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Garmin 430 in the 152?

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MFRskyknight

Don't F with Chuck
Joined
Jun 28, 2004
Posts
315
The school I'm finishing my instrument at just installed the Garmin 430 unit in their 152. I'll be the first to sing the praises of GPS and all its wonders, but this has come along relatively late in my training and I'm worrying a bit about how this will affect my imminent checkride, since I'm taking it in the same plane.

The actual flying and shooting approaches couldn't be easier, but it's the setup involved -- fiddling around with the cursor, knobs, database, etc. I flew today just over an hour with this new stuff in the plane, and found myself compromising the aviating part to get the navigating sorted out. I'm sure if I had more time to become adept at using the interface it wouldn't be that big of a worry, but still... this seems like a system you'd usually find in planes with autopilots where you can divide your attention more easily.

Thoughts? Does this seem a bit like overkill for a 152, or should I just shut up and eat my beans? :)

MFR
 
The 430 is really a great system. Give it about 2 hours, and you'll see there's isn't anything much better on the market. Go to Garmin and download the simulator:

http://www.garmin.com/software/simulators/TRAIN430.EXE

A similar thing happened to me on my commercial multi add-on. The Seneca I had been flying went down for MX and I finished up in a new Seminole with dual 430's. I was a little overwhelmed the first hour with the Garmins, but was fine after a little while.

Now for the bigger question: A NICE 152 cost around $27,000. A Garmin 430 installed is about $9000. Seems a bit overkill to me.

Good Luck
 
Where did they mount it, where the passenger seat used to be? I'm surprised a one-filthy can even provide enough juice to run one of those things!
 
I think it's akin to putting a $50 saddle on a $10 horse but if someone else is paying the bill- more power to 'em.

Make sure the GPS was installed properly so that it's IFR certified. If someone just pulled it out of a Seneca and slapped it into the 152 it probably isn't certified. It's been a few years since I was teaching a Garmin class so I can't remember everything that's involved.

Good luck on your ride!
 
aviator1978 said:
The 430 is really a great system. Give it about 2 hours, and you'll see there's isn't anything much better on the market. Go to Garmin and download the simulator:

http://www.garmin.com/software/simulators/TRAIN430.EXE

A similar thing happened to me on my commercial multi add-on. The Seneca I had been flying went down for MX and I finished up in a new Seminole with dual 430's. I was a little overwhelmed the first hour with the Garmins, but was fine after a little while.

Now for the bigger question: A NICE 152 cost around $27,000. A Garmin 430 installed is about $9000. Seems a bit overkill to me.

Good Luck

Thanks for the replies.

I got the simulator CD and am getting pretty comfortable with it. I guess it's more of an issue of getting used to scanning the GPS along with the other instruments, as well as tuning it, etc. while keeping the plane where I want it.

I asked the same question about the value of the 152 vs. the Garmin... I think it was ~$7500 for them, installed. But, hey, it's a cheaper way to some GPS time!

MFR
 
Welcome to the future,,,, I mean,, now! I applaude the owners that invested that kind of dough into a 150. Reality is that the old Cessna 328's or whatever NavCom was there is a dino, and probably used the same amount if not more amperage. And,, reliabilty was a crap shoot at best.
Yes, you do have to learn to program the thing, be glad you are doing it at 80 knots and not at 300 knots like some of us learned. Yeee- Haaa!!!
(do I hit enter now,,, no, that just cleared everything,,,crap!!)
It is the way of navigation,, and I love it. Best of luck on the checkride,, and welcome to the "real"world of travel!
 
Navigation?

Hung Start said:
It is the way of navigation,, and I love it. Best of luck on the checkride,, and welcome to the "real"world of travel!

Just follow the pink line!

E6B? Plotter? WCA? Checkpoints? Sectional Chart? A/FD? IAPs? All that is just too much mental gymnastics! :confused:

MFRskyknight said:
Thoughts? Does this seem a bit like overkill for a 152, or should I just shut up and eat my beans?

Yes very much so! C152/150 are not XC machines. Student pilots shouldn't even have their eyes inside the cockpit. In IFR training it would be nice alternative to paying for a C172 with the same equipment, but you going to be hard pressed to keep a 90 knot groundspeed in a C152.

As for your beans....... beans, beans good for the heart!

What's going on with Airman now? Any new news?
 
well its a great system but like its said above a 152 is not really a cross country machine. Well looks like your useful load is large enough to hold you full fuel and a travel john lol
 
When they start talk about adding boots and a hot plate, you know they're goin overboard....

For now though, enjoy the 430...the Garmin 530/430 GPSs are fantastic! I haven't been able to work with a 480, but I'm sure the 430 is just as nice.

Great features...winds aloft, ETA, frequencies, etc....

Good luck with the checkride!

-mini
 

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