Need a 2nd nav with GNS 430?

Bryan Martin wrote:

I would put a guard around that master switch so you can't accidentally
switch it off. On my Zodiac, I put the master switch far away from any other
switch I'm likely to reach for in flight. I have bumped it into the ON
position with my knee once or twice while getting out of the plane so maybe
I still need a guard on it.


in article , Jose at
wrote on 5/5/05 8:53 AM:


Does not the 430 NAV section come up immeciately?

Maybe the VOR part does, but the GPS doesn't. And if you've been
navigating by GPS, the VOR might not be set as a backup, but instead be
set for something else.

But it's a good point, and a good reason to have the 430 VOR set to back
up any navigation to/from VORs. Of course, navigating by GPS direct
this may not be that often.

Jose


Which brings me to my pet peeves about switches. I see too many people
put a row of identical swithes right above the knee near the bottom of
the panel. As you say they are too easy to bump getting in or out. They
could tear your knee up in an accident. The problem with them being
identical is there is no tactile difference when you reach for them.

Making switches that feel different is easy. Make shapes from aluminum
bar stock drill a hole in the shape then either epoxy or pin it to the
toggle using a roll pin or screw. This is how some switches used in
airliners and military aircraft are made. Another way takes a lottle
more work: you can thread the end of the toggle and have the shape screw
on. I have seen switches in fighters made this way.

Similar tricks can be used for rotary switches.

Dan, U.S. Air Force, retired