Matt,

 

Just a couple comments, I'm a 480 user.  The two boxes work differently, buttonology.  So if you learned on a 430 and then got a 480 in would seem backwards or just "weird".  You'd have a bit of a learning curve to climb with a 480.

 

The new 430W will be much more like the 480 in speed.  The 480 updates 5 times a second, but the current 430 updates once a second, big deal on an approach.  One of the reasons the 430 WAAS upgrade has taken so long is the FAA wouldn't give Garmin approval with at the slower speed.  So the 430W will have mostly new guts inside, instead of simple software upgrade.

 

Weather, especially at long ranges, would display very slowly on the current 430.  That might be one of the reasons they limited the XM capabilities on the 430.

 

The new 430W will also have full XM display capability.  But I agree with Colyn, get a GMX200 (new replacement for the MX20).  That unit with weather, terrain, etc. can make any pilot look good.  As far as the display goes, the GMX200/MX20 leaves any of the GPSs in the dust.  I would rather have a 430/480 and a GMX200 than a 530 alone.

 

I have an MX20 and was considering getting the GDL69A for XM.  But the MX20 only zooms out to 250nm, not enough to see the "big picture".  I bought a 496.  Other than the small screen, the 496 is a very powerful little box.  The new GMX200 zooms out to the whole country like the 396/496.

 

Bottom line, I would compare the new 430W to the 480 before making a decision.

 

Mike Easley

Colorado Springs

Super ES