Help Identifying Avionics

SkyChaser

SkyChaser

Pattern Altitude
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SkyChaser
I think this is a Garmin G300, but does anyone know for sure?
skycatcher.png

I am thinking of potentially renting this plane and I'd like to read up on the avionics before I do, so I don't go in blind and clueless. I emailed the FBO, but anyone who knows is probably off for the weekend or something. :p
 
Yep.
 
Half Fast said:
Does this mean you will go from being a Chaser to being a Catcher?

Be careful; that plane has the wings in the wrong place.
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This could be a domestic situation. An in the family high/low wing war. I’m talkin’ an Archie, Meathead thang here.
 
Half Fast said:
Does this mean you will go from being a Chaser to being a Catcher?

Be careful; that plane has the wings in the wrong place.
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I thought about that, too...but the wings being in the wrong place is unfortunately something I'm a bit stuck with due to the rental situation around here. The one low-wing rents for quite a bit more per hour, so I'm just going to suck it up and hopefully remember to duck. :D
 
SkyChaser said:
I thought about that, too...but the wings being in the wrong place is unfortunately something I'm a bit stuck with due to the rental situation around here. The one low-wing rents for quite a bit more per hour, so I'm just going to suck it up and hopefully remember to duck. :D
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Oh well. Yer a lowbee. So much for a war. Have you flown a high wing before? Rode in one?
 
luvflyin said:
Oh well. Yer a lowbee. So much for a war. Have you flown a high wing before? Rode in one?
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Yeah, my first ten hours were in a Skyhawk, but it's been a couple of years. I am prepared to suck and float for the first couple of landings. ;)
 
SkyChaser said:
Yeah, my first ten hours were in a Skyhawk, but it's been a couple of years. I am prepared to suck and float for the first couple of landings. ;)
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I was gonna warn you not to look down to much lest you get hooked on the view. But you’ve seen it and are still a lowbee, so oh well
 
BTW, given the Pipers you trained in, transitioning to an LSA will feel like going from the Crown Vic into the Miata.
 
I know of that plane
never flew it, only had a look at it a couple years ago, renting a couple of their 172's
I think that diagonal was an inop flag
The plane looked pretty rough as I recall when I took a very quick 5 second glance through the window. I do remember seeing a student taxiing it though, so it was flyable then.
 
asicer said:
What's up with that "slash" down the MFD?
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IF this A/C had a Minimum Equipment List, it would require something like that to indicate that it was INOP.
 
Brad W said:
I know of that plane
never flew it, only had a look at it a couple years ago, renting a couple of their 172's
I think that diagonal was an inop flag
The plane looked pretty rough as I recall when I took a very quick 5 second glance through the window. I do remember seeing a student taxiing it though, so it was flyable then.
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Would you mind telling me about the renting experience? I know you only glanced at it cursorily, but could you tell if it just beat-up cosmetically? How were the 172s? Did they seem well-maintained? It's a forty-five minute drive one way, so if it turns out they kinda suck, it'd be nice to skip it. I don't mind tired paint and old seats, but I prefer planes with good engines and structural integrity. LOL
 
The right mfd doesn’t add any capability you don’t already have with the pfd, just gives you more screen space.
 
Salty said:
The right mfd doesn’t add any capability you don’t already have with the pfd, just gives you more screen space.
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And a personal flotation device comes in handy if you have engine trouble and have to ditch over Open Water.
 
SkyChaser said:
Would you mind telling me about the renting experience? I know you only glanced at it cursorily, but could you tell if it just beat-up cosmetically? How were the 172s? Did they seem well-maintained? It's a forty-five minute drive one way, so if it turns out they kinda suck, it'd be nice to skip it. I don't mind tired paint and old seats, but I prefer planes with good engines and structural integrity. LOL
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I'm about a 35-40 minute drive to the South of them so I can relate. It stinks not having a place to rent from really close by.....

I wish I could be of more help..... it was a while ago, just before Covid hit when I was trying to knock my rust off. I went on only a few flights and stopped because of Covid....and just have let life get in the way again. I do intend to get back over there soon. I'd rent from them again but i can't give a flawless review either..... It's not a high dollar "dream school".

The place seemed decent enough. Seemed well enough managed and busy. Seemed to be trying to be a good place. I flew with the then chief instructor how what on his game and a decent guy. Not sure if he's still there or not.
My gut feel generally with the FBO was that issues were mostly cosmetic
One of the 172's was an old F model that was a dog. Mostly cosmetic and was flyable but it could have been better...but I'd fly it again. I've rented from another place at a different airport that had one that I would not fly again.... so that's some sort of measure that I have some standard ;)
the other I flew was an N model, and was better cosmetically...but still an old leaseback. I'd fly it again.
I'm not really sure what to say about the Skycatcher. Having that inop placard right there prominently in their advertising makes me cringe a little...but I think it's probably mostly just cosmetic stuff.
From what little I could tell, there are probably some maintenance items that in my opinion should be addresses that aren't...but that's not unlike most places that rent leasebacks in my experience. One event comes to mind...shutting down after a flight with the CFI, it's not on the checklist but out of blind habit I did a mag ground check...and the engine kept running. The instructor was startled by my out of habit but unexpected move.... he was interested but didn't seem overly alarmed by the bad switch. I do think he flagged it for maintenance but I'm not sure that he made any big deal about it or if it was ever fixed or not....

My only other comment....
they talked me into doing their block rate thing to save money.... In the rattle of digesting the flight and everything else I didn't give it enough thought. basically the way they do it is a pre-paid "gift card". Turns out that the savings really isn't enough for me to justify tying up my capital, and justify keeping up with that stupid card. I still have some credit left to spend...At one point I thought I'd lost the card and had a little "panic" but luckily I found it later....

Good luck!...and I look forward to a report if you end up checking it out!
 
I was able to get down there on Saturday and get some flying in! It's been a hot minute since that happened, so I definitely wasn't as on top of my game as I wish I were, but that's life, I guess. It was a totally different feeling, though, flying that tiny little airplane that must have weighed less than a feather. I felt like some oversized, clumsy giant. :p

The plane was in surprisingly good shape as opposed to the plane in the pictures. Everything was operational, including the second avionics screen, and the plane seemed in good shape mechanically. It was a bit beat up cosmetically, but that's not exactly surprising, with a trainer-type plane. I would feel safe flying it somewhere and would expect to be able to do so without problems from what I could tell from an hour of flying it. :)
 
There's a simple solution to the high wing/low wing debate.

Get one of each!
 
EdFred said:
And a personal flotation device comes in handy if you have engine trouble and have to ditch over Open Water.
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Just do not get one which inflates automatically when wet. It could make cockpit egress more difficult.
 
Domenick said:
Just do not get one which inflates automatically when wet. It could make cockpit egress more difficult.
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Personally, I prefer to be under the waves, rather than above them. I don't think we're planning on any over-sea flights...
 
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