"Roy Smith" wrote in message
...
(Maurice Givens) wrote:
IFR Magazine reported, that in several tests, pilots were able to
control the aircraft and fly to VFR conditions using only the Garmin
196. Check there web site. The article may have been placed there.

I've tried stuff like this a couple of times with students. So far, we
seem to do pretty well using the GPS as a heading reference only, and
maintaining heading with rudder only.

We once tried to do unusual attitude recoveries with the nifty new
Garmin that gives you a simulated instrument panel. We came to the
conclusion that the pitch information you get from the synthsized
AI/ASI/Alt/VSI is so bad that you should ignore it completely in a UI
recovery. It might be of some value in stable cruise, or setting up for
a controlled 500 fpm descent.

Fortunately, most light planes are so stable in pitch that if you just
keep the power and elevator trim set to reasonable levels, and keep it
heading in one direction with rudder inputs, the pitch will take care of
itself.

Thanks for everyone's comments!

In our experiment, in spite of the rough ride and constant heading
correction,
our altitude remained pretty stable, requiring adjustment only when we
would be tossed into a pretty good bank. Just a little finger back-pressure
on the yoke hub would put things back on track. I just finished skimming
the 196 manual on Garmin's site and gleaned a couple tidbits:

The 196 update rate is still only once per second, (same as inexpensive
units)
but when in "battery saver" mode it drops to once every *three* seconds.
The "up to" 16 hour battery life is only when in battery saver mode.
They gave no hint of battery life when in "normal" mode.
A 196 user would surely want to check the battery mode if needing to
control his plane solely by the GPS. Another thing, they say you only get
about 10 more minutes of operation once you get the "low battery"
warning. A work-around for this might be to always power the unit from
the plane as SOP, so that max battery life would be available in an
emergency.

I will also try a repeat of all or part of this excercise at night for a
closer
to IMC experience. My experience has been that "actual" is easier to
fly because the sun, shadows, and glimpses seem to distract more
than help. 8-)

Tom Pappano, PP-ASEL-IA