Garmin 396 -- Maybe I spoke too soon...

I was one of the lucky ones who arranged for a friend to buy the 396 at
OSH in late July. I wanted it BEFORE heading out in early Aug on my
family summer vacation flying up and down the East Coast during summer
T-storm season.

The peace of mind and safety margin went up about 100-fold now that I
have this system!! Like some others here, I spent 1 or 2 nites in
unplanned hotel stays in previous years because T storms were popping
up in the vicinity of my route. Ths time I was able to really see what
was in front of me. I had all the info I needed to plow ahead, ask for
a 10 degree change in course to avoid a buildup, or do something more
drastic (like do a 180 or land).

My thumb gets tired from all of the button pushing but that's to be
expected with a Garmin. The XM Wx is great, the display is fine, and
the interface is familiar. Of course there is a danger of getting over
confident and using the system to thread your way between 2 monster
cells. But as long as you keep your head screwed on straight, I think
the system is great. I'll never fly without it again!

--JB

JB wrote:
snip
The peace of mind and safety margin went up about 100-fold now that I
have this system!! Like some others here, I spent 1 or 2 nites in
unplanned hotel stays in previous years because T storms were popping
up in the vicinity of my route. Ths time I was able to really see
what was in front of me. I had all the info I needed to plow ahead,
ask for a 10 degree change in course to avoid a buildup, or do
something more drastic (like do a 180 or land).
snip

I just finished my first weekend of flying and weather analysis with the
396 and I echo your sentiments. The 396's weather delivery and
integration is probably the biggest advance to the art of flying since
GPS itself.

I even love the automotive mode and XM radio -- my friend let me borrow
one of those small FM transmitters and I enjoyed full verbal route
guidance on my way home as well as reasonably clear XM radio. And I say
"reasonably clear" because the cheapo FM transmitter is really the
limiting factor in sound quality -- when the 396 is hooked directly to a
traditional receiver or a set of headphones (say the Bose Quiet Comfort
series) the quality is far superior.

I'm planning on writing a review on my site as soon as I can get some
other articles done, but I can assure everyone wondering that both the
396 AND the XM weather/audio services are worth the coin. This is going
to be a blockbuster.

I do wonder, however, whether this new capability will eventually lead
to an increase in unfortunate results with regard to pilots flying in
weather beyond their capabilities. Call it the "Cirrus effect"...

-Doug

--
--------------------
Doug Vetter, CFIMEIA

http://www.dvcfi.com
--------------------

"Doug Vetter" wrote:

I do wonder, however, whether this new capability will eventually lead
to an increase in unfortunate results with regard to pilots flying in
weather beyond their capabilities. Call it the "Cirrus effect"...

I'm wondering the same thing myself. Ever since I've had XM
weather--about two years--I've been pushing the weather harder. What's
the point of having it if you can't do that?

The problem is that it will make people overconfident; perhaps it's done
that to me already. "Cirrus effect" sounds like a good name for it.

--
Dan
C172RG at BFM

Dan & Doug
Which XM Weather package are you subscribing to?

Does the subscription include the audio offerings, or is that
additional? How much?

john smith wrote:
Dan & Doug
Which XM Weather package are you subscribing to?

Does the subscription include the audio offerings, or is that
additional? How much?

Yeah, I want to know too. I'm drooling over this thing but I'm trying to get a
grip on the total cost. I'm also wondering if many rental aircraft will have a
place to tap in for power? Since I'm not a smoker, I've never paid attention to
the presence or absence of cigarette lighters in aircraft.

Final question: if they do have outlets, what voltage? The Garmin is 12V but I
think most GA aircraft are 28V.

It's a lot of money at stake. I don't want to bite the bullet and then find out
it's not really that great because you can't effectively power the thing in a
rental C-172 or Cherokee.



--
Mortimer Schnerd, RN

VE

Which XM Weather package are you subscribing to?

Does the subscription include the audio offerings, or is that
additional? How much?

I've got the Aviator package; it's $50/mo. Aviator Lite is $30/mo.
Music is
extra.

http://www.wxworx.com/aviation/service_pricing.php

Yeah, I want to know too. I'm drooling over this thing but I'm trying
to get a grip on the total cost. I'm also wondering if many rental
aircraft will have a place to tap in for power? Since I'm not a
smoker, I've never paid attention to the presence or absence of
cigarette lighters in aircraft.

Final question: if they do have outlets, what voltage? The Garmin is
12V but I think most GA aircraft are 28V.

The adaptor works on either one.

It's a lot of money at stake. I don't want to bite the bullet and
then find out it's not really that great because you can't effectively
power the thing in a rental C-172 or Cherokee.

Not a problem.

I too have the Aviator. Aviation Consumer had good article last month on
the differences. I like the winds & TAF's in the air. I can see the
changes even as the rain/snow moves. TAF's & current conditions are better
than the clouds & rain. It helps knowing what the conditions are doing
along the route long before I can get the AWOS.

The cig. lighters w/ work to power the unit 24v or 12v for Wx I don't know
about the Garmin. I use an EFB (NavAero) also 12v or 24v.

--

Thx, {|;-)

Victor J. (Jim) Osborne, Jr.
"Dan Luke" wrote in message
...

Which XM Weather package are you subscribing to?

Does the subscription include the audio offerings, or is that
additional? How much?

I've got the Aviator package; it's $50/mo. Aviator Lite is $30/mo. Music
is
extra.

http://www.wxworx.com/aviation/service_pricing.php

Yeah, I want to know too. I'm drooling over this thing but I'm trying to
get a grip on the total cost. I'm also wondering if many rental aircraft
will have a place to tap in for power? Since I'm not a smoker, I've
never paid attention to the presence or absence of cigarette lighters in
aircraft.

Final question: if they do have outlets, what voltage? The Garmin is
12V but I think most GA aircraft are 28V.

The adaptor works on either one.

It's a lot of money at stake. I don't want to bite the bullet and then
find out it's not really that great because you can't effectively power
the thing in a rental C-172 or Cherokee.

Not a problem.

john smith wrote:
Dan & Doug
Which XM Weather package are you subscribing to?

Does the subscription include the audio offerings, or is that
additional? How much?

John,

I'm subscribing to the top-end Aviator package (for now, anyway).

The aviation weather package does not include audio, but it's only $7/mo
additional -- a wash for me considering I was subscribing to the online
service for $8/month waiting to figure out what hardware to buy to
receive programming via satellite.

I probably couldn't justify the service costs if the equipment were
installed in my airplane (and thus restricted to use while flying), but
the fact that I can take this box anywhere and have access to weather
and audio makes it a bit easier to write the check every month.

For more info on the weather packages, check out:

http://www.xmwxweather.com/

-Doug

--
--------------------
Doug Vetter, CFIMEIA

http://www.dvcfi.com
--------------------

"Doug Vetter" wrote

And I say
"reasonably clear" because the cheapo FM transmitter is really the
limiting factor in sound quality -- when the 396 is hooked directly to a
traditional receiver or a set of headphones (say the Bose Quiet Comfort
series) the quality is far superior.

Try using one of those tape adapters, hooked into the output. I find they
are much "higher Fi" than the radio transmitters.
--
Jim in NC