B-k av8or ace

[Jim Heffelfinger]

I have notice that B-K has discounted their AV8OR ACE portable GPS through their dealers. Is there a new unit about to come out???

[Kyle Boatright]

There was a rumor elsewhere that BK's days in the handheld market are over. I have no idea if that is true, but if it is, odds are BK will do a "soft drop" on the product line, rather than announce an end to the business. That's what Lowrance did...

[Jim Heffelfinger]

I noticed that sportys has dropped the line except for accessories. Magellan is out of the consumer product line for many years now. AVMap is low in volume here in the US. B-K great units - now backing away. Are we going to see Garmin fully owning the market - at twice the price ?

[turtle]

B/K is a thorn in Honeywell's side and they are doing everything they can to drive people away. They almost doubled the price on all their avionics. $3200 now for a KY97a? Get serious. The Garmin SL40 price used to be obscene compared to the King, now its a bargain.


B-K great units - now backing away. Are we going to see Garmin fully owning the market - at twice the price ?
The av8or was never well supported. The firmware updates were always slow in coming. It was advertised as a multi-vehicle GPS, yet it took many years to get a road map update.

It had lots of potential, just no support from anyone that mattered at B/K.

[S3flyer]

For a Garmin alternative you might try the iFly 700/720. 7" screen, real sectionals and much less expensive. Map updates are in line with Foreflight and WingX.

[Gilbert Pierce]

I hope they don't drop the ACE. It has some really neat features, not all of which are evident in the User's Manual.

[escapepilot]

That's terrible news. The Av8or is such an easy to use unit and in my opinion, better than the Garmins. I currently have two of the units and would probably purchase another if they don't drop the line (CFI w/ two aircraft). I purchased mine for the same cost as the entry level Garmin and if I want, I can UPGRADE it to weather and traffic unlike the Garmin. I hope BK is at Sun N Fun so I can plead my case!

[turtle]

With all this talk about AV8ORs I thought I'd pull mine out of the closet. The touchscreen doesn't work anymore. Was working fine the last time I used it then it sat on a shelf for the last year. When I first bought it I got about 3 or 4 uses before it had the infamous power button problem. B/K swapped it with a new one and I must have gotten another few uses out of it. That officially makes it more expensive to run per hour than my plane.

[escapepilot]

With all this talk about AV8ORs I thought I'd pull mine out of the closet. The touchscreen doesn't work anymore. Was working fine the last time I used it then it sat on a shelf for the last year. When I first bought it I got about 3 or 4 uses before it had the infamous power button problem. B/K swapped it with a new one and I must have gotten another few uses out of it. That officially makes it more expensive to run per hour than my plane.

I had that happen once. Turned out I had accidentally locked all of the buttons (including the power button). Have you checked the silver locking switch on the side of the unit? However, if that isn't the case and you want to donate or sell it cheaply, send me a message.

[Gilbert Pierce]

That's terrible news. The Av8or is such an easy to use unit and in my opinion, better than the Garmins. I currently have two of the units and would probably purchase another if they don't drop the line (CFI w/ two aircraft). I purchased mine for the same cost as the entry level Garmin and if I want, I can UPGRADE it to weather and traffic unlike the Garmin. I hope BK is at Sun N Fun so I can plead my case!

The tech support guy I know at B-K said he and B-K were going to be at SnF. Building B booth 80.

[Antony]

I'm using the av8or ACE in France since 2, it has an excellent GPS sensitivity, but it was avery drong choice:- poor screen (you need to recalibrate very ofen, if not you when you press a button or letter, you get a wrOng result- no support from Bendix, they just resale a software and hardware that where not developped inhouse- power boutton out of usage- no after sale support, at least in France... as the unit was bought in an other countryIts a very wrong choice, do not make the same wrong choice.It's no surprise that they drop the price down, they should pull this unit out if the market. It deserve Bndix King image