: If you want, you can install fresh batteries before a trip and/or travel
: with extra batteries in your flight bag and then there is no wiring clutter
: at all.

Sounds like a good idea, but it's one more thing to forget to bring. Granted, for a
real trip and not just a quick $100 hamburger, it's not that much more significant.

: I am not sure why you feel there is mediocre reception from a non
: hard-mounted antenna; perhaps this was an older generation GPS or perhaps it

I've had poor experiences with a handheld unit. Frankly, I'm amazed they work as well
as they do inside a spam can.

: There is actually a key advantage to a handheld GPS being used as a regular
: part of an avionics suite -- if I were to lose my electrical system while in
: IMC, I would not skip a beat continuing to a landing (preferably finding
: VMC, but IMC if necessary). With a handheld GPS in the flight bag one
: would need to pull out the GPS, remember how to use it, initialize its
: position, etc., etc.

True enough. Point taken.

: OK, I may agree with you there on second thought considering the plane and
: the mission as I understand it. Keeping with the "trailing edge of
: technology" argument, I would say that there are excellent bargains to be

I believe the term was, "cutting edge of yesterday's technology," but it amounts to the
same thing... I got a *full* old-school digital IFR panel for $4500 and probably about 20-40
hours of my time installing it. That's shopping around, getting equipment off ebay, etc and
consists of:

Dave Clark Isocom, KMA-20 audio panel w/ MB, KLX-135 VFR GPS/COM, KY-197 COM, KNS-80
NAV/LOC/GS/DME/RNAV w/ KNI-520 head, KN-53 NAV w/ KI-203 head, KT-76 transponder with AR-850
encoder.

That's the point I was making about the lack of sense for a Garmin 430. With that you
get one of most things (COM/ILS/GPS), but for 2x the price and no redundancy. About all it has
going for it is the IFR GPS with spiffy display, and coolness factor. Most of the installs I've
seen have been primarily because of the latter.

... but whatever floats your scope.

-Cory



--
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* The prime directive of Linux: *
* - learn what you don't know, *
* - teach what you do. *
* (Just my 20 USm$) *
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