COMPARE THIS ULTIMATE PANEL

Guy Byars wrote:
The panel in my glider is the ultimate in sunlight readability, low
power consumption, ease of use, low maintenance, low clutter and low
cost.

http://www.gfbyars.com/SGU1-20/final/P1010425.JPG

If you want to see terrain features, look out the window. If you want
to know where you are, look at your map.

Apparently, I'm buying my maps at the wrong sto my paper maps show
where everything is EXCEPT me! Bummer. Where do you get paper maps that
show where YOU are?

If you want to know how far
you are from the turnpoint, put your ruler on the map and measure.

Did that for 20 years, and it sucks. And by that I mean it's inaccurate
(see above comment), it's slow, it's awkward, and I still don't know how
much altitude I need, which is what I REALLY want to know. Doesn't show
me runway width, either, and don't get me started on how "great" a paper
map is for avoiding airspace incursions.

If you want to mess with computers, USB input devices and VGA
displays, why not just stay at the office.

If you are messing with those things in flight, you're doing it wrong. I
"mess" with the map on the computer, not the computer. The computer
handles the real "messing" by measuring the distances and calculating
the altitude required so I don't have to.

Here's a feature not available on the paper maps at all. In the olden
days, I'd mark about 20 or so uncharted strips, and 20 or so good fields
on my map. When I bought a new map, I'd have to laboriously copy them to
the new map. And, I still didn't have the elevation or any comments
about the landing place. With my PDA, it's just a separate file that
gets loaded in whenever I load a new map database, no effort on my part.
Also, the file is easy to keep up to date as the duster strips and
landout fields change, plus it has comments about the place.

Go back to paper maps? I think I'd rather drop a wing tip during assembly!

This was a troll, right? Kinda early for winter cabin fever...

--
Eric Greenwell - Washington State, USA
* Change "netto" to "net" to email me directly

* "Transponders in Sailplanes" http://tinyurl.com/y739x4
* Sections on Mode S, TPAS, ADS-B, Flarm, more

* "A Guide to Self-launching Sailplane Operation" at www.motorglider.org

Guy Byars wrote:
The panel in my glider is the ultimate in sunlight readability, low
power consumption, ease of use, low maintenance, low clutter and low
cost.

http://www.gfbyars.com/SGU1-20/final/P1010425.JPG

Mine's been just like that since the late 1980's...except my vario is
round instead of straight, and, cuz my panel is marginally larger I have
some empty holes in it through which can be glimpsed unused wires from
an earlier age.

If you want to see terrain features, look out the window. If you want
to know where you are, look at your map. If you want to know how far
you are from the turnpoint, put your ruler on the map and measure.

"Roger all that!" My sectionals have 10 mile circles around my
'outs'...works over Tiger Country, too. In some places circle radii
reach 30 mi. before overlapping.

Earlier this year my Schuemann Box died between flights (unbeknownst to
me until the next takeoff), so no mechanical vario, and couldn't locate
my (borrowed from wife) backup Malletec during the flight. Too cheap to
intentionally relight, rust and fear limited my butt-vario to a wimp
300K. With proper motivation, the day's misadventures might make a
"Soaring"-worthy short story...


If you want to mess with computers, USB input devices and VGA
displays, why not just stay at the office.

Guy Byars

Point taken, though my today's office precludes computer use; RAS tends
to be it anymore!

Regards,
Bob - prediluvian - W.

Point well taken, Guy! I'm against these fancy new automatic control
hook-ups, also. If your not using a claw hammer and vice grips to
assemble your bird, your not engaging in the true spirit of the event.
I especially like hooking up (and safety'ing) control cables and
torquing wing pins......................puts me in the true spirit of
soaring.
Cheers,
JJ

On Sep 13, 12:32*am, Guy Byars wrote:
The panel in my glider is the ultimate in sunlight readability, low
power consumption, ease of use, low maintenance, low clutter and low
cost.

http://www.gfbyars.com/SGU1-20/final/P1010425.JPG

If you want to see terrain features, look out the window. *If you want
to know where you are, look at your map. *If you want to know how far
you are from the turnpoint, put your ruler on the map and measure.

If you want to mess with computers, USB input devices and VGA
displays, why not just stay at the office.

Guy Byars

Only thing wrong with that glider is that it is too clean! Someone
needs to go fly it!

Cool project... and it deserves better exposure, so here's the link
you didn't include http://www.gfbyars.com/SGU1-20

The guy that taught me to fly -- Dave Welles -- flew a gold distance
flight in a 1-20. Must have been an epic.

-Evan Ludeman / T8

On Sep 13, 12:32 am, Guy Byars wrote:
The panel in my glider is the ultimate in sunlight readability, low
power consumption, ease of use, low maintenance, low clutter and low
cost.

http://www.gfbyars.com/SGU1-20/final/P1010425.JPG

If you want to see terrain features, look out the window. If you want
to know where you are, look at your map. If you want to know how far
you are from the turnpoint, put your ruler on the map and measure.

The lower the glider performance, the slower the situation changes, and
the less you need to navigate. The less you need navigate, the less you
need to refer to your map.

The lower the glider performance, the shorter the distance you have to
measure on the map. A 6" ruler (40 NM) is plenty long enough for you,
but often, my intended airport is much farther away than that, so I'd be
trying to use a 12" ruler.

A paper map in a big, slow cockpit is quite adequate, but it's a serious
distraction in the typical high performance glider.

Not that there is anything wrong with a big, slow cockpit...

--
Eric Greenwell - Washington State, USA
* Change "netto" to "net" to email me directly

* "Transponders in Sailplanes" http://tinyurl.com/y739x4
* Sections on Mode S, TPAS, ADS-B, Flarm, more

* "A Guide to Self-launching Sailplane Operation" at www.motorglider.org

How can you see ANY of those instruments when you are unfolding a Map
in the cockpit of a glider like that?

I just turn my "Devices" on at the beginning of the flight and off
when I land.

They provide information as I fly, moving map, Airspace, landable
points within glide range, at a glance, but require no interaction.

If you have systems that need interaction then I agree, you are
spoiling your flying by having to mess with gadgets and focus inside
the cockpit.

I still have paper maps as a backup, but those need fussing with as
well when unfolding/folding and trying to find things.

My particular setup is interaction free, leaving me free to focus on
the visual and seat of the pants aspects of flying.

If I'm not paying attention to something important the gizmo beeps to
let me know I need to take a quick glance at it.

Setups are completed entirely at home in the livingroom, with a
computer degree of course ;-)

Ray




On Sep 12, 9:32*pm, Guy Byars wrote:
The panel in my glider is the ultimate in sunlight readability, low
power consumption, ease of use, low maintenance, low clutter and low
cost.

http://www.gfbyars.com/SGU1-20/final/P1010425.JPG

If you want to see terrain features, look out the window. *If you want
to know where you are, look at your map. *If you want to know how far
you are from the turnpoint, put your ruler on the map and measure.

If you want to mess with computers, USB input devices and VGA
displays, why not just stay at the office.

Guy Byars

One trick is to cut off the parts of the map you don't intend to use.
This gets it down to a reasonable size with one or two folds at most. You
can put the legend in the side pocket in case you need it and in case you
might be charged with not having a current sectional (expriation date
printed right there.)

At 18:55 14 September 2009, jb92563 wrote:
How can you see ANY of those instruments when you are unfolding a Map
in the cockpit of a glider like that?

I just turn my "Devices" on at the beginning of the flight and off
when I land.

They provide information as I fly, moving map, Airspace, landable
points within glide range, at a glance, but require no interaction.

If you have systems that need interaction then I agree, you are
spoiling your flying by having to mess with gadgets and focus inside
the cockpit.

I still have paper maps as a backup, but those need fussing with as
well when unfolding/folding and trying to find things.

My particular setup is interaction free, leaving me free to focus on
the visual and seat of the pants aspects of flying.

If I'm not paying attention to something important the gizmo beeps to
let me know I need to take a quick glance at it.

Setups are completed entirely at home in the livingroom, with a
computer degree of course ;-)

Ray




On Sep 12, 9:32=A0pm, Guy Byars wrote:
The panel in my glider is the ultimate in sunlight readability, low
power consumption, ease of use, low maintenance, low clutter and low
cost.

http://www.gfbyars.com/SGU1-20/final/P1010425.JPG

If you want to see terrain features, look out the window. =A0If you
want
to know where you are, look at your map. =A0If you want to know how
far
you are from the turnpoint, put your ruler on the map and measure.

If you want to mess with computers, USB input devices and VGA
displays, why not just stay at the office.

Guy Byars

On Sep 14, 2:30*pm, Nyal Williams wrote:
One trick is to cut off the parts of the map you don't intend to use.
This gets it down to a reasonable size with one or two folds at most. *You
can put the legend in the side pocket in case you need it and in case you
might be charged with not having a current sectional (expriation date
printed right there.)

At 18:55 14 September 2009, jb92563 wrote:



How can you see ANY of those instruments when you are unfolding a Map
in the cockpit of a glider like that?

I just turn my "Devices" on at the beginning of the flight and off
when I land.

They provide information as I fly, moving map, Airspace, landable
points within glide range, at a glance, but require no interaction.

If you have systems that need interaction then I agree, you are
spoiling your flying by having to mess with gadgets and focus inside
the cockpit.

I still have paper maps as a backup, but those need fussing with as
well when unfolding/folding and trying to find things.

My particular setup is interaction free, leaving me free to focus on
the visual and seat of the pants aspects of flying.

If I'm not paying attention to something important the gizmo beeps to
let me know I need to take a quick glance at it.

Setups are completed entirely at home in the livingroom, with a
computer degree of course ;-)

Ray

On Sep 12, 9:32=A0pm, Guy Byars *wrote:
The panel in my glider is the ultimate in sunlight readability, low
power consumption, ease of use, low maintenance, low clutter and low
cost.

http://www.gfbyars.com/SGU1-20/final/P1010425.JPG

If you want to see terrain features, look out the window. =A0If you
want
to know where you are, look at your map. =A0If you want to know how
far
you are from the turnpoint, put your ruler on the map and measure.

If you want to mess with computers, USB input devices and VGA
displays, why not just stay at the office.

Guy Byars- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Besides there is good reason sectionals expire every six months. If
you fold them the way I do, you're lucky if they last that long :-)

Pete

Nyal Williams wrote:
One trick is to cut off the parts of the map you don't intend to use.
This gets it down to a reasonable size with one or two folds at most. You
can put the legend in the side pocket in case you need it and in case you
might be charged with not having a current sectional (expriation date
printed right there.)

I have the opposite problem: one map doesn't have all the places I might
go to, so I have to carry four maps. It used to be ugly in the cockpit
when I was flying near the SE corner of the Seattle sectional! Another
advantage of a moving map display.

I do enjoy poring over sectionals at home, but not in the cockpit.

--
Eric Greenwell - Washington State, USA
* Change "netto" to "net" to email me directly

* "Transponders in Sailplanes" http://tinyurl.com/y739x4
* Sections on Mode S, TPAS, ADS-B, Flarm, more

* "A Guide to Self-launching Sailplane Operation" at www.motorglider.org

I fly with all the gadgets. I do the setup at home and also only need to
turn them on at the before the flight and off afterwards. I use SYM and
have the screens set. The only fiddling I do in flight is to switch between
the 4 screens a simply button push and possibly select a new destination. I
don't fly competetion so I don't care about the CD chaning tasks.

I do carry sectionals as a backup. I used Glideplan and download my
sectionals from the site. I print out the legend on an 8.5x11 sheet so I am
legal. I also print out the contact information for all of the "areas" on
the sectional so I have that with me as well. I then select the section of
the sectional I want. I plot any task I want along with the distance
circles. I then have Glideplane paginate the desired area with 10% page
overall, page pointers so I know which page is to the right.left/above/below
the one I'm looking at. I generally print the sectionals at a 150% scaling
factor. I now have a set of 8.5x11 pages.

I go to Office Depot and buy what is called a "Presentaion Book". This is a
set of bound clear plastic pockets into which you can insert the 8.5x11
sheets you printed from Glide Plan. They come with varying numbers of
pages. I usually get the higher page count ones and then after removing the
cover (hard plastic which keeps the pages from being folded over/behind each
other) I cut the pages down the spine which yields 2 sets of bound pockets.
I insert 2 pages in each pocket, back to back. I have differnet books for
different airports or tasks. I stick them along my left thigh, just in
case. I can then pull them out, turn to the appropriate page and look at
the map. I only have to deal with 8.5x11 in the cockpit; nothing gets out of
hand; no refolding.

After an out landing this summer where I couldn't find the airport I was
looking for, I've taken to using Google earth to locate the airports and
print out the overhead pictures of the airport. I arrange these 4 to a page
using some drawing software. These go into a pocket with the appropriate
maps. Now I can see what the airport and surrounding area should look like
then look out the window until I see something similar.

John