BendixKing AeroVue Touch vs Garmin G3X Touch

When it comes to an aftermarket full avionics upgrade, the biggest thing that scares most people away is the cost.

For most airframes up to the last decade, a full glass panel upgrade is often more costly than the value of the aircraft itself.

Besides the powerplant, the full avionics upgrade is the most important update and the most costly.

Here is a side by side comparison of the two most popular touchscreen PFD/MFD displays on the market, the Bendix King AeroVue Touch and the Garmin G3X Touch.

BendixKing (by Honeywell) engineers draw from programs such as the F-16 avionics. Years of extensive in-lab and flight tests have been conducted to ensure superior quality, reliability, and safety. These modern avionics solutions will transform your aircraft from legacy mechanical instrumentation to a 21st-century glass cockpit.

Basic Layout

The AeroVue Touch has a 6.897” x 10.45” horizontal layout and is mounted with a .5” grip surface around the exterior.

The G3X Touch has a 7.82in x 10.6in horizontal and a 7.82” x 6.01” vertical layout option, mounted completely flush to the panel.

Garmin launched the two sizes primarily for different panel configurations and for available space when removing legacy gauges.

In product development at BendixKing, our engineers found that the most positive interactions were with the horizontal layout.

Some of the vertical displays make the split-screen visibility difficult to monitor and reduce the size of each section of your split-screen layout.

Pilots need to easily monitor their PFD and the horizontal layout was the easiest format for maintaining situational awareness, remember to aviate, navigate, communicate, in that order.

Also, in the mounting of the unit, our product designers found something very interesting in the interaction with the touch screen layout.

When on the ground, pilots interacted with the touch screen layout with their index finger and made inputs to the product as they would an iPad or any other tablet.

However, once airborne, the interaction changes drastically with the introduction of unstable air and turbulence.

Pilots shifted their whole method of data inputs from their index finger to their thumbs with their fingers being used for hand anchoring.

This caused the AeroVue Touch to have an offset mounting as compared to the other flush mount designs, and have the entire side profile to have a grip surface for hand anchoring.

Display Quality

The G3X boasts a 1280 (W) x 768 (H) pixel display for the 10.6” horizontal layout and a 480 (W) x 800 (H) pixel display for the vertical layout.

In comparison, the AeroVue Touch has a near 4K display at 1920 (W) X 1200 (H) pixel display with a lightning-fast refresh rate.

A recent conversation with a younger pilot reminded me of the generational difference with technology in aviation.

This particular pilot mention, “The AeroVue Touch is like Call of Duty, everything else looks like Minecraft.”

Connectivity

The AeroVue Touch has built-in Wi-Fi and USB-C port to rapid download of your flight plan and databases, usually within 4 minutes.  A separate dedicated knobs-panel, that can be mounted anywhere in the aircraft, can be used as a redundant access during air turbulence. AeroWave 100 satellite-based connectivity that provides easy access to worldwide weather, voice calling, text messaging, and stock quotes.

The G3X system has built-in wireless Connext cockpit connectivity that lets you stream information between your avionics and Garmin portables or mobile apps.

Both systems have the ability to quickly upload flight plan data to your avionics while you’re preflighting at the airport.

Profiles and Layout

Both units have the ability to customize displays and organize displays to your personal preference. One of the main points to consider is that AeroVue Touch has a vertical situation display (VSD) feature that allows the pilot to see his craft in relation to the terrain.

Each unit is priced relatively the same and prices fluctuate depending on components added to your system, adding an EIS or an Autopilot will  make one system more expensive than the other.
The AeroVue Touch has a bit more thought in the design process with the grip surface for hand anchoring in turbulence and the vertical situation display feature.

Just by itself, the VSD feature allows the pilot to have a heightened sense of the terrain around him at all times and increases the safety of both himself and the passengers.