cleve_thompson
Well Known Member
This last weekend, I flew down from Waycross, GA to the Veterans' Day fly-in in Tallahassee, Fl. There were a few thunder storms predicted but just after I completed my flight down, T/S's covered the entire area and stayed in the area for the next 3 hours. I saw that I was not going to be able to out wait them, so I filed an IFR flight plan and took off hoping my panel and all the hours I had spent trying to learn how to use my gadgets would pay off. I have a GRT WS EFIS, Tru-Trak A/P with GPSS, a GNS 430W, and a Garmin 396 with weather. I used my 396 on the ground to determine that I would have to fly S/E for 30-40 miles before turning N/N/E towards home and filed that way after some discussion with departure control. Having way points in the 430W made it easier than trying to plot a course.
Shortly after take-off, I encountered IMC and moderate turbulence but the T-T/GRT EFIS combination was able to hold altitude and course perfectly. As the flight progressed, I was able to "see" the thunderstorms on my 396 even though I was still in IMC. I was able to determine new headings needed to evade them and Center worked with me to confirm and OK these deviations. Switching between Heading mode and GPSS mode on the GRT was easy and using the heading bug on the HSI was a snap. When I was clear of the storm, I would hit "direct" on the 430 and switch the GRT back to GPSS and back on track I would be no matter how far I had deviated.
I have my 396 mounted directly under the GRT EFIS and the GNS 430 is wired to cross feed flight plan info to both the GRT EFIS and the 396 so all these changes in course were simplified. I might have been able to fly this trip without the down linked weather, A/P, EFIS using round gauges but I don't think I would have tried it. The work load and safety were much enhanced.
BTW, because of all the bad weather, I was the only RV at the fly-in and the ramp was closed during much of the day because of lightening. There were several light sport sales people there but no LS would have been able to make the flight back home even though they would have cost a pretty penny more than my RV9A.
Here is a picture of my panel. It was wired by Aerotronics.
Here is the radar picture on Flight Aware at the time. For some reason my entire flight track is not shown but you can see how I had to go south east fro KTLH to get north east to KAYS (Waycross)
Shortly after take-off, I encountered IMC and moderate turbulence but the T-T/GRT EFIS combination was able to hold altitude and course perfectly. As the flight progressed, I was able to "see" the thunderstorms on my 396 even though I was still in IMC. I was able to determine new headings needed to evade them and Center worked with me to confirm and OK these deviations. Switching between Heading mode and GPSS mode on the GRT was easy and using the heading bug on the HSI was a snap. When I was clear of the storm, I would hit "direct" on the 430 and switch the GRT back to GPSS and back on track I would be no matter how far I had deviated.
I have my 396 mounted directly under the GRT EFIS and the GNS 430 is wired to cross feed flight plan info to both the GRT EFIS and the 396 so all these changes in course were simplified. I might have been able to fly this trip without the down linked weather, A/P, EFIS using round gauges but I don't think I would have tried it. The work load and safety were much enhanced.
BTW, because of all the bad weather, I was the only RV at the fly-in and the ramp was closed during much of the day because of lightening. There were several light sport sales people there but no LS would have been able to make the flight back home even though they would have cost a pretty penny more than my RV9A.
Here is a picture of my panel. It was wired by Aerotronics.
Here is the radar picture on Flight Aware at the time. For some reason my entire flight track is not shown but you can see how I had to go south east fro KTLH to get north east to KAYS (Waycross)
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