Is XM weather worthwhile?

On Thu, 27 Jan 2005 09:07:48 -0800, Ron Garret
wrote:

My SR22 partners want to install XM weather to the tune of about $10k.
I'm not convinced it's worthwhile. The plane is based in Southern
California where we don't tend to get the kind of squirrelly weather
they get east of the Mississippi. In the summer we'll get isolated
thunderstorms over the desert, but the plane already has a stormscope.
We get marine layer fog, but XM doesn't help with that. The only
situation, it seems to me, where you'd get any use out of it at all is
if you're flying in a winter storm, which I something I never intend to
do (and they're pretty easy to avoid because they sweep in off the
Pacific and can be reliably predicted days, sometimes weeks, in advance).

XM Weather is great. I use a portable version in my Cherokee.

Cost: $2000 tablet PC (which obviously has uses outside the aircraft)
WxWorx portable receiver: ~$800
Monthly svc fee $50

It is really a question of how much you want to pay to have the
integrated hardware vs portable. In a Cherokee, that decision was
easy. The answer is probably different in a $250k plane.

-Nathan

"Nathan Young" wrote in message
...
XM Weather is great. I use a portable version in my Cherokee.

Cost: $2000 tablet PC (which obviously has uses outside the aircraft)
WxWorx portable receiver: ~$800
Monthly svc fee $50

-Nathan

We have XM Weather on a Tablet PC similar to that mentioned above in our
SR22. Extremely worthwhile for an IFR pilot. Also use JeppView FliteDeck
for approach charts. Personally, I would be hard put to justify the $7,500
Cirrus XM Weather Option and/or the $3,600 Cirrus CMAX Approach Plates
Option and/or the $11,500 Cirrus Terrain Awareness Option when the same or
_better_ functionality can be had with a Tablet PC based option (WxWorx XM
Weather, Jeppesen JeppView FliteDeck, and PCAvionics MountainScope) for
_far_less money.

--Galvin

Isn't there too much clutter and wires hanging all over in the cockpit...
where do you mount the tablet/ display

fred
"John W. Galvin" wrote in message
...
"Nathan Young" wrote in message
...
XM Weather is great. I use a portable version in my Cherokee.

Cost: $2000 tablet PC (which obviously has uses outside the aircraft)
WxWorx portable receiver: ~$800
Monthly svc fee $50

-Nathan

We have XM Weather on a Tablet PC similar to that mentioned above in our
SR22. Extremely worthwhile for an IFR pilot. Also use JeppView FliteDeck
for approach charts. Personally, I would be hard put to justify the
$7,500
Cirrus XM Weather Option and/or the $3,600 Cirrus CMAX Approach Plates
Option and/or the $11,500 Cirrus Terrain Awareness Option when the same or
_better_ functionality can be had with a Tablet PC based option (WxWorx XM
Weather, Jeppesen JeppView FliteDeck, and PCAvionics MountainScope) for
_far_less money.

--Galvin

Using a laptop or PDA w/ all of the attendant power cords was a pain. I
used a laptop (PDA display too small for me) to drive my T-Pad800 (8.4"
touch screen) for about a year. Now I have their EFB computer and the
display is the same as a knee board. I can also leave it on the right seat
(or held someone there.)

I can use WxWorks software or AirNav (which adds other features)

Victor J. (Jim) Osborne, Jr.

"Fred Wolf" wrote in message
...
Isn't there too much clutter and wires hanging all over in the cockpit...
where do you mount the tablet/ display

fred

Not if you take the time to do some cable management. I basically made a
wiring harness to connect the various devices. I used spiral cable wrap and
worked things out so that there is only one cable bundle going to each
device. I routed the cable bundles so that they are out of the way, under
seats, etc. The bundles are velcroed to the carpet where appropriate. The
only cable bundle that comes into the working space of the cockpit is the
one that goes to the tablet. The tablet sits in my lap and has replaced my
kneeboard.

--Galvin