Like I said, that depends on your comfort level. If you are not going
to be flying in low IFR conditions (ie ILS minimums), you would not
need a glideslope. How many non-commercial pilots do you know who
frequently fly ILS approaches to the minimums? In my case, I will be
lucky to find such conditions about once or twice a year, even though
I fly quite a bit and I actively look for such conditions. A VOR/LOC
approach will bring you down to 500ft. Most of the low weather
conditions are out of reach for us anyway because of ice or
thunderstorm. In a 152, that's an even bigger factor due to the lower
climb performance. Also, in a 152 you are unlikely to go very far, so
it may not be necessary to equip the airplane for all possible
scenarios. Install only the equipment you need for the airports you
are most likely to fly into. Strictly from a utility point of view, I
would be happy to fly a 152 in light IFR conditions with a single NAV.
If I lose NAV, I would request a surveillance approach. If a marker
beacon is required for the approach, then you would need to have it. A
lot of times, ATC radar can substitute for the marker. Many markers
also have a cross radial. If your radio has a standby frequency, then
it is easy to monitor the intersection. It is inconvenient, of course,
but I would not invest thousands of dollars for the inconvenience. On
the other hand, if you want to use the 152 for training purposes, then
you would need more than the minimally equipped airplane. That is just
my personal view.







Paul Folbrecht wrote in message link.net...
You're saying unless I want to fly in hard IFR all I really need is a
single com and nav VOR with CDI? No glidescope, no marker beacons??

Andrew Sarangan wrote:
That depends on your comfort level. Unless you want to fly in hard IFR
on a regular basis, you can get by with the minimum equipment. A
handheld GPS and a heldheld radio will serve as good backups in case
you lose electricals. A handheld device is a better backup than a
panel mount device due to the independent power source. In my view
people spend way too much money on these things for the conditions
they are likely to fly in.