LORAN - what good is it now?

[Tom_Veatch]

Please bear with me, I'm trying to play catch-up on 30 years of absence from the flying community.

Last time I was at the controls of an airplane, RNAV computers using VOR and DME inputs were the latest and greatest. The FAA was considering thinking about the possibility of maybe looking into using those new-fangled gadgets for en-route, point-to-point IFR navigation . As far as I know, LORAN had military and maritime applications, but no general aviation application. GPS was little more than a gleam in some research professor's eye.

Looking at the classifieds with the thought of becoming an aircraft owner, I see LORAN listed in the on-board avionics in many of them. As I understand it, the Coast Guard turned off the LORAN transmitters this past February. Am I missing something, or are the LORAN receivers in these aircraft just so much dead weight, good for door stops, boat anchors, and conversation pieces, but little else. Looks to me like the presence of LORAN receivers in a GA aircraft would be a negative. Or do they still have some utility?

[KSMooniac]

No utility at present except for ballast, I'm afraid.  They were/would be a great back-up to the GPS constellation but oh well... 

Buying a plane today with a LORAN will just lead to more expense as there are not any top-shelf GPS solutions that are tray-compatible with LORAN units as far as I understand, so you'll have to remove the existing one + tray/wiring/antenna before installing a replacement GPS.  Like it or not, the GNS-430W has become the de facto must-have on the market today if you're buying or selling, so you would be best served by buying a plane with one of those at a minimum or else get an appropriately-priced plane that would still leave some budget to add one without getting upside-down immediately.

[GeorgePerry]

Quote: Tom_Veatch

Do LORAN receivers still have some utility?

[Sven]

So, the question is, "How do you get rid of your Loran?"

[Mooney65E]

Remove the Loran and use the empty tray to hold your paper charts which will be obsolete soon too.

[Immelman]

LORAN is still alive and well in several parts of the world. I went up to Portland, OR a month ago and it worked from southern Oregon on up. I believe because of a Canadian-operated chain.

[RJBrown]

Quote: Immelman

LORAN is still alive and well in several parts of the world. I went up to Portland, OR a month ago and it worked from southern Oregon on up. I believe because of a Canadian-operated chain.

[Alan Fox]

Loran is gone , some guys say it is coming back as a backup , but that is total bullcrap , If you have a northstar loran , you can change the antenna and slide in a M3 GPS , but jeppeson stopped supplying the database updates two years ago , The good news is that the airports dont move , so this is a cheap solution if you have a northstar...