No subject
Wed Mar 4 12:34:38 CST 2009
in the unit. Other features technically would work, but Jim had to do all
the research. They have a Rotax. Greg said that it would work well. It
turns out they were the first to install BM with a Rotax. There was nothing
to copy from and BM didn't know Rotax at all. Support was minimal. It was
impossible at times to tell if the unit was malfunctioning or just not
calibrated correctly. Jim is very savvy and very tenacious. He dug in. In
the process he found several bugs in the software. He reported them to BM.
All the while getting more frustrated. They were supposed to be flying not
debugging a very expensive piece of equipment.
When Jim had most of the EIS working they went flying. The whole scenario
came back for the EFIS. I believe the unit was pulled three times and sent
back for update or modification. Jim is a very smart guy and he just was
not getting it to work. During his test program, the ELT came up on his
card. He had yet to turn it on during flight. He did so. When he keyed
the mic on the radio, the ELT went off. How is that related to the EFIS????
Jim started working the problem. He found that with the EFIS off, the
problem never happened. With the EFIS on, it always happened. He never
researched it further. He had been fixing bugs for the better part of two
years and had just had enough; the last straw. The unit was pulled.
Jim called BM and asked if an upgrade to the newer box might solve the
problems. BM said it might, but that they would only give him pennies on
the dollar for his current unit. That might well have been their last
contact with the company.
They replaced it with GRT. Jim is not troubleshooting problems. It works.
They are happy. They are flying.
Over the years I have heard many stories about BM. It is hard to be in the
Experimental Community and not know at least one person that bought BM,
tried to make it work, and then pulled the thing out and replaced it.
I have good friends that spent a great deal of money and got nothing but
headache and heartache. These are my friends and I have always wished them
well. I wanted this to work for them.
It is also hard at times to hold your tongue when you hear someone say they
want to buy BM. I wince. I hate badmouthing anyone. I want to balance
that against someone getting burned because I didn't have the guts to speak
up.
I'm posting this in the genuine hope that it might be of use to someone in
the decision process. I have nothing against Greg Richter. I don't own his
products. I think competition is good and the more options we have, the
better. Let me qualify that, the more GOOD options we have, the better.
Like anything else, please*10^10, do your research. (field performance,
support, upgrade policy, etc.)
In the interest of disclosure: My good friend Carlos works for Grand Rapids
Technologies. My research has led me to believe I want their equipment in
my plane. I don't work for GRT. I have heard very good things about Dynon
as well.
FWIW,
Andy
=====================================
Andy Millin
amillin at sbcglobal.net
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<p class=3DMsoNormal>Warning: This is another one of my long winded =
posts …
you may want to ignore it now!<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=3DMsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=3DMsoNormal>Evaluating a product can be a difficult subject to =
broach on
the Reflector. On one hand, if you have done the research, the =
community
can benefit. On the other, it is easy to come off as a =
shill. I’m
not selling anything!!!<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=3DMsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=3DMsoNormal>I remember when Blue Mountain debuted at =
Oshkosh. They
did not have a working, deliverable unit. They had a demo unit and =
were
taking deposits and orders. They had the largest display I had =
seen
available in glass. It looked great. I don’t normally =
like it
when products are described as “sexy”, but the Blue Mountain =
stuff
was sexy.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=3DMsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=3DMsoNormal>At the time I think Chelton was advertising that =
they had
just dropped the cost of a dual display system from $50,000 to something =
like
$36,000 with the tag line “now cost isn’t a =
factor!”. Well
hell, buy three!!! If BM was selling this big, beautiful unit for
$12-14K, the price was very attractive.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=3DMsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=3DMsoNormal>Many people recount that Greg Richter is one heck =
of a
salesman. He knows how to make things look good. He has =
always had
highly polished marketing material. He knows how to sell the =
“sizzle”.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=3DMsoNormal> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=3DMsoNormal>My friends Jim and Heather Butcher took the plunge =
and put
down a deposit. BM said the $12K was a show price. I think =
the units
went from $12K to $14K, but I don’t know the exact =
numbers.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=3DMsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=3DMsoNormal>Jim and Heather finished their Europa. They =
installed
the BM EFIS and EIS. From the beginning Jim had problems. =
Features
that were promised were not in the unit. Other features =
technically would
work, but Jim had to do all the research. They have a Rotax. =
Greg
said that it would work well. It turns out they were the first to =
install
BM with a Rotax. There was nothing to copy from and BM =
didn’t know Rotax
at all. Support was minimal. It was impossible at times to =
tell if
the unit was malfunctioning or just not calibrated correctly. Jim =
is very
savvy and very tenacious. He dug in. In the process he found
several bugs in the software. He reported them to BM. All =
the while
getting more frustrated. They were supposed to be flying not =
debugging a
very expensive piece of equipment.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=3DMsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=3DMsoNormal>When Jim had most of the EIS working they went =
flying.
The whole scenario came back for the EFIS. I believe the unit was =
pulled
three times and sent back for update or modification. Jim is a =
very smart
guy and he just was not getting it to work. During his test =
program, the
ELT came up on his card. He had yet to turn it on during =
flight. He
did so. When he keyed the mic on the radio, the ELT went =
off. How
is that related to the EFIS???? Jim started working the
problem. He found that with the EFIS off, the problem never
happened. With the EFIS on, it always happened. He never =
researched
it further. He had been fixing bugs for the better part of two =
years and
had just had enough; the last straw. The unit was =
pulled.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=3DMsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=3DMsoNormal>Jim called BM and asked if an upgrade to the newer =
box might
solve the problems. BM said it might, but that they would only =
give him
pennies on the dollar for his current unit. That might well have =
been
their last contact with the company.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=3DMsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=3DMsoNormal>They replaced it with GRT. Jim is not =
troubleshooting
problems. It works. They are happy. They are =
flying.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=3DMsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=3DMsoNormal>Over the years I have heard many stories about =
BM. It
is hard to be in the Experimental Community and not know at least one =
person
that bought BM, tried to make it work, and then pulled the thing out and
replaced it.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=3DMsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=3DMsoNormal>I have good friends that spent a great deal of =
money and got
nothing but headache and heartache. These are my friends and I =
have
always wished them well. I wanted this to work for =
them.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=3DMsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=3DMsoNormal>It is also hard at times to hold your tongue when =
you hear
someone say they want to buy BM. I wince. I hate badmouthing
anyone. I want to balance that against someone getting burned =
because I didn’t
have the guts to speak up…<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=3DMsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=3DMsoNormal>I’m posting this in the genuine hope that it =
might be
of use to someone in the decision process. I have nothing against =
Greg
Richter. I don’t own his products. I think competition =
is
good and the more options we have, the better. Let me qualify =
that, the
more GOOD options we have, the better.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=3DMsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=3DMsoNormal>Like anything else, please*10^10, do your
research. (field performance, support, upgrade policy, =
etc…)<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=3DMsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=3DMsoNormal>In the interest of disclosure: My good friend =
Carlos
works for Grand Rapids Technologies. My research has led me to =
believe I
want their equipment in my plane. I don’t work for =
GRT. I
have heard very good things about Dynon as well.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=3DMsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=3DMsoNormal>FWIW,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=3DMsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=3DMsoNormal>Andy<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=3DMsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p =
class=3DMsoNormal>=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=
=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=3DMsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=3DMsoNormal>Andy Millin<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=3DMsoNormal>amillin at sbcglobal.net<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=3DMsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
</div>
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