Yes but G1000 I can fly overhead the aid outbound using GPS, hit APR and it will arm the ILS continue outbound, make the turn and switch to the ILS at the appropriate time. I guess that is the advantage of integration.
My plane will do that too once i have modified the GNS430 to WAAS, then it can fly all holds and procedure turns that are part of the procedure. Just like the G1000/Perspective version
Hopefully for you. It was problematic in mine as I said.
once i have modified the GNS430 to WAAS, then it can fly all holds and procedure turns that are part of the procedure
Only once I have flown a procedure turn outside of training and never a hold that was part of a procedure (i.e. in the GNS430W database). I wouldn’t put too much emphasize on this functionality. Quite an expensive update for almost no value (at the moment where LPV doesn’t add anything).
Even though my GNS430W switches nicely to VLOC, it’s not a feature I couldn’t live without. It’s nice to see it doing it because it gives you an additional hint that your navigator is on top of things, but if not, it’s just a simple push of a button. In my previous cockpit setup, I did run into situations where the autopilot and the GNS430 were not correctly setup (NAV vs HDG vs APPR, VLOC vs GPS, GPSS on the PFD on/off) and that did cause some interesting moments (“what the f*** is the autopilot doing now?”). With the DFC90/Aspen this has become a lot better, much simpler setup and very good system integration.
I still don’t see the point of the integration if the pilot has to sit there and watch it all the way around.
He still needs total SA (in case it fails to do something exactly right) so why not just sit there and twiddle the heading bug every once in a while and manually arm the intercept?
For example to fly a DME arc needs a twiddle every 1/2 minute or so. I can have a pee while doing that and have done so.
I would not bother trying to understand these obscure functions. You should be the driver.
The GNS430 switches very nicely to VLOC… but the PFD doesn’t always (or I’m too stupid but then there’s many like me :-)) But the PFD has to switch too and, even more important, set the Final Course!
But I am not ryling on that anymore. Now I fly GPSS first, then switch to HDG+NAV, switch GNS and the PFD manually and the set the FC manually too.
Of course if it was RELIABLE it would be great, because you would have a hands free transition – the Final Course would be set aswell. But if you have to watch iz like a hawk and every second time it does something different … then (i agree) it makes no sense at all. Safer to do it manually then ….
For example to fly a DME arc needs a twiddle every 1/2 minute or so. I can have a pee while doing that and have done so.
Let’s compare the track of my AP flown DME arc to your DME arc with the heading bug in one hand and your …. in the other 
The GNS430 switches very nicely to VLOC… but the PFD doesn’t always
I am not an expert in Avidyne PFDs but I don’t understand this one. Why would the PFD have to switch, too? I know that the 430 can output both GPS and VLOC simultaneously over its ARINC429 connection but it does tell the PFD what its NAV mode is. When I alternate between VLOC and GPS, I see the field change on both the 430 and my Aspen PFD simultaneously. That GPS/VLOC field is always mirrored on my PFD.
(That simultaneous GPS/VLOC output of the 430 can be seen with the DFC90 AP. You can set your GNS430 to VLOC but still fly your GPS flight plan by pressing GPSS on the DFC90. The 430 sends the data to the PFD via ARINC and the PFD forwards both VLOC and GPS to the AP via a proprietary RS232 connection.)
I still don’t see the point of the integration if the pilot has to sit there and watch it all the way around.
Well, the idea is that you setup the system, you expect it to do something and you monitor closely whether it does that and in case it doesn’t, you immediately take control and do the job yourself. That’s how I operate the 430/AP/PFD and I think I have come to the point where it usually does exactly what I think it should. The user manuals of all products involved are surprisingly good but do require study. I have them always with me on the tablet and study them enroute.
Sorry, but it is important to me: I think that the user manuals are quite lousy. I don’t study them ENROUTE but in bed, but the DFC90 manual, for example, is not good. Where does it explain the modes of the autopilot in depth? Nowhere. It leaves many questions open. Like the interesting question why it has a GPSS key at all when it flies just the same in NAV mode – no actually much better! Actually its sibling, the DFC100, part of Avidyne’s R9 version of Entegra has NO GPSS key anymore. Now guess why …
Sometimes the manual uses wordings like “press either HDG+NAV” or “HDG+APPR” …. I find it ridiculos that I can press two different combinations of keys to get to the same result. And the problem is somewhat bigger than that once you learn that not frlom all modes do these combinations work. From some initial modes you CAN press APPR, but most times you can’t.
The BEST PROOF that there’s some homework to do is that the CEO of Cirrus Germany, the so called “Cirrus Pope” (now that I know him better i wonder where he got that title" told me that he would explain all the secrets of the A/P to me. Then we were on the first approsch and started pressing buttons: “Uh, why doesnÄt it it do that now?”, “Uh, this should work differently”, “something is wrong with the airplane” ….. “we have to check the manual later”. Now that is a guy whi has flown these planes DAILY for 12 years and should know every detail.
But he could not tell me how it works EXACTLY
Only once I have flown a procedure turn outside of training and never a hold that was part of a procedure (i.e. in the GNS430W database). I wouldn’t put too much emphasize on this functionality. Quite an expensive update for almost no value (at the moment where LPV doesn’t add anything).
Depends on where you live. In the UK you very often fly the full procedure.
Actually its sibling, the DFC100, part of Avidyne’s R9 version of Entegra has NO GPSS key anymore.
GFC700 only has a NAV mode as well. I thought on the DFC90 GPSS used roll steering while NAV didn’t but has been a while since I looked at it.
