On Sat, 5 Dec 2009 04:46:27 -0800 (PST), WE wrote:

Eric,

You simple can't beat the SN-10 as a flight computer. It is rock
solid, easy to read and provides all the information you need, when
you need and on the screens you need it.

I fly two different gliders, one is equipped with the SN-10 and the
other with the Zander ZS-1. I've also had long experience with the
LX-5000 (easy interface, good task management, the vario might be
better) and the S-Nav.

You don't need a PDA with it either.

Maybe you don't "need" a PDA, but I find a PDA very useful as loading
airspace, and navigating accurately around it is much easier with a
PDA and a good software.

I find no other computer that solves the racing problem
better. There is no other computer that computes the wind as well
either -- it is simply to best -- and you need accurate wind for
accurate final glides.

I disagree on this point. The Zander is much better in this respect,
as it is linked to a compass and computes the wind in real time, with
reliable accuracy. The SN-10's wind calculation leaves a lot to be
desired when flying "in" an alpine terrain. I will concede that, once
above the ridges, its wind calculation is actually accurate. But as
you descend in the valleys, your only reliable option is to consider
the "wind component" (head or tail) in the appropriate wind page. Many
times the two values are totally incoherent, and the truth is to be
found more in the "component" calculation which unfortunately lacks,
as we all know, wind direction and speed.
Unfortunately, this requires switching page very frequently.
Me and a group of users have submitted these suggestions to Dave,
quite some time ago.

Finally, the built in vario is extremely good.

that's why I still like the SN-10.
If you take the price into consideration, and you fly in a flat
territory, then the Ilec is hard to beat.


Aldo Cernezzi
(no commercial interest in the equipment business)