Choosing an EFIS?? - Dynon, GRT, Advanced, MGL?

[costa]

Hard and light IFR don't exist....What exist is VFR and VFR.

In IFR flight, you can get fair or bad weather. In bad weather is very tough, even the B747 captain have dificulties into a bad weather approach.

If you want to fly IFR you must be current (3 app in the last 3 months) and have some equipment fited.

If something fail, you need redundancy. I recomend 2 EFIS and back up analogic (ADI,altimeter, ASI).

AP is mandatory for IFR. You need at minimum a heading mode and altitude hold.

You need a nav/comm, not one but two (for redundancy).

You need DME. In europe the VOR app are with DME ad you need distance. Ok you can use GPS for distance....In Us to fly above 18500" you need DME

You need radar. if you fly at night, IFR, the radar can help you to avoid some CB's

ADF. In my airplane I want a ADF, why? to be proficient with it. At moment I'm ready and with enough skill to fly an NDB aproach. There is NDB app in Usa and a lot in mexico and South america

So, in IFR , we need redundancy (2 EFIS, 3 analogics, AP, with AH, 2 navs, 2 comms, one DME, and.....why not a ADF.)

what you need less to fly IFR is GPS.

[RV10inOz]

I agree with this business about VFR and IFR...... there is no such thing as light IFR.

As for needing less GPS.....are you kidding

Not sure about your part of the world but down here with NDB's becomming decommissioned and unreliable and a LONG way apart, a TSO146GPS like a G530/430W is almost the benchmark. Along with VOR/ILS as a bonus.

Now back that with another radio and another GPS..... you are in good shape. But there are many parts here where an ADF is only good for listening to the Cricket scores on 612

As an option to the analogues, if you go all electric and 2 x EFIS, just have two seperate power supplies.

Cheers

DB

[Garage Guy]

Originally Posted by costa

You need DME. In europe the VOR app are with DME ad you need distance. Ok you can use GPS for distance....In Us to fly above 18500" you need DME

In the US, DME is required above FL240.

But IFR GPS can substitute for DME, and ADF. In most situations, anyway: http://www.aopa.org/whatsnew/air_tra...s_in_lieu.html

--Paul

[Davepar]

A word of advice for EFIS shoppers. Have somebody, a friend that has the system or a vendor at a show, demonstrate some basic functionality before you buy a system. As much fun as it is to list and check off features, it is the simple things that really make an EFIS/EMS a joy or pain to use:

• change baro
• set/cancel bug
• enter/exit fuel leaning mode
• fill tanks on the fuel computer
• modify EMS setting, e.g. oil temp red line

Other things to consider are flight recording/downloading and software updating.

[RV8R999]

Just ate a bag of popcorn while reading this thread...very entertaining! Thanks

[thelynns]

a simulator that would run on my computer with which I could explore the features and user interface would help me decide which model best fits me and my needs.

Choosing an EFFIS, Yes a simulator helps. I know of at least one vender that provides an EFIS simulator. Want to know about a particular manufactures product? Do what I do, read the user manual and installation manual. You can learn a great deal.

[Garage Guy]

Originally Posted by hobby_rv6

Using a simulator and factoring in the wisdom gleaned from these forums, I feel that I would then be able to select the EFIS system that best fits my flying profile.

Good, free, informative instructional videos would be terrific too. Dynon is taking the lead on this now as far as I can tell (http://www.vansairforce.com/communit...ad.php?t=52107).

--Paul

[lucky]

Originally Posted by RV8R999

Just ate a bag of popcorn while reading this thread...very entertaining! Thanks

hope you wiped your hands off before typing that up.

[breister]

Originally Posted by Buggsy2

Consider this an open letter, request, or outright plea to the various glass panel makers: could you please change your software to open source or at least use a software escrow service in case of business failure?

It is not necessary, and perhaps not advisable as a business model, to do this.

However, protection from company failure CAN be made available to your customers through either a provision in the company charter to GO open source upon failure, or to make the intellectual property a mandatory support item in the event the company is required.

These sorts of provisions are becoming "standard and expected" in proprietary software.

[Cbflyn]

It seems to me that most weather related accidents are VMC into IMC and that has ruined more than one persons day. The ability to have a better idea of what's under you and around you seems like a fine idea to me. The gentleman who mentioned he does not care what's under him when he is on an IFR flight might not have had an engine failure yet, and I say yet because they do fail. My old instructor told me two things you need to know about flying, 1. Flying is fun and 2. the engine is going to quit. He was right as I have found out on more than one occasion.
I am not a huge fan of single engine IFR, though I have been there more than once. I am not a fan of light twin IFR either (make mine a Turbine please) been there done that. When I do go IFR I like to have all the tools I can gather and with todays options I am amazed at my choices, Sky View,, yes please.
Not trying to cause any heartburn with anyone, just my view.