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aloft · February 18th, 2003, 14:21

[ QUOTE ]
I disagree, a competent instrument pilot should be able to safely pilot a general aviation airplane without an autopilot-- or GPS for that matter in IFR conditions.

[/ QUOTE ]
True; however, the SMART instrument pilot will use every means at his/her disposal--including GPS, even if only a VFR-only handheld--to give him/her the best possible level of situational awareness.

The Legend is a good unit; it offers not only a moving map but also an HSI-like display which I find VERY useful. I wish my GPSMap 76 had that (and I keep bugging Garmin Engineering to add it via a firmware update). The downside to the Legend is that its display is tiny; having to read anything off it in anything but the lightest chop is a chore. The fact that the screen's resolution is quite high doesn't help, as it's allowed Garmin's engineers to make text labels very small (too small for quick glances, really). The HSI minimizes this shortcoming, as it displays a lot of information visually and is big enough to get that info in a quick glance (provided that you understand how an HSI works, of course). I also don't care for the "click stick" and buttons on the side of the unit; fine for hiking, a pain to use in any kind of yoke mount.

I would caution you to be VERY careful about programming in navaids, airports and intersections manually; it's extremely easy to make inadvertent errors this way, which can be dangerous if you're ever forced to use your gps in an emergency situation, like on a moonless night out in the boonies. A better alternative to manual data entry is to get it in electronic form from one of several online sources and load that data directly from your computer.

Ed, if you get the Legend (or any of the Garmin mapping units), let me know; as I showed you on my Garmin last week, it's now possible to create a custom MapSource map you can install on your gps to give you all CA's airports, navaids and intersections from DOD's DAFIF database--far more data than the limited number of user waypoints would allow.

February 18th, 2003, 14:21	#35
aloft Old Skool Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: Inside your OODA loop Posts: 6,810	Re: My next toy [ QUOTE ] I disagree, a competent instrument pilot should be able to safely pilot a general aviation airplane without an autopilot-- or GPS for that matter in IFR conditions. [/ QUOTE ] True; however, the SMART instrument pilot will use every means at his/her disposal--including GPS, even if only a VFR-only handheld--to give him/her the best possible level of situational awareness. The Legend is a good unit; it offers not only a moving map but also an HSI-like display which I find VERY useful. I wish my GPSMap 76 had that (and I keep bugging Garmin Engineering to add it via a firmware update). The downside to the Legend is that its display is tiny; having to read anything off it in anything but the lightest chop is a chore. The fact that the screen's resolution is quite high doesn't help, as it's allowed Garmin's engineers to make text labels very small (too small for quick glances, really). The HSI minimizes this shortcoming, as it displays a lot of information visually and is big enough to get that info in a quick glance (provided that you understand how an HSI works, of course). I also don't care for the "click stick" and buttons on the side of the unit; fine for hiking, a pain to use in any kind of yoke mount. I would caution you to be VERY careful about programming in navaids, airports and intersections manually; it's extremely easy to make inadvertent errors this way, which can be dangerous if you're ever forced to use your gps in an emergency situation, like on a moonless night out in the boonies. A better alternative to manual data entry is to get it in electronic form from one of several online sources and load that data directly from your computer. Ed, if you get the Legend (or any of the Garmin mapping units), let me know; as I showed you on my Garmin last week, it's now possible to create a custom MapSource map you can install on your gps to give you all CA's airports, navaids and intersections from DOD's DAFIF database--far more data than the limited number of user waypoints would allow.