GTN PIREP

[kortopates]

Quote: allsmiles

[Piloto]

Quote: kortopates

[flyboy0681]

In my latest PIREP I forgot to mention that the air was fairly rough today and quite bumpy. I did find using the touch-screen difficult at times and when I needed to change approach frequencies I had a hard time keying in the correct numbers and I eventually reached for the knobs.

The "bottom shelf" of the bezel provides excellent finger support but when I attempted to hit the Zoom-In button on the screen my finger jumped to another section of the map and instead I got information on the airspace that my finger happened to land on. I must admit that it was frustrating. I'm hoping that with time I get better acclimated to it, but as a novice I did find it rather difficult. Thank goodness for concentric knobs.

 

 

[kortopates]

Regarding what happens to your remote transponder capability if you lose the GTN750

Quote: allsmiles

The airplane is grounded because there is no squaking capability until the 750 gets repaired or replaced.  Within the 2 year warranty it will be replaced. Outside the 2 years it gets exchanged with another unit.  Maybe it's not a bad idea to leave the transponder dedicated external to the 750. In other words not the remote transponder.

[Txbyker]

I went to the local traveling Garmin seminar and got to hear about the GTN's and play with them.  The 750 got most of the attention and demo but the 650 seemed to have a lot of the features I need.  I am moving up from a KLN94 so anything recent is a major improvement for me.  I played with the demos and was moving along pretty well by myself since they are so intuitive.  Anyway I ordered a 650 and it will be installed mid June. 

For those of you that are upgrading to the GTN can you tell me why you chose the 750 over the 650?  I like the audio, the screen size, etc but the 650 seems to do quite a bit of the same tasks for a bit less money.  Any thoughts?  I can still change my order.

[Comatose]

I bought the 650. The only thing I miss with the 650 is a full keyboard for entering waypoints. The slider bar thing ... works... and its still MUCH easier than twisty twisty push, twisty twisty push, but having all the buttons at once would be nicer. Not four grand worth of nicer for my already overimproved C model, though.

The graphical flight plan works, and is actually useful. Might be a bit easier with a bigger screen, but not much. I was flying around VFR Saturday, and decided I didn't feel like going over, under or through one of those obnoxious Bravo airspace extension wings. It took about fifteen seconds to make a nice smooth four-point dogleg around it, with one hand, in turbulence.

All in all, other than the full keyboard like I mentioned, I don't miss the smaller screen real estate. You won't be unhappy with a 650.

*edit* Another thing about the 650 that might actually be better than the 750. It is fairly easy to have a many-point grip around the smaller screen. I can be holding both the side and the bottom and hit anywhere on the screen with a finger. I find myself using the cutout in the panel where my tach is as my grab point, not the actual GTN.  With the bigger screen I can see how this could be hard.

 

[flyboy0681]

For my partners and myself  the 750 was a no-brainer since the difference in cost was split among us and that made it very manageable. We also had a just about dead KY197 that needed to go as well as other items in the center stack which made room for the 750.

The large screen is simply incredible and the large keyboard makes entry a breeze. And since we don't have the remote transponder and audio, the default navigation information that is displayed allows us to customize the four data fields to our liking.

However, if I were going it alone I'm not sure I would have opted for the extra $4k.

 

[Bennett]

New panel being installed for N335BB.  I opted for the GTN 750 with remote audio, and I (think) I am keeping my old King mode C transponder depending on space requirements.  I've sold just about all of the old King Silvercrown avionics: KX165, KX155, KIng DME, King ADF, Garmin GX55, AvMap EKP IV with XM, indicator heads, antennas, etc.  The new panel (center stack, and the panel to the right) are fairly simple: From the top: Mooney annunciator, Garmin GTN 750, Garmin 430W (used prices, even with warranty are really low right now), and a  King KAP150 autopilot. The panel to the right will house a Garmin 696 with XM in an AirGizmo mount, various switches, etc, and if it fits, the old King transponder at the bottom. With ADS-B coming, but with no clear standards yet, I would hope to wait and not change transponders at this time.   Executive Aircraft Maintenance (great shop) in Scottsdale is doing the work, and they will be cutting all new panels.  I should have her back in about two weeks, and I will post photos. Not inexpensive, but this will be getting me closer to my ideal airplane. 

[jetdriven]

that sounds great, espeically the 696 in an AirGizoms mount.  We did an aera 500 this way with it above the audio panel front and center and it works great.

[fantom]

Quote: Bennett

....this will be getting me closer to my ideal airplane. 

[Geoff]

Old chinese proverb.....

Man with one map knows where he is.  Man with two maps is never sure.

[Bennett]

"Man with three maps should be able to find at least two in agreement"

Sure beats unfolding and folding charts in flight.  Also, it gives the co-pilot something to play with.  My thought was that I would use the 696 for XM weather overlay on a moving map (and as the source of sound entertainment), the 750 as a Flight Plan Moving Map, and the 430 for interim waypoint information. I have to laugh at myself, as I also have a AV8TOR GPS (the small version) in my flight bag as a back-up, and I have been toting an iPad with Foreflight (and a remote bluetooth WAAS GPS) to hand to passengers so they can follow the flight.  As you might guess, I'm an old EE out of Berkeley, and I spent decades "playing with" mutiple forms of marine and aviation navigational systems. The new Garmins are magic boxes to help keep from gettling lost, and aid in not busting restricted airspace.  Nice to have, but sometimes when the autopilot is coupled to avionics, I feel more like a systems manager, than an old fashioned avaitor. Certainly not a slave to the "goodies", but I do like the situational awareness, and if you really know how to use them, they are great (safety) tools.  Besides, nowadays I fly for fun and enjoyment, and all these gadgets are an aid to that enjoyment. 

[Piloto]

Quote: Bennett

"Man with three maps should be able to find at least two in agreement"

Sure beats unfolding and folding charts in flight.  Also, it gives the co-pilot something to play with.  My thought was that I would use the 696 for XM weather overlay on a moving map (and as the source of sound entertainment), the 750 as a Flight Plan Moving Map, and the 430 for interim waypoint information. I have to laugh at myself, as I also have a AV8TOR GPS (the small version) in my flight bag as a back-up, and I have been toting an iPad with Foreflight (and a remote bluetooth WAAS GPS) to hand to passengers so they can follow the flight.  As you might guess, I'm an old EE out of Berkeley, and I spent decades "playing with" mutiple forms of marine and aviation navigational systems. The new Garmins are magic boxes to help keep from gettling lost, and aid in not busting restricted airspace.  Nice to have, but sometimes when the autopilot is coupled to avionics, I feel more like a systems manager, than an old fashioned avaitor. Certainly not a slave to the "goodies", but I do like the situational awareness, and if you really know how to use them, they are great (safety) tools.  Besides, nowadays I fly for fun and enjoyment, and all these gadgets are an aid to that enjoyment. 

[flyboy0681]

I'm soliciting those of you that have a 4/530 setup.

I was practicing a DME hold today and tuned the GTN to the VOR. I don't know why but I expected the distance to the station to instantly display in the "Distance" field in the default navigation area of the screen, but it just kept reading zero. I fumbled around a bit but nothing.

I eventually figured out that the only way to get the distance was to enter the VOR as the destination, either as a waypoint or by hitting the Destination button. It makes sense to me now because the GTN isn't equipped with an integral DME.

Can I assume it's the same way on the 4/530 series as well?

 

 

[kortopates]

Quote: flyboy0681

I'm soliciting those of you that have a 4/530 setup.

I was practicing a DME hold today and tuned the GTN to the VOR. I don't know why but I expected the distance to the station to instantly display in the "Distance" field in the default navigation area of the screen, but it just kept reading zero. I fumbled around a bit but nothing.

I eventually figured out that the only way to get the distance was to enter the VOR as the destination, either as a waypoint or by hitting the Destination button. It makes sense to me now because the GTN isn't equipped with an integral DME.

Can I assume it's the same way on the 4/530 series as well?

 

 

[N33GG]

[docket]

Quote: Geoff

Old chinese proverb.....

Man with one map knows where he is.  Man with two maps is never sure.

[Bennett]

Yes, I have a collison advoidence unit - a ZAON that now interfaces with the Garmin 696.  A bit bulky, but it works fairly well. When ADS-B becomes common, there will be much better data available. I think I made the point that all these new avionics are tools - its how you use them that can bring utility and safety. 

[PTK]

Quote: Bennett

New panel being installed for N335BB.  I opted for the GTN 750 with remote audio, and I (think) I am keeping my old King mode C transponder depending on space requirements.  I've sold just about all of the old King Silvercrown avionics: KX165, KX155, KIng DME, King ADF, Garmin GX55, AvMap EKP IV with XM, indicator heads, antennas, etc.  The new panel (center stack, and the panel to the right) are fairly simple: From the top: Mooney annunciator, Garmin GTN 750, Garmin 430W (used prices, even with warranty are really low right now), and a  King KAP150 autopilot. The panel to the right will house a Garmin 696 with XM in an AirGizmo mount, various switches, etc, and if it fits, the old King transponder at the bottom. With ADS-B coming, but with no clear standards yet, I would hope to wait and not change transponders at this time.   Executive Aircraft Maintenance (great shop) in Scottsdale is doing the work, and they will be cutting all new panels.  I should have her back in about two weeks, and I will post photos. Not inexpensive, but this will be getting me closer to my ideal airplane. 

[Parker_Woodruff]

Quote: allsmiles

Now my decision is do I get a 650 to go along right under my 750.  Does anyone have any input besides the obvious redundant GPS Nav Comm and crosfill of flight plan data?  Is there any other real advantage in operation?  

[Bennett]

I considered the SL30 to go under the GTN750, but with good used 430Ws being relatively inexpensive, the delta between the two was low enough to make the 430W attractive.  Of course I was comparing a new SL30 to a used 430W.  I've had many hours using the 430W in other aircraft; it is a capable box, and with the GPS (and rudimentary moving map) it provides far more utility than the SL30. Panel space may be a consideration, and this is why I went for the remote audio.  From my standpoint, the dollar difference i would have to pay for the 650 as compared to the (used) 430W, just wasn't worth it. In fact, I will add an Icarus GPSS roll converter to the GTN 750 to work with with the KAP 150 autopilot.  This is far less expensive than the 750/650 combination, and will allow the autopliot to fly procedure turns and holds.  I think this is better "bang for the buck".  Just one guy's opinion.

[DaV8or]

Quote: fantom

No doubt!

With a Garmin 430W, a 696, and a 750 you may have map overload, and you better not get lost.

 

[DaV8or]

Quote: Bennett

Of coures I was comparing a new SL30 to a used 430W.

[PTK]

Quote: Parker_Woodruff

I would just get a Garmin SL30 Nav/Comm.

But if you've got the money for a GTN650, it can't hurt.  You'll be able to fully dedicate the 750 to a moving map and the 650 to raw data.

[KSMooniac]

Quote: flyboy0681

I'm soliciting those of you that have a 4/530 setup.

I was practicing a DME hold today and tuned the GTN to the VOR. I don't know why but I expected the distance to the station to instantly display in the "Distance" field in the default navigation area of the screen, but it just kept reading zero. I fumbled around a bit but nothing.

I eventually figured out that the only way to get the distance was to enter the VOR as the destination, either as a waypoint or by hitting the Destination button. It makes sense to me now because the GTN isn't equipped with an integral DME.

Can I assume it's the same way on the 4/530 series as well?