DME, dump it or keep it

citizen5000 said:
Tell that to the guys equipped with a single Garmin GNS 430.
Click to expand...

Pilots flew IFR long before anybody had heard of Garmin. Or Cirrus. It actually can be done.

But the GNS 430 was a real breakthrough creation by Garmin, and may turn out to be be the highest quantity single product they ever sell.

My Aztec was equipped with a single 430 when I bought it. Plenty of other redundant IFR gear, so no need to worry it didn't have two. I added a 530 I got from a wreck not because I needed two GPS navigators, but because I wanted the extra real estate for terrain and traffic.

I think the folks who have GTN 750s and have the remote audio panel + transponder depending on the one screen for all are a bit more vulnerable than I am. ;) As are the Garminites who have G500 retrofits with a single AHRS.
 
GRG55 said:
Pilots flew IFR long before anybody had heard of Garmin. Or Cirrus. It actually can be done.

But the GNS 430 was a real breakthrough creation by Garmin, and may turn out to be be the highest quantity single product they ever sell.

My Aztec was equipped with a single 430 when I bought it. Plenty of other redundant IFR gear, so no need to worry it didn't have two. I added a 530 I got from a wreck not because I needed two GPS navigators, but because I wanted the extra real estate for terrain and traffic.

I think the folks who have GTN 750s and have the remote audio panel + transponder depending on the one screen for all are a bit more vulnerable than I am. ;) As are the Garminites who have G500 retrofits with a single AHRS.
Click to expand...
One of my favorite panels to fly IFR in ga aircraft was a 430, KX-155, stec autopilot stormscope, radar, adf,DME, and XM weather. Very capable with plenty of redundancy.
 
I feel like John Candy's character in Planes, Trains and Automobiles when they're in the hotel trying to get a room and Steve Martin's character gives up his watch.
 
I had my Attitude Indicator, HSI and both GPSes(GPS not the Nav/Com portion) fail a couple weeks ago. I reached over and flipped the DME to NAV2 and remote and used it and the still working VOR for the approach. Also, CFIIs are evil.
 
I had a 430W, a second Nav/Com/DME unit, a second "enroute only" GPS and the usual handheld stuff. Can't remember having to rely on the #2 for an approach, the Garmin was that reliable, but having the DME was nice. I might still do it if I had the space/weight/etc or flew internationally, but the future is GPS.
 
After I upgraded to GNS 530 WAAS and Aspen I still kept DME which now I do not understand why. Any way I got rid of it six month ago and gained 3 lbs payload
 
blueskyMD said:
After I upgraded to GNS 530 WAAS and Aspen I still kept DME which now I do not understand why. Any way I got rid of it six month ago and gained 3 lbs payload
Click to expand...
I have a DME along with a 430w. My home field is in a "notch" cut from the 10 mile surface area of a bravo. The DME tells me what ring of the Bravo I'm in at a glance at any time. I have gotten in the habit of shutting the DME off on longer flights.
 
I have this exact conundrum right now... I'm trying to decide the fate of some of the older bits in the panel as we upgrade to ADS-B (and WAAS GPS).

Personally, for me it comes down to this:

1) Do I need 3 lbs of useful load? No. (Leave a half gallon of fuel behind if necessary.)
2) Do I need the space in the panel? Probably not, but that remains to be seen, depending on which transponder we go with.
3) Is it working? Yes.

Would I buy DME in a new airplane? No. But if it's already installed in the airplane and operable, and you don't need the space or the useful load, you'll actually be spending more money for less capability if you take it out.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top