GPS 430 or 480?

John R. Copeland wrote:

The 430 cannot get that capability without being recertified under
TSO-C146a, and the 430 hardware would need to be replaced to achieve that
performance level. I can't imagine Garmin upgrading the 430 now that they
own the 480 design. ---JRC---

The 430 is scheduled to be WAAS-able next summer. The price I've seen for
this is $1500, and the unit needs to go back to "the factory" for this.

Another major difference for the IFR flyer between the 430 and the 480 is
that the latter permits airway-based route entry. That is, you enter the
route as it is filed. The 430 requires entry of each and every waypoint.
For long airways with many "bends", this gets annoying.

I've spoken to a Garmin representative about the possibility of airway-based
entry becoming available in the 430. He said "maybe", but that the concern
was that this would make the user interface more complex. I don't
understand this answer, as it would appear to make things *simpler*. But
I've never flown behind the 480, so...

- Andrew

P.S. The latest news on weather is that the WAAS upgrade will also
permit the 430 to speak to the GDL69.