Jesse,
on this matter: If I would have in theory one GNS430 non WAAS and one WAAS unit, physically not interconnected, does that still require a major change?
This guys does it with his old C182. Reminds me of my IFR training in the States many years ago. A fun way of flying.
A fun way of flying.
Fun? I suspect that our definitions of the term “fun” are diametrically opposite. I also learnt to fly IFR with this kind of stuff. Pre GPS. Thinking about it, a lot of memories come to mind. None of them is even close to my perception of fun 
Yep, I remember IFR pre-GPS. Flying airways using VORs and giving position reports and estimates. NDB approaches being the norm. Kids these days don’t know how good they have it.
Nice video. Have landed at KPOC a couple times :)
He makes it look easy 
Looks like I need a bit of practice on the radio traffic when I head over to the US next year!
Is this still allowed in the US and Europe? Down here in Oz the powers that be have decided that it would be much cheaper if everyone just used GNSS so that they can switch off a whole heap of expensive VORs and ODBs around the country. So to keep your aircraft certified for IFR (from 1 Januray 2016) you now need to install a TSO’d GPS (in most circumstances two) and of course there’s the new ADSB requirements as well. And if you’re really unlucky you’re flying a cessna and need to do $50k of SID work before you can even think about upgrading the avionics.
You can image that the number of IFR capable aircraft in Australia will be severely reduced in the next year.
I was going to start training for my PIFR (a modular IR for private use only) but that’s now out of the question since the 172 I rent will be downgraded to (N)VFR only and I don’t think there’s any point in getting an IR of any kind if you can’t use it regularly.
Doesn’t Australia mandate an IFR GPS for all IFR above a certain altitude anyway?
Europe (or most of it) does and has done for at least 10 years. It used to be in BRNAV airspace (FL095+ originally) but now it is in all controlled airspace, AFAIK.
A GNS430, installed with the required annunciators, meets this requirement.
However, only a small % (probably less than 5%) of certified light aircraft ever flies IFR (in CAS) anyway.
The other Q is: doesn’t Australian ATC operate IFR airspace as “RNAV” (area navigation) anyway? One cannot fly in that without GPS, because they just throw various waypoints at you which most of the time are not navaids. They are just points in space, with 5-letter names (e.g. ORTAC).
I did the US IR (before the UK IR) and that was totally non-GPS. The USA still has an airspace which can be flown on VORs. It has Class E from (generally) 1200ft to 17999ft and Class A above that, to FL600. In most of the rest of the world, “legit IFR” cannot be done at a few k feet. But it isn’t just their airspace. It’s a lot of other stuff which makes flying in the USA a lot easier. They one one language, one type of charts, unified documentation on airports and their opening hours and capabilities, etc. Without GPS, one has a reduced situational awareness (unless doing local flights which is the vast majority of GA activity) and to get away with that on longer trips (without getting into trouble – and I don’t mean getting lost) needs a good interaction with ATC, which needs a pro-GA ATC system, which some parts have and others don’t… the USA does.
Flying IFR in Europe without GPS is hardly possible anymore. There are numerous fixes which cannot be identified by conventional means, VORs that are unusable due to “maintenance” for extended periods of time. In the US fixes can be identified either VOR/DME or VOR/VOR. It looks like it still is the case judging from the chart presented in the video.
But GPS provides such positional awareness that I am not sure I would be able to do without anymore, even in the US… Especially when being vectored by ATC during approach and you just know there is terrain nearby.
Peter wrote:
Doesn’t Australia mandate an IFR GPS for all IFR above a certain altitude anyway?All of Scandinavia, Finland and the Baltic states (at least) do not have a requirement for RNAV in all controlled airspace, but only above FL95. (We’ve been through this before.) I suspect that the same holds for some other countries, but I haven’t checked all European AIPs.Europe (or most of it) does and has done for at least 10 years. It used to be in BRNAV airspace (FL095+ originally) but now it is in all controlled airspace, AFAIK.
Also, there is no specific requirement for a GPS, but it is of course the only economically viable option for light GA.
Funnily enough, my new turbine steed has no IFR certified GPS. It’s an old Apollo 50 and its database is no longer supported. So until I’ve redone the panel, I can only accept VOR, LOC or ILS approaches. Which, in the LA area is fine, but might prove challenging when I need to go to smaller fields. One day, I hope there will be portable IFR certified solutions for ForeFlight, but that’s probably many years off still.
