toto

They had to build in a safety margin above the terrain..

It's to avoid descent into Stonehenge.

I dunno. That's the only data point I have seen first-hand, so I was just responding to your question about real numbers. Since the hardware is $13k, I was really interested to know the all-in cost, and I was kind of shocked at the $25k estimate. But it is what it is. If other shops are installing two G5s and a GFC500 for two grand, then my local shop is definitely high.

My shop guesstimated $25k for a GFC500 and two G5s, which would put install at $12k (assuming they guesstimated retail for the toys). The same shop doesn't do TruTrak, so it's a little hard to compare apples-to-apples, but iirc TruTrak estimates an average install time of around 18 hours. If I'm playing with round numbers, assuming shop time is $100/hr and the TruTrak is 20 hours, that's $12k vs $2k, or a $10k difference in the installation cost alone. For the toys, it's $13k vs $6k, so an installed price of $25k vs $8k is believable. Of course, you don't technically need two G5s for the GFC500, but you do need one, and I suspect that many would opt for the second G5 while the panel is open. In any event, a $17k delta ain't nothin.

Interesting. Is the GP lightning data coming from XM, ADS-B, or cellular? Is the delay comparable to the 5m+ nexrad delay, or is it closer to real-time? On a stormy day I'd stress about interference using any wireless source. I like having the airborne SS data even when the ground-based or satellite stuff is being flakey. That said, I've always had good luck with XM around storms, and I've always had good luck with ADS-B. Cellular data is very hit-or-miss ime, and I don't use it for anything but the occasional email. If reception is reliable, my biggest concern would be data delay. I always expect the SS to agree with what I see out the window, and if it doesn't, I believe the SS

Yep, that's true. I wondered why the last four quarts kept spilling out all over the ramp

Sounds a little high to me but not outrageous. A case of oil can run over $100 retail with shipping, and an oil filter is $30ish. So you're in for almost a buck and a half anyway if you buy fancy oil. Shop time including cowl removal and cutting open an oil filter could easily be more than an hour. So $300 seems about a half-hamburger high but nbd.

+1 on having a SS in your toolkit. I don't ever fly through red nexrad myself, but a moderate radar return with a clear SS path is far better than a light return with the SS lit up. In my ADM calculus, it's the difference between an airmet and a convective sigmet

Probably freaking hot in there, if nothing else It's not like you could bail out in that scenario.

Thanks, internet:

Yep, the Harrier came of age in the slide-rule era I saw a documentary a few years ago that showed a Harrier pilot with an inop nose near - carrier crew basically stacked up some boxes on the deck, and the pilot hovered with the nose directly over the boxes, chopped power, and successfully landed a plane with no nose gear and no damage.

No idea what the history is for this guy, but I suspect that modern military VTOL implementations (V-22, F-35) depend heavily on computer assist.

Reviving a thread that ended on a sour note.. A sharp-eyed IA noticed on last annual that my Halon fire extinguisher is pointing at the very low end of the "green" arc, and suggested either refilling or purchasing a new one. I asked a firefighter friend if he knew where to get a Halon fire extinguisher "topped off" and he had no idea. I actually have no clue whether bottom of the green means it's at 99% capacity, or at 50% capacity, but it feels like tempting fate to keep flying around with a questionable safety item. It looks like I can buy a new one for about $200. What's the right thing to do here? Replace with a new Halon unit? Try to find a place that can do the hydrostatic test and refill? Buy a Halotron replacement?

FltPlan is the only service I use for filing flight plans, and FltPlan Go is my standard CB alternative to the paid apps. I'm kinda hoping that Garmin will end up offering a "free" tier for the GP app to replace FltPlan Go.

It wouldn't surprise me if this *is* a broker with a cleverer approach than usual.