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#61
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Matt Whiting wrote
It all depends. I live in PA and flew my Skylane through the eastern part of the US, summer and winter for more than 6 years. It had a Strikefinder, and was well equipped in avionics-wise. There is a HUGE difference between a well-equipped C-182 and the sort of IFR airplane a pilot might buy of a VFR budget or rent at a typical club that is a 'good deal' - meaning a clapped-out Cherokee or Skyhawk. I flew for both business and pleasure and made a lot of flights that would not have been possible, or at least not wise, VFR. As Lindbergh once said, risk is relative and inexperience can be a magnifying glass. To properly compare the risk factors of making a flight IFR or low VFR under a given set of conditions, you need experience in both. My experience has been that most people do not properly asess the relative risks. With the advent of cell towers, most scud runners I know have raised their minimums - to about 500 ft. I believe the instrument rating adds a complete new dimension to your flying skills and greatly increases the precision with which you fly, be it IFR or VFR. A very useful rating to obtain, IMO, even if you don't use it later on. Weren't you arguing in another thread to fly as you train and train as you fly? Actually, I agree that an instrument rating is valuable cross training for a VFR pilot - just not nearly as valuable as many other, less expensive forms of training. I cancelled maybe one flight in 6 years due to icing concerns Then clearly you were willing to fly IMC when there were airmets for icing in clouds. This is of course counter to regulation - the one about not operating contrary to POH/AFM, since Skylanes all prohibit flight into known icing conditions. Even if the airplane has no such prohibition, this is generally considered careless and reckless. This is not a gray area - it has been well established and litigated, and an airmet for ice means known icing conditions regardless of PIREPs. Nonetheless, it is commonly done. In a Skylane, it's actually not so bad. The plane carries ice relatively well due to the big engine and fat wing, so you have some time to escape. Assuming you plan the outs carefully and don't encounter anything too ugly, you will probably be OK. Every year we lose a few planes that encounter something ugly. Anyway, my point is that while this isn't in compliance with the regs, it is a manageable risk, much like flying single engine IFR. But conditions that a Skylane-class airplane will escape with often bring down a Skyhawk-class airplane - just not enough power. and never cancelled for t-storms, even a couple of flights to Florida in the summer were not a big deal. The Strikefinder made this possible. Yes, exactly. How many rental planes have one? How likely is it that you will find one in a budget-priced IFR plane bought on a VFR budget? Most IFR rentals are instrument trainers, flown mostly under the hood rather than in actual. They tend to be Skyhawks and Cherokees these days, and they very rarely have spherics. In fact, they usually have a couple of nav-coms, an ADF and/or DME, and maybe some POS LORAN or VFR GPS. How many of your trips could have been completed in one of those? Michael |
#63
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#64
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Note that when I say light single, I'm not talking Mooney, Bonanza, or
Comanche. If appropriately equipped, the instrument rating has significant utility in these planes. But when we're talking C-172's and Cherokee 140's ... So what are you saying? A plane flying in clouds has to be high-performance to be safe? What? www.Rosspilot.com |
#65
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#66
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Roy Smith wrote: Get a GPS. Some of them have built-in CDI right on the front panel display. I don't find them very convenient, but they are legal. I thought you had to have a separate CDI to use one as a primary navigation tool for approaches. Is that incorrect? George Patterson If you want to know God's opinion of money, just look at the people he gives it to. |
#67
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In article ,
"G.R. Patterson III" wrote: Roy Smith wrote: Get a GPS. Some of them have built-in CDI right on the front panel display. I don't find them very convenient, but they are legal. I thought you had to have a separate CDI to use one as a primary navigation tool for approaches. Is that incorrect? My understanding (somebody please correct me if I'm wrong) is that some of the newer units (I'm thinking specifically of the CNX-80) are certified such that you don't need an external CDI, as long as the unit is mounted so that the built-in one is within some specified distance from the pilot's center of vision, or some such. |
#68
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On Mon, 30 Aug 2004 22:04:32 -0400, Roy Smith wrote:
In article , "G.R. Patterson III" wrote: Roy Smith wrote: Get a GPS. Some of them have built-in CDI right on the front panel display. I don't find them very convenient, but they are legal. I thought you had to have a separate CDI to use one as a primary navigation tool for approaches. Is that incorrect? My understanding (somebody please correct me if I'm wrong) is that some of the newer units (I'm thinking specifically of the CNX-80) are certified such that you don't need an external CDI, as long as the unit is mounted so that the built-in one is within some specified distance from the pilot's center of vision, or some such. As I understand it a "separate" CDI means one not shared by two navigation devices (radios). Having the built in display adheres to the separate requirement. I don't believe there is any requirement to use an external display. HTH. z |
#69
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I don't know what he is saying, but there is a valid point to that line of
logic. 1. If you are going to get into bumpy stuff, a plane with a low wingloading - say less than 16 or 17, is going to be pretty uncomfortable. 2. If you are going to spend a lot on avionics, you might want to put them in more airplane. In other words, why put 15 to 20 grand into a skyhawk or warrior when you could trade up to a mooney or skylane for not much more. The heavier plane likely has the avionics level you desire (albeit older). In fact, even maintaining one of those planes to IFR standards can all of a sudden become too expensive. Most owners don't keep those planes to those standards. OTOH the cost of operation goes up with the heavier plane, so if you fly enough, or own long enough, you can get your money's worth with an upgraded panel in a lighter plane. Once again, it depends on the mission. "Rosspilot" wrote in message ... Note that when I say light single, I'm not talking Mooney, Bonanza, or Comanche. If appropriately equipped, the instrument rating has significant utility in these planes. But when we're talking C-172's and Cherokee 140's ... So what are you saying? A plane flying in clouds has to be high-performance to be safe? What? www.Rosspilot.com |
#70
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In article ,
Roy Smith wrote: My understanding (somebody please correct me if I'm wrong) is that some of the newer units (I'm thinking specifically of the CNX-80) are certified such that you don't need an external CDI, as long as the unit is mounted so that the built-in one is within some specified distance from the pilot's center of vision, or some such. I think that applies to the annunciator (msg, ptk) which is displayed in the lower-lefthand corner of the CNX-80. I don't think it applies to the CDI, but you could download the install guide from Garmin's site and find out. I looked into it once. Sadly my radio stack is too far from the centerline. -- Ben Jackson http://www.ben.com/ |
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