Which IFR GPS?

[dan]

IMHO, take a really good hard look at how much "IFR" you will honestly be doing. In my opinion, you will get much more bang for the buck with a low-end IFR GPS plus a high-end HANDHELD!

The capabilities of handhelds are continuously making panel-mounted units look really LAME for the average day to day flying we tend to do. And a handheld will benefit you 99.9% of the time, while some high-end panel-mount will honestly benefit you less. Look at it objectively!

And for IFR flying, a very simple panel-mounted IFR GPS is all you need. Something to allow you to fly a GPS approach legally with the simplest of guidance. What more do you need? Imho, a handheld will actually provide better situational awareness when used as a "supplement" in the GPS approach scenario because of its superior screen quality.

Anyway, something to consider unless you have an unlimited budget.

[Yukon]

WAAS approaches and terrain avoidance databases won't be found in cheap IFR boxes. The geographical database on the 430/530 is incredible! I think this is one of those things where you only get what you pay for. Personal preference, of course, but combining data from two units, and having handhelds strapped to the panel looks a little too "LSA" for such capable aircraft.

[dan]

Originally Posted by Yukon

WAAS approaches and terrain avoidance databases won't be found in cheap IFR boxes. The geographical database on the 430/530 is incredible! I think this is one of those things where you only get what you pay for. Personal preference, of course, but combining data from two units, and having handhelds strapped to the panel looks a little too "LSA" for such capable aircraft.

You must not have used a 496 yet!

[L.Adamson]

Originally Posted by dan

You must not have used a 496 yet!

Unless Garmin has upped the resolution in the 430/530 boxes, the 496 has a much better screen image too! Looking at the Garmin web page, it looks like they haven't upped the res.

I'd have to have a Garmin 1000, or their new experimental counterpart, to switch from a 496.

Note: I only have the 296, but it's screen resolution, though less than the new 496, still exceeds that of the 430/530 packages by quite a margin.

As to full IFR approach overlay, it would be back to the 430/530, or my old (and old data)195 Garmin handheld.