Hello, we have a Garmin GNS 530W in our Grumman Tiger. The unit works well and suits our needs but these models were introduced in 2007 and we are hearing that Garmin might discontinue its support, either for the GPS itself or for data upgrades. It might be advantageous for us to swap it out for a discounted newer unit while certain retailers offer such deals rather than wait until it gives up on us but a lot depends on the remaining length of Garmin's support for the product. I know there is no official announcement yet – and it may not come for a while – but I would really appreciate any intelligence other aircraft owners/pilots might have on the matter. With many thanks in anticipation.
@Barry Isaacson
There are over 100,000 GNS400/500 units out there. Garmin cannot afford to stop providing database support for that many units – the fallout could sink the company. Maintenance support, yes, that may go, mainly because there is no more production of the Intel 80386 (later i386) chips on which they're based and parts are going to run out. But to end database support (which doesn't require parts, hardware experts, or test equipment) of 100,000+ units would be corporate suicide in their aviation business sector.
So I'm not worried about database support for the GNS530W in my Grumman Tiger.