G3X Internal Flight Plan Instrument Approach

[PT20J]

Today's test was the using the G3X internal VFR GPS as a backup for the GTN 650Xi. The G3X allows entering waypoints and the final segment of an instrument approach for reference and also it also has a VTF capability similar to the GTN. The GPS is certified VFR only so it's not really legal for IFR but it would help out in a pinch to get me to the airport where I could use NAV2 to shoot a legal VOR or ILS approach. I had some issues getting the G3X to load an approach for my test, but eventually I figured it out.

First, I tried it in the hangar on ground power with the G3X switched to internal flight plan source and there was no Load Approach button on the menu. Turns out the button only becomes available when the G3X internal GPS is getting a signal. You can load any other waypoints -- just not an approach.

Second, if the external navigator is active -- even with the G3X flight plan source set to internal, the G3X will not display the Load Approach button on the active flight plan menu. 

You can load an approach into a saved flight plan and then activate it regardless of the state of the internal and external GPS'.

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[amillet]

Skip, if I ever upgrade to glass panel, I’ll Need you to ride along as flight engineer.

[GeneralT001]

7 minutes ago, amillet said:

Skip, if I ever upgrade to glass panel, I’ll Need you to ride along as flight engineer.

Yeah...isn't this "tech" supposed to make things simpler??

[Ragsf15e]

28 minutes ago, amillet said:

Skip, if I ever upgrade to glass panel, I’ll Need you to ride along as flight engineer.

Honestly, Garmin should be paying him for figuring all this out and then posting it for all of us!  He’s saving them tons on fixing their documentation and future tech support.

[Ulysse]

1 hour ago, Ragsf15e said:

Garmin should be paying him

Garmin's own people probably don't know as much! 

How about a webinar on all these findings?

[ArtVandelay]

Would have been better to not have multiple threads, just “ What I learned about the G3X today”.

[rbp]

13 hours ago, PT20J said:

First, I tried it in the hangar on ground power with the G3X switched to internal flight plan source and there was no Load Approach button on the menu. Turns out the button only becomes available when the G3X internal GPS is getting a signal. You can load any other waypoints -- just not an approach.

Second, if the external navigator is active -- even with the G3X flight plan source set to internal, the G3X will not display the Load Approach button on the active flight plan menu. 

You can load an approach into a saved flight plan and then activate it regardless of the state of the internal and external GPS'.

 

I read this through a few times, and I know what didnt work ,but  I'm a little unsure of what steps you took to load the FP into the 3GX, have it follow the internal GPS, and load/activate the approach

[PT20J]

1 hour ago, rbp said:

I read this through a few times, and I know what didnt work ,but  I'm a little unsure of what steps you took to load the FP into the 3GX, have it follow the internal GPS, and load/activate the approach

It works as described in the G3X Pilot’s Guide so long as the external navigator is inoperative and the internal GPS is receiving a signal.

If either of those conditions are not met, the Load Approach button is not displayed on the menu for the active flight plan.

A workaround is to save the active flight plan and then open the saved flight plan and add the approach and then activate the saved flight plan. 

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[rbp]

will the plan feed over from a GTN?

[PT20J]

32 minutes ago, rbp said:

will the plan feed over from a GTN?

Yes. In normal operation with the G3X flight plan source set to external, the G3X and external navigator crossfill and you can enter or edit a flight plan on either device. The only limitation is that you can only enter SIDs, STARs and IAPs on the external navigator, but if you enter them there the waypoints will crossfill to the G3X. The G3X Bluetooth connection will also send/receive flight plans to or from  a tablet running ForeFlight or Garmin Pilot. I use Foreflight and have tested it and it works fine for flight plans containing waypoints and airways. But because the communication is between the tablet and the G3X (which then crossfills to the GTN) you cannot enter transfer a flight plan containing SIDs, STARs or IAPs because the G3X doesn't understand those procedures.

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[PT20J]

10 minutes ago, JohnZ said:

I believe with a G3X/GTN/FlightStream 510 combination you can enter an approach into ForeFlight and send to panel and it will ask if you want to load or activate the approach

That will work because you are using the FS 510 Connext which interfaces directly with the GTN and since the FS 510 has wider bandwidth WiFi in addition to Bluetooth, you can also use Database Concierge if you use Garman Pilot. In my case, I didn't already have the FS 510 and didn't want to add it since the G3X has Connext with the only limitation being the inability to pass through flight plans with instrument procedures. I find it no trouble to just add them to the flight plan once it crossfills to the GTN. And, since I use ForeFlight, I can't use Database Concierge. But, FS 510 is still a good option and adds additional capability.

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