFAIK, it is actually impossible to buy any package from them on the web, despite indications to the contrary.

Great product, horrible company.

Rolfe

The 696 is completely separate for navdata and obstacles. Be sure you set up cross-fill from the 540 to the 696.

It doesn't actually use the navdata, just the "social data" from this package, to fill out the visual details.

* Orest