FLTPLAN GO PORT PORTABLE
FLTPLAN GO PORT PLUS
FLTPLAN GO PORT FREE

FLTPLAN GO PORT PLUS

The Sentry provides the usual suspects, including FIS-B for weather and TIS-B for traffic, plus the onboard AHRS gussied up with ForeFlightвЂ™s version of synthetic vision. Just make sure the suction cup gets good purchase or youвЂ™ll be fishing the thing off the floor. The Sentry sports a RAM suction cup mated to a purpose-made bayonet mount thatвЂ™s easy to use and quite secure. Just the white box with a power button, charging port and three monitoring lights for ADS-B, GPS and the CO detector. ItвЂ™s barely warm to the touch when operating. The Sentry claims 12 hours and we believe it. Not that weight really matters much, but lightweight avionics evidently consume less power because two of these gadgets-the DRX and Sentry-have longer battery life than the first-generation portables did. It weighs only 4.2 ounces, compared to 6.8 for DynonвЂ™s DRX and a hefty 10.3 ounces for the Stratus. But uAvionix shows its chops as a maker of miniaturized drone avionics in the SentryвЂ™s light weight. By a few fractions of an inch, the Sentry, at 3.25 X 2.25 X 1.25 inches, misses being the smallest. Not to snark it up too much, but none of these gadgets win prizes for design aesthetics-theyвЂ™re all some variation on a bland little white box. At $699, itвЂ™s what we would call a full-featured portable, to include the usual AHRS and a new wireless feature.

FLTPLAN GO PORT PORTABLE

The company leveraged that into the third iteration of the Stratus portable called the-what else-Stratus 3. No frills on this one just the dual-band receiver and a little case for $349 discounted, $395 list.ДЄs Garmin scoops up most of the ADS-B panel-mount business, Appareo has been competing favorably with its Stratus ES and ESG transponders. In concert with its push to establish a market for mid priced panel-mount avionics, Dynon showed up at AirVenture 2018 with the DRX, which clearly aims to anchor the bargain end of the price spectrum. uAvionix вЂ“ theyвЂ™re the guys everyone is waiting on to deliver the wingtip- and tail-mounted ADS-B Out units-designed and builds the Sentry for ForeFlight. ForeFlightвЂ™s new product is the $499 Sentry, a diminutive box that combines a dual-band ADS-B receiver with a carbon monoxide detector, plus AHRS. The Stratus is still out there, but now in its third generation and with open architecture so it works with other apps. These played only with ForeFlight and appeared to be strong sellers. Heretofore, ForeFlight had teamed up with Appareo Systems to market the Stratus 1 and 2 portables. The two new players in the portable market are Dynon Avionics and ForeFlight. (uAvionix, weвЂ™re looking at you.) New Players

FLTPLAN GO PORT FREE

ItвЂ™s thus more realistic than ever to snag the free weather and traffic with a portable and either do without the Out solution entirely or wait it out for something cheaper. The result? ThereвЂ™s more price stratification and capabilities have been marginally improved, especially battery life. Since our last mega review of the ADS-B universe in the May 2017 issue, 10 portables have either gone from the market or been displaced by new models and four new entrants have stepped into the fray. This tells us manufacturers sense latent demand for portables, either because some owners just arenвЂ™t going to equip with ADS-B before the deadline-or at all-or enough are contemplating the cheapest Out-only solution and may be trolling for a portable to do the In part. At midyear, along came the three new entries weвЂ™re reviewing in this issue. With the remorseless ADS-B deadline about to cast the unequipped into NextGen no-manвЂ™s land, we figured the portable choices would dry up.

Fltplan go port