The Garmin GNS530 is an all-in-one GPS/NAV/COMM unit that has been vastly popular in the general aviation market since its release in December 2006. Much like its success and popularity in the real world, many simulator developers have turned to the reliable unit to guide their virtual aircraft too! 

In the last number of years, avionics solutions for flight sim hardware have grown exponentially in popularity. With this rise in popularity, we have begun to see more and more designers build and replicate real-world units which can connect to the sim and give a physical experience of using the real unit in person. 

Recently I have been provided with a FlightSimBuilder GNS530 unit to test and review… Having first-hand experience using the GNS530 In real aircraft such as the Cessna 172 I was keen to get my hands on this recreation of the iconic unit and give it an in-depth tryout. 

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About FlightSimBuilder: 

FlightSimBuilder is a family-run business based in San Diego California, headed by Stan and Tanya the business focus is on making affordable and easy-to-use avionics hardware solutions for flight sim platforms. I must note that throughout this review process, it has been a pleasure dealing with FlightSimBuilder and I have no doubt that they carry this customer service equally with all customers. 

For the sake of thorough testing, I used the unit on both MSFS and X-Plane and a little later in this piece, I will discuss the pros and cons of the setup process for both simulators. 

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Without further adieu, let's get into it! 

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Packaging and Contents: 

The unit arrived shortly after being dispatched and when I opened the door I was greeted by a rather small box. The first thoughts through my mind were, that box looks a little small to hold the unit, stand and hopefully some manuals. I opened the box and removed the GNS unit which I must say was well-packaged to prevent damage. It came with an HDMI lead, power lead and USB lead. The unit was built into a stand that sits nicely on a desktop but can be removed from said stand if it's not to your flight simulator build. I was slightly disappointed to see a lack of physical hardcopy manuals with the unit and not much to point me toward where to find an online version. For this, I just had to assume the setup manual would be found on the FlightSimBuilder website. Unfortunately, the GNS does not ship with a display port to an HDMI adapter. Some (not all) computers will end up requiring this to run the unit and while I did, you may not so it's essential to do some research on this subject before making your purchase. The Display to HDMI adapter can be purchased on the FlightSimBuilder website for around $10.  

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Build Quality: 

Overall the build quality of the unit is good. I hesitate to say outstanding as on the stand that was provided to me which runs an extra $40.00, there seems to be 3d printing lines and marks which are pretty easy to notice and feel and all around it doesn't give a feel of incredible quality. However forgetting about the stand momentarily, let's focus on the unit itself. The build quality of this all around is very good. It has an excellent quality feel and it gives the impression of a well-designed and built product. The buttons although not pound-for-pound identical to the real unit are very close and give a very nice feel upon operation. Overall I would rate the build quality a solid 7/10 and when compared to other options on the market it certainly holds its own. The unit's screen is fantastic, it gives a very clear picture and this surprised me for such a small screen. 

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Comparison to the real GNS530: 

Having some real flying experience with the GNS530 unit it was essential to me that the buttons functioned similarly and gave a similar tactile feel to the real thing when using the FlightSimBuilder (FSB) version. I’m happy to report it's a close feeling. Although the buttons on the FSB version are a little softer than that of the real unit, I have found them to be very close and each button and knob gives a strong immersive feel to it. 

In terms of screen size, the FSB screen comes in at 10cm across and 7cm from top to bottom. This impressively matches the same exact screen size as its real Garmin counterpart. The text on each of the FSB unit’s buttons is also a good match when compared to the real unit. 

My only drawback in this department is when comparing the FSB to the Garmin unit, the raised casing around certain buttons such as the comm switch button is missing on this unit. This isn't a deal breaker by any means, but it would be nice to see a closer match on the face of the unit. 

Setup Process: 

The flight sim builder GNS530 is advertised as an easy setup unit, and while this is certainly true for MSFS with its easy setup, the same can not be said for X-Plane. The unit requires the user to manually configure each button on the unit for both XP11 and XP12. The user must also go to their aircraft objects folder for each individual aircraft and remove the bezel by replacing the PNG file with one supplied by FlightSimBuilder. I found this whole process to take a rather lengthy amount of time for a unit advertised as easy setup. As I’ve alluded to above, however, MSFS setup couldn't be more different, it is a simple program that is downloaded from FSB and runs alongside MSFS. All that is required is for the user to pop out the GNS screen and drag it across to their unit, that's it ready to go, A very smooth and easy process in contrast to the X-Plane setup.

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Operating the Flight Sim Builder GNS530: 

Overall using the FSB 530 has added to my G/A simulator experience immensely, I am thoroughly enjoying the unit and having it in my sim build has certainly been a prominent immersion builder for G/A flying. I have however noticed a few niggling issues that catch me out from time to time. The first of these issues is the lack of a rotating volume button which means to change the volume of the comms on the unit you have to go back and use the unit in the simulator and manipulate that button, this tends to break immersion slightly.

Overall using the FlightSimBuilder GNS530 is a thoroughly enjoyable experience and significantly adds to my flight simulation. 

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Value for Money: 

The FlightSimBuilder unit comes in at $280.00 USD for the unit with the plastic stand or $320 USD for the unit along with a metal stand. When comparing the price to similar flight sim units on the market, the FSB comes in significantly cheaper. In my view, it can challenge each of them without issue in terms of quality and functionality. 

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Conclusion: 

Overall I’m going to rate the FlightSimBuilder GNS530 8.5/10 the unit has impressed me immensely in many ways. I have to say the value for money is certainly a positive, Creating such a great unit at such a reasonable price to the customer is really a strong point for FlightSimBuilder and it opens the flight sim hardware market to those who can’t really afford to spend the prices that some other GNS530 units retail for. The unit's functionality is fantastic and really helps to immerse you in General Aviation flying on the sim. Overall I was impressed with the build quality of both the unit and the stand, they are quite well put together and sturdy on any desk without the need to hard mount. Another huge positive for FlightSimBuilder is the excellent and friendly customer service that I have experienced throughout the testing and setup process. I always received friendly and constructive help when it was needed. A downside to the unit in my view however is the time-consuming setup on X-Plane. It’s a shame that a similar program to that used with MSFS could not have been developed for X-plane too. 

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Overall I have immensely enjoyed testing and using the FlightSimBuilder unit and can honestly recommend the product to anyone who is thinking of purchasing it from the team. 

I would like to thank the team at FlightSimBuilder for their time in answering all of my many questions and queries about this product and I would like to congratulate them on such a great piece of flight sim hardware! 

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