Llewtrah381
Line Up and Wait
- Joined
- Apr 9, 2010
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Llewtrah
A few quick questions for those who have one of these units (or maybe a GTN, if the stuff is the same):
As noted before, I currently have a GNC 300XL which is working fine but was old-school when I bought it new in 2008. But I'm used to it and have no problems doing what I want to do, overall. Loading flight plans is a bit tedious but not bad, using the knobs and buttons. The good news is it's still pretty easy to do in turbulence.
For these units, I know the primary way to enter waypoints, etc. is via the touchscreen. Can it be done with the knobs? It's hard for me to discern that one way or the other in the manual. And overall, how have people found the units to be in turbulence? Feedback so far seems to be that it's a pain. Doing the plan on the ground is fine; my biggest concern is getting a re-route in the air and having to load it on a bumpy day.
Also, I see on page 3-66 of the Pilot's Guide that "Roll steering terminates when approach mode is selected on the autopilot. It becomes available once you initiate the missed approach." First, right now I have my 300XL connected to my Piper autopilot via a DAC GPSS, so the GPSS drives the autopilot in any phase of navigation, including down to the runway if I wanted to. Second, I'm also planning to connect the 355 to a GI 275, but now I'm not clear which one is actually providing the GPSS: the 355 or is that overridden by the 275? But more to the point, with this configuration (355 plus 275), will the autopilot be able to fly the approach or does it truly get disabled?
Frankly, even though the 300XL is getting long in the tooth and would have limited repair options, I'm wondering if the change is worth the considerable cost.
Appreciate the feedback.
As noted before, I currently have a GNC 300XL which is working fine but was old-school when I bought it new in 2008. But I'm used to it and have no problems doing what I want to do, overall. Loading flight plans is a bit tedious but not bad, using the knobs and buttons. The good news is it's still pretty easy to do in turbulence.
For these units, I know the primary way to enter waypoints, etc. is via the touchscreen. Can it be done with the knobs? It's hard for me to discern that one way or the other in the manual. And overall, how have people found the units to be in turbulence? Feedback so far seems to be that it's a pain. Doing the plan on the ground is fine; my biggest concern is getting a re-route in the air and having to load it on a bumpy day.
Also, I see on page 3-66 of the Pilot's Guide that "Roll steering terminates when approach mode is selected on the autopilot. It becomes available once you initiate the missed approach." First, right now I have my 300XL connected to my Piper autopilot via a DAC GPSS, so the GPSS drives the autopilot in any phase of navigation, including down to the runway if I wanted to. Second, I'm also planning to connect the 355 to a GI 275, but now I'm not clear which one is actually providing the GPSS: the 355 or is that overridden by the 275? But more to the point, with this configuration (355 plus 275), will the autopilot be able to fly the approach or does it truly get disabled?
Frankly, even though the 300XL is getting long in the tooth and would have limited repair options, I'm wondering if the change is worth the considerable cost.
Appreciate the feedback.