Garmin buys UPS AT...

The Garmin reps at OSH would not talk about merger plans at all, nor would
they comment whether the current product line would be continued or
supported.

The UPSAT CNX-80 was a direct broadsides at the 430/530, and may have been
the only reason Garmin announced a reasonable upgrade for the 430/530 to
meet the 5 Hz update rate for WAAS cert (but still on the drawing boards.)
Otherwise, I am sure Garmin would have just come out with a 435/535 and told
us suckers who bought too early to just "trade it in"... I will be curious
to see if the CNX-80s actually ship in any sizeable numbers, or if those
with the units on order are given an opportunity to get a 530 instead...

Didn't Goodrich (now L3) relable MX-20s? What are they going to do?

I have a strong suspision the incentive for Garmin to actually provide good
end user support and fair pricing has just gone away. I have been
disappointed with Garmin's response to datalink for the 430/530 line (I have
had avionics installers tell me not to get it, and they were selling the
things...) I was told by Garmin the 430/530 would continue to use the
GDL49/EchoFlight system only, and the new WxWorks broadcast system would
only be for the G1000.

Then again, they did lose a big auto deal due to their non-competitive
pricing recently...



"Peter Duniho" wrote in message
...
wrote in message ...
The UPS avionics effort was an attempt by the freight-hauling parent to
design
some of their own avionics for their fleet, then as the thing grew its
own
life, some of them prevailed to make G/A goodies.

Huh? Hardly. The UPS line of avionics is basically the same as it was
before UPS bought it, along with the company, from II Morrow. The
"freight-hauling parent" didn't do much design, if any, nor was it
intended
specifically for their own fleet. It was targeted at GA from the outset,
by
the original designer: II Morrow.

Frankly, I thought it was always a little strange that UPS bought out II
Morrow, but their current choice of how to dispose of their purchase is
going to be very bad for the avionics market. There's going to be even
less
price competition than there was before, and I will be surprised if Garmin
leaves both product lines available intact.

Anyone know how to get the FTC to notice this and do something about it?

Pete