Buying A Gps, Suggestions?

[Harmonic_Vibe]

I said "Garmin 276"... Not "296"... I found it on the website and definitely didn't imagine it...

[Harmonic_Vibe]

Ok... I had a minute in my busy schedule and found it again... And it's dropped another 50 bucks... It's now only $599... I think it's wicked... It's not an "aviation" GPS but I've used one that was supplied by the client and found it to be great for the bush... and I personally don't give a shyte about the airspace info...

 

HV

 

Here's the link: http://www.costco.ca/Browse/Product.aspx?P...〈=en-CA

[volition]

Ok... I had a minute in my busy schedule and found it again... And it's dropped another 50 bucks... It's now only $599... I think it's wicked... It's not an "aviation" GPS but I've used one that was supplied by the client and found it to be great for the bush... and I personally don't give a shyte about the airspace info...

 

HV

 

Here's the link: http://www.costco.ca/Browse/Product.aspx?P...〈=en-CA

 

Ok, my bad, but who cares about a 276 in the air.

[Harmonic_Vibe]

Ok, my bad, but who cares about a 276 in the air.

 

Ahem... I have used a 276 in the air lots... it is great... I never once thought it was missing a single feature... You can load all the topo maps, etc and use it on your boat or in your vehicle... Maybe you can't use it in your Cormorant or whatever it is you fly... I for one don't think the "extra" aviation stuff in the 296 warrants the incredibly more expensive unit... I use a $200 Magellan I bought at Canadian Tire most of the time... and I don't experience any difficulties with navigation, situational awareness or anything else... except talking clearly after drinking copious quantities of micro-brewed ale... a common pilot's affliction...

 

HV

[volition]

Cool. I heard from another guy in the Yukon that the LOWRANCE Airmap 2000.

[fan]

It still blows my mind that in the year 2007 you get in a nice machine and you find nothing but a trimble 1000 ?????? i don't know how many times Ive heard the old rhetoric of well you should use your map BLA BLA BLA ...i think we all know how to use our maps otherwise we wouldn't be pilots (or Shouldn't be) but the fact is that that sort of new technologies like a good moving map gps with TOPO makes a huge difference in a days work .It increases safety, reduces stress , incr situational awareness, incredible help in bad weather cond (and really not the time to be flying with one hand and holding the map with the other ,and I'm talking in working situations like staking for example,not a to b flying)excellent tool for long lining as well to confirm height of peaks, drop spot etc and when one knows how to use the units it has a lot of other features like the routes calculations that again help you confirm your fuel burn for different legs for example long lining for 2 legs and ferry for one over big distances .....AND I DID SAY CONFIRM NOT DO IT FOR YOU...etc etc etc i could go on but in the end it comes down to some one not wanting to fork a couple of $.Fleet standardization is another big one but some other day....sorry for ranting but I'm a firm believer in technologies and it is so easy to use!! keeps your head clear for all the other insignificant details we have to deal with.....

[skullcap]

fan

 

Perhaps the reason there are no moving map super gps's in your aircraft is that it is very hard to find one which is panel mounted and not made for a bleeding airplane. IMHO the last panel mounted gps that was user friendly was the old trimble or garmin gp100(which was hard to see). I have asked our pilots what they like and guess what? They like the hand held garmin or the garmin 296(?). I have seen a few garmin 430's out there and have yet to find a pilot who uses it regularly, usually a handheld mounted somewhere.

 

Most pilots like the ability to take the waypoint info with them. And some customers now input the waypoints each day for you via their computer....not sure how easily it would be for panel mounts.

 

As well the jobs are getting very navigation specific, example in seismic there may be Dyna-Nav or Kodiak, birdtowing will have the company's own nav system, spraying trimble or such. It can get complicated in a hurry, refer to the KISS method in other thread. Perhaps this is another reason the drivers prefer their own unit. I would rather see a solid sat phone tracking system then a 15,000 dollar gps that goes unused(my personal fav is the lowrance airmap 1000 which does all you say but is not color and some say the garmin is more user friendly)

 

Which is the brand and model you would like to see installed perhaps it is the ticket?

[fan]

Dear skull

I must say i completly agree with you. I should have been more specific ,there is no need for a 15000$ panel mount unit, that is a lot of money that could be wisely spent elsewhere but a good 296 or 396 sure goes a long way compared to a trimble 1000 or a garmin 100 !! it cheap flexible and removable and does everything one can wish for and more.....easy to mount on the dash or windshield post and should make all pilots happy . it can stay with the machine and spare a night of programing .able to go with you if need be etc etc......and look professional .some dashboards i have seen have so many chunks of various assortment of velcro tape and such that they sometimes look like an old piece of garment is laying there

[volition]

Flight Cheetah FL 190!!! Best one I ever seen. Same price as the G396, but tons more stuff on it, and 3 times the screen size. Check it out. Im in the market of getting my own.

 

http://www.aviationsafety.com/garmin_496.htm

[skullcap]

volition;

 

That does seem nice!!! What about up/downloading waypoints, can it be done and if so how?

 

sc