I had the Dynon D1 for some time for the purpose of a backup, but returned it. What I disliked was the drift of the gyros and the lack of damping, and also the constant manual horizontal and pitch alignment needed. I also found it too pricey. I am now getting the Garmin G5 installed, which I think is a better choice. I believe in theory one can get the experimental version of the G5, and have it hooked up to a dashboard GPS antenna and RAM mount and omit hooking it up to the pitot static system. The pitot static should improves attitude accuracy and eliminate drift (I think that’s what I read in the manual, although it’s unclear to me why the pitot static would improve accuracy), but it should be as good or better than the D2 at more or less the same price.
Just a note about the D2 battery. The manual says minimum 4 hours. On a recent (mostly VMC) trip to France mine ran for 6h50 total flight time and was still showing about 1/4 battery. In IMC, by turning the brightness down, it seems that it would last beyond fuel exhaustion
(say 9 hours).
Mine is clipped into a spare instrument hole; no problem with GPS reception or brightness – albeit in a high wing airplane with no skylight.
It’s not certified, and not exactly dirt cheap either, but actually easier to use in IMC than the 6-pack which it stands ready to back-up.
It’s probably an order of magnitude more reliable than an iPad displaying similar info from a FlightStream 210 or GDL 39, but time will tell about that…
The GDL 39 works very well and has the advantage of limited traffic info – but at a price.
blueline , nice panel and location too .
As I see it the main issue in emergency is to know you are in that situation . Once you realize it , it’s much simpler to act .
Having this display in front of you makes it easier to understand your situation and to act faster
I have Garmin 795 and considered to add GDL 39 3D for EFIS or a separate display with the dynon D2
Yes, i think so too …. but then I will probably never need it in bright sunlight :-) Should be ok in IMC.
I have stored the USB charging cable in the plane.
I confirm that calibration only takes some clicks, and it also stays calibrated. The integrated g-meter on the second page is nice.
GPS reception is no issue for my installation, i don’t need the external antenna. If you install it in a standard instrument hole (that holder is in the box too) you might want to use the external antenna.
I also have a D2 and mount it as shown. It works reasonably well, calibration takes only a few clicks with the dial-knob, but readability in bright sunlight is an issue IME.
I have got a D1 and fully agree. It’s a very good back up instrument.
Your installation has given me just the idea I needed to make mine a permanent part of my panel too.
Re charging, in theory it could just be connected to the airplane 12 V system via the charger cable it has, so if the power fails it will run for 4 hours thereafter.
The D2 has some very interesting additional features, I fully agree. What I wish for is to be able to select the speed and alt strips off if I want to, in order to use it as a pure gyro, as the speed in particular can be massively misleading if it is inadvertendly used as a PFD.
Flyer59 , thanks for your input .
It looks like you found the perfect location . No problem with Gps reception ?
What about calibration ? Do you have to calibrate it every flight ? how long Does it take?
Jackob
Hi jak,
i can’t tell anything about reliability, of course, but the D2 worked without a flaw until now.
What i don’t like so much is that it takes a little while until the AI is displayed after switching it on, so I’ll always have it on on flights that go into IMC.
And: the screen is not very bright, especially not with my sunglasses on. But i am sure it’s bright enough in IMC.
More to follow …
Will be happy to hear about your experience with the D2 ,
I’m considering buying it too as a backup AI , but read a different opinion about it’s realiabilty .
Any input will help
Jackob
