Hey, just wondering if anyone out there is using hand held GPS's.. Kinda thinking of getting one as Im flying a plane now without a GPS. What do you have, and what should I not consider.
Thanks

My dad had a Garmin 55 in his Cessna 150. He has since upgraded to a Garmin 150 panel mount.
I would recommend any modern Garmin unit. We have very little trouble with garmin GPS's in out workshop.
Check out their website to see what available.

Currently installing a GNC 250XL in a Citabria. I think the 196 (<---might be 195) handheld is decent from what I hear. And they now have an even better one, so those should come pretty cheap now!

Well, for handhelds Im looking at the Airmap 2000c (buddy has this one) and the Garmin 196 and 296... Not sure what other options there are in that range, the airmap less than 1K and is color, the 296 is like 1700 and is full color.... the 196 is 1k and not color....

The planes I have been flying had Garmin 430's in them.

Ah, the effect of basic flight instruction with a GPS .

Check out the PalmEFIS moving map software for Palm PDA's at www.hangarb17.com. Great features and support, plus the versatility and multitasking capabilities of a PDA

Yep, and love it! Everyone needs a GPS

Just giving you a bad time John . My Garmin GPS Pilot III is compact and works very well. It has helped me navigate some pretty rugged terrain in some pretty low weather conditions.

I know I just want it for going instrument, and at night and bad conditions for some extra awareness

I was glad to have my Garmin 195 on board on the occasion of a complete electrical failure in night IFR conditions. Considerable reduction in pucker factor!

DT56

Ive used my Garmin 195 for several years flying pipeline patrol, and it has never let me down. I've got all my pipeline routes laid down in the track function, and uploaded to my PC. I just download the track I need for a particular route, and that, cross referenced with the actual company maps I carry, give me all the nav and line information I need. The ground crew guys with the pipeline companies are carrying GPS units now, and they like the fact that if I find a leak or something else that needs their attention out in the middle of nowhere, I can give them exact coordinates as to where to look. The 195 has gotten me through some pretty rough weather situations, also. Even made my own instrument approaches into a couple of uncontrolled fields along the way for just such weather emergencies. I know that there are other units that have come out lately that have all the latest bells and whistles, but in my opinion, the 195 is still one of the best units out there, and they can be had at a very reasonable price nowadays.

My Dad flies 172's, a 172RG, a 182RG, and a BE-76 Duchess. The Duchess and 182 have Garmin 430's. The 172RG has a Garmin 530. The 172's don't have GPS', so my Dad is thinking of buying a Garmin 396 Handheld. It is basically the same as the Garmin 530. It just has a smaller display but it does have the ability to upload your flightplan from your Computer.

In the end it's a matter of taste. I'm a Garmin man but there are other brands that are equally good.
Be sure to include a computer interface (cable) in the purchase. For some reason, Garmin and others charge ridiculous amounts of money for such a simple accessory.

/Red B.

I consider a portable GPS a great addition to any flight deck. My "ancient" Garmin 195 has been well used and greatly appreciated. I don't download flight plans from a computer though, but I find it fast and simple to use the 195's flight plan feature. The only fault I find with the 195, is one it also shares with the panel mount GNS430 and GNS530 series. Airways are not included in the database. I used the 530 in an aircraft for several years and liked it a great deal, except for the lack of airway data. No problem for VFR flight plans, but since ATC is still geared toward the use of airways, it's a considerable disadvantage for those flying IFR.

I don't fly night IFR without the 195. It saved my bacon once and could do the same again!

DT56

I have the Lowrance 1000 and really like it. I was looking around and found a great place to buy the Lowrance from. His prices were so low I was almost afraid to give him my CC#. Check this guy out:

http://www.avionicswest.com/

He has some good in depth reviews of them too.

Hope this helps,
Alan

Hi Guys - There are so many good (outstanding) Hand Held GPS's out there now, that it really is a matter of personal preference. I got into GPS's the first year they came out from underneath the military's domain, and started using them for Search and Rescut in NW Wyoming. The company I work for finally listened to me tell why GPS's could be of use to them during anything from an Emergency Response to what ended up becoming my last position as GIS Coordinator.

We started having a lot of our folks just going out and buying different GPS's, and so I was given the envious job of getting to test all of the latest HH GPS's made, and trying to come up with a Standard HH GPS package for the Company.

After much fussing and testing, I finally ended up choosing the Magellan Meridian Color. It just seemed easier to use, had more internal memory, could put the largest SD card in them, and the different software packages for our application were great for uploading detailed road and topo info. Looking back, the only thing I wish I had changed earlier was to go to the Meridian Gold vs the Color. The reason for this was the color screen was difficult to see in daylight lit cabs or cockpits. I also got to supply our Pipeline Aerial Patrol pilots with data out of our GIS database which made it pretty accurate and quick.

Now this has been several years ago, and I need to visit updating our Standard HH GPS Package again. I am about to try out one of Magellans new eXplorist XL North America units to see if the color screen has been improved along with the larger size screen.

On a side note, as a personal project, I started collecting the center of the RC runways for as many RC Fields as I could visit or determine using some of my GIS software. I presently have collected over 980 fields across the US. I have it in an Excel file that can easily be uploaded to software such as MSN's Streets and Trips. The Excel file includes of course the coordinates, city and state names, the club name, club web link and weather link. It also has links to on-line aerial and satillite images. If anyone is interested in it I have the files on my little MSN web site broke out by AMA Dist. Go to [link=http://groups.msn.com/PuttsRCHomePage]Putt's RC Home Page[/link], click on the Documents tab, and either download it or open it from there. If anyone would rather have the whole file let me know in a PM and I can e-mail it to you. You can also see part of the data using Bill Lee's [link=http://www.ama-dist-8.org/Clubs/Locator.php]AMA Club Locator[/link]. Look for a link in the upper right of some of the results that way GPS and Aerial Imagery link.

On a side note, if anyone is looking for some good info from someone who knows GPS inside and out, check out Joe Mehaffey's site out for [link=http://gpsinformation.net/]GPS and software reviews and comparisons[/link]

Check out the Garmin iQue3600a. It is an aviation and automotive GPS with high end features built into a Palm compatible PDA. Garmin is 2nd to none for the quality and performance of their GPS units.

i use the Meggllin Platinum wonderful unit .

i flew with a 430 all summer. the thing i like about it is the way it shows you exactly what airspace your in. after what happend up in DC i dont know if i will fly near TFRs without one. i have flown with the 430, 530, and seen the G1000 in action. the 1000 looked like it would be a little two much info if you dont fly with it that much. i could see how it would get distracted fast. the one thing that was nice was when we went IMC. that big screen is niiiiice