IFR avionics panel planning - need for VOR /LOC/GS?

[Slick Nick]

On 5/18/2025 at 1:02 PM, toto said:

I had one experience years ago where my GTN froze, went blank and then rebooted. The whole thing probably took 20 seconds but it felt much longer. The avionics shop couldn’t find a problem with it and it’s never happened again. I chalked it up to a bad software release. 

To your point, imagine if that happened right before you needed to execute a go-around on an instrument approach. Perhaps one with a relatively complex missed approach procedure, in the mountains. Could end up going sideways in a hurry.

[Hank]

On 5/22/2025 at 3:50 PM, Slick Nick said:

To your point, imagine if that happened right before you needed to execute a go-around on an instrument approach. Perhaps one with a relatively complex missed approach procedure, in the mountains. Could end up going sideways in a hurry.

That's why we, as PIC, study and train to remain "one step ahead" of the plane. I can't recall off the top of my head anything on a missed approach that could go wrong in 20-30 seconds, as long as I know where I am now, what I'm doing at this time and what the next step is. But I've not had to deal with navigation failure, which could make me forget while I recall what to do. 

Then again, I did my PPL and IFR training in the mountains of WV, not near as dramatic as the mountains out west, where I flew down a valley 40-50 miles wide at 9500 msl and looked UP at the mountains on both sides.