Category: Revelation

GPS decisions

Because I’ve been working a bunch of overtime recently, I’ve got a bit of “free” money, and a pressing need to make myself feel better about all the free time I’ve given up. So I decided it was time to get an upgrade of my GPS – I’ve had my Garmin GPSMAP 195 since soon after I got my private pilot license in 1996. At the time, it was top of the line – I think I spent about $1400 for it.

At first, I was looking at the Garmin GPSMAP 196 – it’s similar to the 195 in that it has a monochrome screen, but it has a faster processor and a couple of high nifty value features, like being able to put the map and the HSI on the screen at the same time instead of switching between them like I do with the 195. Also, it will show an extended runway centerline, which is good for situational awareness if you’ve being vectored to an ILS – on the 195 if you select an ILS approach, it draws a line from your current position to the intermediate fix, and then from there to the runway, which is not optimal. Used 196s are going on eBay for anywhere between $510 and $760, and new ones are $800.

But then I counted up how much overtime I’ve earned, and figured that maybe I deserve a Garmin GPSMAP 296. The 296 is a colour version of the 196. When Garmin brought out the 295, the colour follow on to the 195, it sucked with a capital S. The 295 had a lousy screen and an almost non-existant battery life. The 296 is a different story entirely. The colour is so good that they provide a topographic view background map, and also a terrain warning function very much like the Enhanced Ground Proximity Warning System that the airliners have. (Not that I fly in the mountains, but it’s still a cool feature.) 296s cost about $1100-$1250 used on eBay or $1500 new.

And once you start looking at the 296, the obvious question is “Why not a Garmin GPSMAP 396?” The 396 is the upgrade to the 296 that came out last year – it has all the features of the 296, plus it hooks up to XM Satellite Radio to overlay all sorts of weather information on your moving map, from NEXRAD radar to satellite imagery and lightning strikes. Plus you can use it for listening to XM Radio. The problem is that this extra capability costs an extra $1000 – and don’t expect to get it on eBay at all. I couldn’t find a single legitimate eBay auction for these guys except for stores that had the Buy It Now price set to the MSRP. And don’t forget that the XM weather subscription is an extra $50 a month, plus another $13 if you want the radio as well.

Both the 296 and the 396 have an optional “auto kit” that allows you to use it for turn-by-turn directions while driving. I can see that being very useful, especially in courtesy cars in strange cities.

I agonized over the decision, 296 versus 396 for a couple of days. I lost a lot of sleep over it last night. Finally I came to a decision: I’m not the sort of guy who goes testing the fringes of thunderstorms or going on many long cross countries. In fact, other than going to Oshkosh and the rec.aviation fly-in in Pinckneyville, I just don’t do that many long trips.

So I reluctantly decided to get the 296. Then I found that Aircraft Spruce and Specialty is selling used 296s for $1095! I can use the savings to buy an auto kit! And maybe a new ANR headset. So that’s what I’ve done – I’ve ordered the used 296 and the auto kit. I still haven’t decided which new ANR headset to get.

By the way, anybody want to buy my 195? I can hardly call it “gently used”, but it’s in pretty good shape considering how I just toss it in the flight bag. Comes with yoke mount, at least one and possibly two external antennas (I recently re-found the one I thought I’d lost). Every now and then the zip-up carrying bag for the GPS shows up, so if you’re local I can pass that along to you next time it turns up. Same with the manual – I think it’s in the boxes in the library we haven’t unpacked from the move yet (but we’re getting the library painted in a few weeks, so those boxes will get unpacked very soon afterwards). They seem to be going for around $250-$300 on eBay (with a couple of outliers above and below). First local person offering $200 gets it.

Great Big Sea hove in the harbour…

Once again, the best band in the world played Rochester’s Water Street Music Hall. And once again, we were treated to a great, great show. (I unfortunately only brought my cell phone camera, so the pictures linked above suck.) My ears are ringing, my throat is hoarse, my clothes are soaked with sweat, and my knees are killing me, but the adrenaline is pumping and I’m extremely happy.

I’d write a full review, but fuck it, I’m going to bed.

Decisions, decisions….

I want to fly Laura back to school this Sunday. Right now, there are two planes available in Schedule Master: our Warrior, which is slow, cramped, and doesn’t have much useful load, or the Lance, which is fast, roomy (relatively) and with enough useful load that she could be bringing bricks with her and I wouldn’t have to worry about it. Oh, and the Warrior doesn’t have an autopilot either. I’m not even sure it has a heading bug. The Lance, on the other hand, has an HSI which is a god-send for instrument flying.

Normally this would be a no-brainer, but currently the Lance is sitting there with a totally flat nose gear strut, red oil streaks all over the cowl, and more worryingly, there is one streak of oil coming up through the spinner right where the leaky side of the prop comes through. (The prop has a tiny leak, and for the last couple of years our mechanic has said “that’s normal, but keep an eye on it”.) Obviously, the nose gear needs a new o-ring to keep the hydraulic fluid in, but there is also a small possibility that the prop needs a complete overhaul. The nose gear thing is a small job and if that’s all there is, it shouldn’t take more than a day to fix. But the prop thing could be a big job – if I book the Lance and it ends up grounded, there is a good possibility that the Warrior won’t be available if I need it. On the other hand, if I book the Warrior, I might end up flying in the Warrior when I could have taken the Lance.

The Maintenance Coordinator for the Lance says he’s taking the Lance to Batavia for our mechanic to look it over tomorrow. He was supposed to take it today but he got busy with something else, and didn’t bother to call me in spite of me being the Assistant Maintenance Coordinator.

Current again

This morning Jim and I met at the airport to do some flying. Because I’d done a bit already yesterday, I let him go first. It’s always interesting flying with another pilot, because everybody does things differently. First difference – because this was a practice flight, he decided not to “cheat” with his GPS – and he actually hand-flew the whole time. Second difference – he decided not to pre-heat the engine, even though it was below freezing. Third difference, and this was a doozy – he overcranked the engine like hell. I’ve always been taught not to crank more than 4 or 5 blades at a time, but he cranked a good 20 or 25 blades. That just about killed the battery, and when he couldn’t get it started after a couple more short cranks (because that’s all it would do) he decided to pre-heat. We dragged out the pre-heat cart and heated it up, but then he put the cart away before trying again. The battery was still shot, so I dragged out the pre-heat cart again and used it to jump start the plane. It started in 2 blades that time, and so I got my first taste of getting in the plane while the prop was turning. I also clonked the back of my head really badly when I stood up while coiling the extension cord for the pre-heater cart and hit the hangar door. I have a big scab there now.

When he did the take-off, he used two notches of flaps like it was a short field take-off, and was airborne right off the hump that’s about 1/3rd of the way down Runway 7.

He went out to the Geneseo VOR and did the published hold for the Canadagua VOR-A approach. Or at least he tried – I don’t think he intercepted the inbound radial more than half a mile from the VOR once in three tries. The reason I “cheat” with a GPS was abundantly clear – each time round, even though he was south of the inbound radial, on the outbound radial he was still correcting to the south. Then when it came time to do the actual approach, he dialed the heading in wrong by 5 degrees on the VOR (even though it had been set right while he was in the hold). And yet, in spite of that, he managed to end up closer to the airport than I usually do when I do that approach. So maybe he knows something I don’t.

Then he came in to Rochester to do the ILS 4 a couple of times. Another difference between him and I: he slowed down to 90 knots for the approach – I like to do them at 110 to 120 knots, since an ILS is generally to a nice long runway and you never know when some kerosene burner will be breathing down your neck.

He did two, and both times he a fine job of holding the localizer, and a not quite as good job on the glide slope. But it was bumpy and it’s easier to criticize than to do.

I was a bit surprised when he requested a circle to land on runway 7 and a full stop for his second ILS. I thought he was going to do a full 6. But he’d had enough and it was my turn. I decided to skip the hold and the non-precision approach, and just do 4 ILSes to get current. And in spite of the bumps and everything, I think I did pretty good on them. They kept turning me onto the localizer about 2 miles from the outer marker, and sometimes I wasn’t even properly established by the time I got there. One time they didn’t switch me over to the tower, leaving me on the approach frequency right the way down to decision height. Another time, I heard the approach controller about to give a regional jet behind us a speed restriction and then change his mind, and then the tower controller cleared us for “the option”. If we’d taken the option and done a stop-and-go, I wonder what would have happened to that regional jet?

By the time I’d finished my 4 ILS 04s, I was well and truly finished. The bumps weren’t as bad as yesterdays, but there is only so much bumping around at low altitude wearing foggles you can take. I’m glad that’s over, and hopefully I can get some real approaches and stay current that way.

If I ran Kodak…

(Disclaimer: I’m working at Kodak, but not with anything to do with Picture Kiosks. I’m not privy to any discussion of new technology or upcoming enhancements to the Kiosks.)

If I ran Kodak, I’d connect all those Picture Kiosks up to the internet with cheap DSL. Then, after you’d uploaded your pictures to OFoto (sorry – “Easy Share Gallery”, I think), you could say “Print this picture to the nearest Kiosk”, and it would tell you where the Kiosk was (and give the option to choose a different Kiosk if that one wasn’t good for you) and give you a PIN. You’d go to that Kiosk and enter your PIN, and out would come the pictures you’d sent to it. Much handier than having them mailed to you, or having to go to certain participating stores.