Virtually any CF adapter will work. I used to use one that sat in a PC card slot but my latest notebook lacks that particular feature so I use one from Sandisk now that attaches via USB. It's handy to have two cards for your own airplane so you can update at home but that doesn't seem as useful for a club plane.
Unlike the 430, the 480's DB card holds two cycles and will automatically select the newer one when it becomes current.
Where do I go to get the database updates?
From Jeppesen. AFaIK they do NOT offer single cycles, I think you have to purchase an annual subscription. The updates are downloaded to a PC using Jepp's JSUM application. It does allow the DB to be downloaded for later transfer to the CF card or you can update the card automatically during the download process.
I will likely use the club's resources to do this updating. But I wanted to know the answers myself.
I'd think you'd want some way to update it yourself if a new cycle becomes needed when you're away from home base although the new data is usually available about 10 days before it's due.
I did download the manual from garmin.com and am reading through it. Likley need to be spending some time just sitting in the aircraft reading the book and pushing buttons while on ground power.
But does anyone have any recommendations for other products that would help me get the most out of this system? The manual shows it to be an extremely capable system. But it's complicated enough that I want something a bit easier to digest and a bit deeper than the Garmin manual
I recommend Kieth Thommason's book. You should also download the PC sim from the Garmin website. It's a very good replica of the unit's functionality although none of the VOR/LOC/GS capabilities are simulated (the knobs and buttons for that function but there's no signal). When you get the simulator be sure to check out the keyboard shortcuts, they make the sim much easier to use compared to the mouse interface.
I think it helps to understand the underlying methodology of the 480, especially if you're coming from the "normal' Garmin world (GNS430, GPS x96, etc). Apollo (the actual designers) wanted to avoid the multi-level hierarchical knob/rocker selected menu paradigm that Garmin favors and the difference tends to confuse and frustrate folks who've become accustomed to the Garmin interface.
Generally functions in the 480 are accessed by pushing one or two buttons, most of which are "softkeys" with labels that are context sensitive. Two differences are particularly important. The 480's flight plan mechanism expects the user to start with the origin (departure airport) and destination and then fill in the intermediate waypoints and route legs. An advantage of this concept is that the 480 can/will offer a list of possible airways whenever you select a waypoint that's on one. And when you select an airway the next step is to pick the fix where you will exit that airway from another list. The 480 also allows you to select a departure and arrival associated with the departure and destination if they be airports as well as approaches for both (very handy to have an approach preloaded for the departure if you're taking off into low clouds). It's important that each flight plan terminate at an airport as you can only select an arrival route and approach for the destination airport. Unlike the 430 the 480 does not break the plan into three separate sections for departure, enroute, and arrival. Another flight plan issue is that the 480 maintains two copies of the plan, Active and Modified. This allows you to make alterations while the 480 continues to navigate along the original route. When you have the modifications completed you "Execute" the modified plan which copies it to the Active plan. Similarly if you go back to the Active plan and attempt to edit that a second time without executing the first modifications the 480 asks if you want to replace the modified plan with the active so it can be altered. Although this makes perfect sense once you grasp the concept it can be confusing at first.
The other important difference is that the 480 hides a lot of useful functionality behind three buttons: the -D-> (direct) key, the INFO key, and the NRST key.
The -D-> key brings up multiple choices for navigating to/from a waypoint including the ubiquitous Direct-To plus Course-To/From, OBS, and the very useful Dest choice which creates a new flight plan with the target waypoint (typically an airport) as the new destination.
The INFO key displays the DB contents for any waypoint or fix highlighted in a DB search or flight plan. If you're viewing a plan one line will be highlighted and pressing the INFO key pops up a page with all the data for the waypoint that was highlighted. A "secret" function (not mentioned in the manual) saves the last INFO target and uses it to fill in the ID field on many operations that require one such as the one than adds a waypoint to the flight plan and the -D-> functions already mentioned.
The NRST key provides structured or random access to the entire DB. A waypoint chosen via the NRST function is available to the INFO function and can also become the default waypoint for the -D-> options or a fix in the flight plan (this eliminates a lot of knob turning that would otherwise be required when selecting a waypoint ID. Initially the NRST function displays fixes closed to your present postion but a subfunction of NRST lies behind the SRCH softkey which allows searching the DB centered on any waypoint in the flight plan or near an ID you dial in by hand.
Sitting in the plane with the radio on is definitely a good idea. You can put the actual unit in a simulation mode that works like the PC simulator meaning you can "fly" the box on a trip while sitting in the hangar. It will even drive the external CDI, autopilot, indicators and GPSS if you have that. I also recommend you make a couple flights with someone else flying the plane so you can spend more head down time on your first trips.
A common complaint for 430 users is that the 480 is much harder to learn and there's some truth to this but it's due to the fact that the 480 provide so much more capability than the 430 and this higher level of functionality requires a more complex user interface.
Like the 430, the 480 is highly configurable. There are four map pages with selectable data fields on three plus a configurable Nav page (similar to the one added to the 430 when it became the 430W). Many general options are available on the SYS-Config page. This might be a problem for a club plane as one pilot may alter settings that another expected to remain unchanged.
One final note. The 480 begs to be coupled to an autopilot with roll steering (GPSS). That combination will fly the lateral portion of an entire flight including a departure, enroute, arrival, approach, and missed approach from the flight plan leaving you in the miss hold without touching anything. You can also create a hold anywhere and the 480/GPSS combo will fly it hands off.
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