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Garmin GNC355

I find myself using mostly GPS, adf and DME. I find VOR’s to not be that conveniently located and at GA levels I’m too low to pick them up any way.

In most of Europe, except probably France and Germany where they have lots of LPVs, an ILS is going to be your last-resort lifesaver.

Decoding the nav signals into the deviations is easily done in software, but you still need a second VHF receiver circuit and that’s probably why Garmin didn’t do it. Unless you do it fully digitally and I don’t think anybody in avionics is doing that.

Also, the market is the US and there almost no GA is going to need this capability.

Yes; the moving map is too small to be usable as the sole moving map. I guess this product is an acknowledgement that most people fly with Foreflight on an Ipad so they get decent mapping from that.

Administrator
Shoreham EGKA, United Kingdom

Isn’t still most IFR navigation autopilot flown GPS-based en-route with an ILS at the end?
In which case the autopilot needs to change not only nav source, but also nav unit, for the approach. That is, if the GNC355 is the primary equipment for navigation.
On the other hand, if a GTN 650 or 750 is the primary nav box, then a GNC355 could make sense as a COM2 and a backup GPS nav, instead of having a second (more expensive) GTN650.

huv
EKRK, Denmark

I look at these unit as ideal for those aircraft that have/had two dual nav/coms. Slot of these got update with two Garmin nav/com units as that’s all there was.

However swapping one box to a Garmin 8.33 nav/com and the second box to this unit would have been a far more capable upgrade.

Sadly it wasn’t available 2 years ago

I’m attracted to this unit as a way to replace an aging single nav radio and single com radio with one unit that fits in the same panel space, or less. Tossing the VOR receiver and its antenna would be a great thing given its never used for my (VFR) flying, and (as Peter notes) a reliable panel mounted navigation backup for ForeFlight would be beneficial, as would an approach capability for emergencies. I’d consider a G5 at the same time. Something for me to think about over the next few years.

Isn’t still most IFR navigation autopilot flown GPS-based en-route with an ILS at the end?

I don’t know about the Garmin GNS/GTN workflow (maybe they do an automatic GPS to LOC switchover; I suspect we have had many threads on this in years past) but IME what happens is, yes, you fly GPS enroute, and when within say 30nm of the airport you go to HDG mode (not least because you are likely to be vectored, 90% of the time in Europe) and when approaching the LOC you set the autopilot to ARM and it automatically picks up the LOC, and that arms it to pick up the GS.

if a GTN 650 or 750 is the primary nav box, then a GNC355 could make sense as a COM2 and a backup GPS nav, instead of having a second (more expensive) GTN650.

Yes; though not with the 650 which also has a very small screen. With the GTN750 it would be good, though I suspect most will go for a GTN650 there. I don’t know if the 355 has interfaces to fuel totalisers etc.

I have a feeling the 355 is coming 10-15 years too late, and may be aimed at KLN89/KLN94/etc replacements.

Administrator
Shoreham EGKA, United Kingdom

Hi

Still trying to understand what is the main difference between this device and GTN 635 (GPS+Comm).
Do they look the same functionally?

Thanks!

EGTR

Peter wrote:

the moving map is too small to be usable as the sole moving map.
It’s a pity they have also shrunk the default NAV screen, these 2" units would be plenty large enough for that as full size displays, and then a permanent map display on a GTN. Would be a neat combo for crowded or small panels.

arj1 wrote:

what is the main difference between this device and GTN 635
Box height.
ESMK, Sweden

Arne wrote:

what is the main difference between this device and GTN 635

Box height.

And a $4000 (approximately 40%) price reduction.

Peter wrote:

In most of Europe, except probably France and Germany where they have lots of LPVs, an ILS is going to be your last-resort lifesaver.

More pedestrian and common: for IFR flights, since either your destination or an alternate must have a non-GNSS approach, widespread ILS is an operational necessity. Unless you operate only when forecast are VFR-to-MEA/MVA/…

ELLX
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