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Tablet reliability in the cockpit, and terrain avoidance using GPS

You need to look at which handhelds output the terrain warning audio on a connector.

The G296 doesn’t, the G496 does, even though both have the same TAWS feature.

You must have the audio wired to a spare input on the aircraft intercom (and yeah I am not going to wait for someone to point out that this is illegal or immoral or criminal etc especially as a handheld doesn’t come with an EASA-1 form) because one cannot hear the little speaker when flying, and one isn’t going to be watching the screen either.

Maybe the new Garmins do have the terrain warnings on a connector – I didn’t test them because AFAICT the G496 is as good in this department as one can get.

Administrator
Shoreham EGKA, United Kingdom

Virtually all of them I would imagine.

Egnm, United Kingdom

Peter wrote:

I have never flown with SV but have had TAWS (the Garmin 496, wired to the intercom) for 11 years. At the time at least, it was widely believed that the database is identical to the certified TAWS option in the GNS530 except for some extra work around airports having been done in the certified version.

The G496 predicts your current trajectory for 2 mins at the current GS and warns if there is terrain. I have tested it at various places, including flying towards a 500ft cliff at 400ft and then at 600ft and that was spot on. Plus it gets tested all the time during normal departures and arrivals.

Once or twice it generated seemingly totally spurious warnings.

But I would say it would totally protect you from a CFIT – provided that you don’t try to do one near an airport because the warnings are progressively disabled (except the “FIVE HUNDRED” one which seems to always operate, anywhere) on an IAP or a visual approach.

Are any of the newer Garmin portables blessed with the ability to give terrain warnings?

Rwy20 wrote:

I thought it might have to do with the chart style

This issue has been addressed and the fix will be in the next release.

JasonC wrote:

Feasible, yes. Advisable, certainly not.

No argument from me…

YPJT, United Arab Emirates

PetitCessnaVoyageur wrote:

Let me try to say again…
What have proved to be more effective as a last defense against CFIT ?

Well, I was half joking but only half. The reason I make the point is nothing is made to allow flight below MSA when not visual.

There is a reason that all CAT aircraft have TAWS in the form of EGPWS or GPWS. It is a proven backup system.

EGTK Oxford

Thanks JasonC to remind :-)

Let me try to say again…
What have proved to be more effective as a last defense against CFIT ?

It’s, for a part, a debate between being vocally alarmed vs being able to see.

Often we read that SVT allows the pilot to feel “more confident”, as he gets a confirmation that he is where he should. But being more comfortable doesn’t mean you are safer.

If the X-Plane worldwide database is say 50GB, and it was when I bought it some years ago for my son’s sim, you cannot possibly get a European database that’s any good (say within 100-200ft) in a few hundred MB.

…but doesn’t good mountain flying practice require a good safety margin (2,000’ ) for ridge crossing, higher depending on prevailing winds (one rule of thumb is half the height of the mountain when winds are strong, although light GA might want to stay at home if winds are above 25 knots)?

Oxford (EGTK), United Kingdom

Jean wrote:

I agree, the newer iPads don’t heat as much as the older ones. My iPad never shuts down in the DA40 Cockpit which can get hot in summer.

If that doesn’t work for somebody, maybe this or this would. I think its a neat idea anyway.

I agree, the newer iPads don’t heat as much as the older ones. My iPad never shuts down in the DA40 Cockpit which can get hot in summer. On the other hand, SD can freeze. It happened to me a few times and had to reboot it to recover a functional app.
So I would’nt rely completely as that for sole backup/emergency device.

Jean
EBST, Belgium
28 Posts
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