Terrain

JamesA320

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Jun 29, 2019
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JamesA320
having been out of the GA loop for far too long and missed out on a bunch of technological progress, what do you like to use/recommend avionics wise for terrain awareness?
 
What airplane? There are so many options...

IPad with ForeFlight or Garmin Pilot
Panel mounted portable such as Aera 660
Any panel GPS receiver, even 430W, although terrain resolution is not great. GTN-series is better. Or Avidyne IFD series.
Any PFD/MFD - G500/600 (TXi or not), G3X, Dynon HDX, Aspen...

I’m currently using iPad, my 430W and Aera 660, but considering upgrading to Dynon HDX.
 
kind of an aside: people don't look at a sectional anymore?
 
kind of an aside: people don't look at a sectional anymore?
Because my iPAd will give me a sectional that's legal according to the FAA and will show me on it. Repeat after me, "situational awareness is good".
Crazy concept, but I use my eyes.
I honestly think everyone does it. I suspect the OP was referring to strategic planning rather than obstacle avoidance.
 
Crazy concept, but I use my eyes.

Everybody does.

It's just that for some eyes the colors on the tablet are mesmerizing. ;)
 
Thank you!

What airplane? There are so many options...

IPad with ForeFlight or Garmin Pilot
Panel mounted portable such as Aera 660
Any panel GPS receiver, even 430W, although terrain resolution is not great. GTN-series is better. Or Avidyne IFD series.
Any PFD/MFD - G500/600 (TXi or not), G3X, Dynon HDX, Aspen...

I’m currently using iPad, my 430W and Aera 660, but considering upgrading to Dynon HDX.
 
Nighttime, on a less than populated non full moon night.

Sectional and altimeter, actually, just altimeter, because I already know the terrain before I left the house.
 
Map? Paper or electronic will work.
 
I was flying an airliner into Vegas one afternoon. I am intimately familiar with the terrain as I am based and live in Vegas. It was the one IFR day that year. We got vectored off our arrival. The controller was quite busy. We descending but I think the controller forgot that he had given us the descent AND a heading. Both my First Officer and I commented to each other that this heading and altitude assignment won’t work and so we told ATC. He apologized and put us back on the arrival. Now, now big deal. I am sure everyone has a much more chilling story. But we are lucky to have 2 pilots. And had terrain mode up on one ND (the other was displaying weather radar). And we are equipped with EGPWS. And we are both familiar with local atc procedures and the terrain. So the point is we had a lot of things going for us to help with our situational awareness.

How about single pilot in unfamiliar territory/wx/emergency or even just regular ops? I like to have all of the tools available for situational awareness. In the likely event that I am not paired with EdFred, I am asking for recommendations. Yes, I always flew with a sectional 20 years ago when flying GA. I did not know if we made any technological progress since then. I thought the experts of POA could offer some insight. And some did. And I thank those who were thoughtful. And those with perfect vision... thanks for that, too.

Maybe I should rephrase the question:

If someone on this forum wanted to hitch a ride with me on my single engine piston airplane (ok one day I hope),
what avionics would they like to see in the flight deck?
 
Maybe I should rephrase the question:

If someone on this forum wanted to hitch a ride with me on my single engine piston airplane (ok one day I hope),
what avionics would they like to see in the flight deck?

I understand the concept of situational awareness, especially in a fast-moving aircraft. Yes SA is good, very good. (btw - before retiring, I worked future military ATC and avionics systems, which gave me some understanding of TAWS, ADS (various flavors), oceanic systems, etc for flight in civilian airspace worldwide)

For a low, slow aircraft, I'd be ok with the (now old) standard 6-pack and a sectional. If you'd feel more comfortable with GPS, ok. I actually never installed GPS in my cherokee. It was slow enough that even I could stay ahead of it.

More than that, it just depends on your wallet. Have at it. Multiple glass displays with weather (including wx radar), traffic advisories, moving map, HSI, etc etc.

What type of aircraft and how deep is your wallet?
 
Bob,

A reply like yours is exactly why I joined this forum! Thanks for being thoughtful. Shame I have to point it out but anyway...

Your right about low and slow. Well I guess low is not great for terrain lol.

Looking for a Piper 6 seater or Cirrus or maybe a Mooney. Budget for plane, engine, and avionics would be max of $150k ish
 
I have a G500 that has synthetic vision - basically a tv screen of the terrain and obstacles like antennas. I also have a GTN 650 that has terrain on a much smaller screen. I use my eyes outside for nearly all the time VFR, but it's nice to have as aid. There's an antenna near my home field that is 1,200 feet AGL and it's not lighted during the day. It's really hard to see in certain lighting and nice to have it show up electronically. There are ways to get most of that capability for much less than what the prior owner of my plane spent. At night, in a new area, I'd much prefer to have what I have vs a sectional.

At your 150ish budget, you should be able to get a good avionics package. It's better to find what you want already installed. It's about 50 cents on the dollar vs installing yourself. For that budget, I'd expect a minimum of a WAAS GPS and some electronic attitude indicator combo instrument like a G5 or dual G5's. All these are Garmin model #'s. There are other companies that have equivalent.
 
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