396 flight test

Since, according to The Weather Channel, Katrina is about to wipe
everything between N'Awlins and Pensacola from the face of the earth, I
put Plan C into effect and flew '87D 150 mi. east to Dothan, AL and
drove a rent car back.

That gave me a chance to use the Garmin 396 for the first time on a
cross country flight. Impressions:

o The XM antenna magnet was not a problem. I tucked the antenna over in
the left corner of the glareshield and it worked fine without affecting
the whiskey compass.

o Upon power-up, availability of all the XM Aviator wx products happens
pretty quickly and without any fuss.

o The satellite mosaic of cloud cover is damned handy when you're VFR
and wondering if you'll be able to get down at your destination without
getting a pop-up.

o The new screen is quite an improvement over the 296's screen. Much
more readable in bright conditions.

o Mounted on the yoke, about a foot from my face, the screen's size is
ok. About an inch bigger L & W would be welcome (I know, I know: that's
what *she* said).

o The whole thing is so much neater and lower stress than doing WxWorx
on a PC. Lovely to have nothing to do but hit the "I agree" button on
the lawyer screen.

o I wish I could customize the page order of the screens. It would be
nice to be able to go back and forth between the map and HSI pages
without having to go through the terrain page every time.

All in all, I'm pleased. The 396 really adds a lot of convenient
utility to the airplane.
--
Dan
C172RG at BFM

Hey Dan, thanks for the PIREP on the 396. Hope you and yours get through the
storm OK.

Dave

Dan Luke wrote:
Since, according to The Weather Channel, Katrina is about to wipe
everything between N'Awlins and Pensacola from the face of the earth, I
put Plan C into effect and flew '87D 150 mi. east to Dothan, AL and
drove a rent car back.

That gave me a chance to use the Garmin 396 for the first time on a
cross country flight. Impressions:

o The XM antenna magnet was not a problem. I tucked the antenna over in
the left corner of the glareshield and it worked fine without affecting
the whiskey compass.

o Upon power-up, availability of all the XM Aviator wx products happens
pretty quickly and without any fuss.

o The satellite mosaic of cloud cover is damned handy when you're VFR
and wondering if you'll be able to get down at your destination without
getting a pop-up.

o The new screen is quite an improvement over the 296's screen. Much
more readable in bright conditions.

o Mounted on the yoke, about a foot from my face, the screen's size is
ok. About an inch bigger L & W would be welcome (I know, I know: that's
what *she* said).

o The whole thing is so much neater and lower stress than doing WxWorx
on a PC. Lovely to have nothing to do but hit the "I agree" button on
the lawyer screen.

o I wish I could customize the page order of the screens. It would be
nice to be able to go back and forth between the map and HSI pages
without having to go through the terrain page every time.

All in all, I'm pleased. The 396 really adds a lot of convenient
utility to the airplane.


--
Dave Butler, software engineer 919-392-4367

("Dan Luke" wrote)
[snip]
o Mounted on the yoke, about a foot from my face, the screen's size is ok.
About an inch bigger L & W would be welcome (I know, I know: that's what
*she* said).


I'm sure she'd settle for an ok screen size ...if the darn 'refresh' rate
was quicker!!!


Montblack

"Dave Butler" wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
Hey Dan, thanks for the PIREP on the 396. Hope you and yours get
through the storm OK.


Mostly ok. No injuries, but one of my technicians lost his home in
Pascagoula.

--
Dan
C172RG at BFM