Garmin GNC 250XL

That, and the fact that I have no intention of getting my IFR ticket in the
near future,

WHY?
Do you have VFR weather in your neck of the woods most of the time?
I just find it easier to file IFR, If it gets real bumpy I can always ask for
higher or lower and if denied cancel IFR.
Most of my flights are in VFR conditions, but I never know what the weather is
like at my destination. Of course I always call FS
but things can change in a hurry'
Hank

In article ,
(Hankal) writes:

That, and the fact that I have no intention of getting my IFR ticket in the
near future,

WHY?
Do you have VFR weather in your neck of the woods most of the time?
I just find it easier to file IFR, If it gets real bumpy I can always ask for
higher or lower and if denied cancel IFR.
Most of my flights are in VFR conditions, but I never know what the weather
is
like at my destination. Of course I always call FS
but things can change in a hurry'

After getting my IFR ticket I now don't fly in weather that I am legal to fly
in, rather than flying in marginal weather where I am not allowed. I probably
do 4 to 6 real approaches per year. But climbing thru a layer to fly smoothly
on top, or not worrying about "Is there a cloud deck at my destination?" sure
made it worthwhile.
Chuck

Hankal wrote:
That, and the fact that I have no intention of getting my IFR ticket in the
near future,
WHY?
Do you have VFR weather in your neck of the woods most of the time?
I just find it easier to file IFR, If it gets real bumpy I can always ask for
higher or lower and if denied cancel IFR.

I don't blame Jay, at all. After I got my IFR ticket, I practiced fairly
regularly, but that eventually got old. I equipped my plane with pretty
reasonable IFR radios... a GX-60 IFR GPS, Stormscope, KNS-80 and autopilot
coupled to the GPS. In addition I always have my handheld GPS.
Eventually, I came to the realization that, if you're not practicing
pretty frequently, you're unneccesarily risking the lives of your wife and
kids (or in my case, my wife and dog). Every second your in IMC, you're
using your brain and skill to NOT kill your loved ones. I couldn't see
myself doing that unless I kept myself really, really sharp. I like
looking out the window too much to dilligently practice that often. I
think that a lot of instrument rated private pilots SHOULD come to the
same conclusion. Having said that, getting the rating was an excellent
learning experience, and I'm glad I did it. I just don't take advantage
of it, anymore.

--- Jay



--
__!__
Jay and Teresa Masino ___(_)___
http://www2.ari.net/jmasino ! ! !
http://www.oceancityairport.com
http://www.oc-adolfos.com

Having said that, getting the rating was an excellent
learning experience, and I'm glad I did it. I just don't take advantage
of it, anymore.

I agree. I file IFR in VFR conditions, just easier.
I do stay current, because at my age it does not take very long to get rusty.
Hank

Yup, I got one in my Husky. Works great. I use it mainly as the main comm
unit due to the database - makes it easy to insert freqs. However, as a GPS
unit, it's strictly backup/confirmation for a 196 on the glareshield.

I only update the database infrequently. $175 per shot, last time I did it.

No Spam

Anyone got one of these units?

http://www.garmin.com/products/gnc250xl/

It seems to combine two very useful things (a VFR moving map GPS and a Com
radio) into one compact unit.

"Hankal" wrote in message
...
That, and the fact that I have no intention of getting my IFR ticket in
the
near future,

WHY?

Jay's hardheaded, even though he flies a gajillion hours a year and has a
willing safety pilot whenever necessary to maintain proficiency. This topic
has been covered in the past, so don't bother, Jay won't budge.

Jay, I would suggest that you not remove avionics that would make the
airplane less worthy IFR. Godforbid you decide to move up to a Cherokee 6
and decide to sell the pathfinder, your future buyer may balk at an airplane
with only a single nav radio and a VFR GPS. Spend the extra bucks for the
IFR certified version.

Brad Z

That, and the fact that I have no intention of getting my IFR ticket in
the
near future,

WHY?

Jay (Masino) pretty well sums up my reasoning. That, and the fact that I
don't have more than 5 contiguous hours of free time in a week, decided the
issue for me.

Some day, when I'm semi-retired, I will get back into the books as a good
brain exercise. Even then I won't use the rating much -- but it'll be fun
to get.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

Jay, I would suggest that you not remove avionics that would make the
airplane less worthy IFR. Godforbid you decide to move up to a Cherokee 6
and decide to sell the pathfinder, your future buyer may balk at an
airplane
with only a single nav radio and a VFR GPS. Spend the extra bucks for the
IFR certified version.

It would not have a single NAV radio, as my primary radio is a digital Narco
810+R.

Our plane also has dual VOR's, both with glideslope, and a backup vacuum
system. By adding the GNC 250XL I would be gaining a panel mount GPS and
digital Com, while losing an antiquated DME and analog Com radio.

I don't know too many people who would say that such a change would diminish
Atlas' value.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

"Jay Honeck" wrote in message
news:PZRkd.396842$D%.310673@attbi_s51...
Jay, I would suggest that you not remove avionics that would make the
airplane less worthy IFR. Godforbid you decide to move up to a Cherokee
6
and decide to sell the pathfinder, your future buyer may balk at an
airplane
with only a single nav radio and a VFR GPS. Spend the extra bucks for
the
IFR certified version.

It would not have a single NAV radio, as my primary radio is a digital
Narco
810+R.

Our plane also has dual VOR's, both with glideslope, and a backup vacuum
system. By adding the GNC 250XL I would be gaining a panel mount GPS and
digital Com, while losing an antiquated DME and analog Com radio.

I don't know too many people who would say that such a change would
diminish
Atlas' value.

Sorry, its been a while since I read the original post. I was thinking you
had only two nav/coms, and were getting rid of one of them in favor of a VFR
GPS. DME doesn't add a tremendous value to the airplane, except maybe to
the IFR pilot who flies to airports that have DME required approaches.
They're out there. That's why an IFR gps would be preferable.

Some day, when I'm semi-retired, I will get back into the books as a good
brain exercise. Even then I won't use the rating much -- but it'll be fun to
get.

Jay I never wanted my IFR rating, never thought I would ever need it. Then they
offered it at local flight school and everyone said it would make me a better
pilot.
I jumped and was the oldest student there.
Also was the only one who got the rating.
Some still work at it, but unless you are dedicated it will be a waste.
I do not fly hard IMC, but do get into some weather. Have flown 2 + hours in
solid IMC with very little turbulance at a clip. Also had a controller vector
me into some nasty clouds. Due to my training and keeping current, I came out
of it without a scratch.
I would recommenf taking the IFR instructions, one never knows when you need it
in an emergency.
Hank