Re:Updating my plane’s very old GPS data in a very modern way
by paulmd on Friday November 18, 2016 @05:25PM
(#12990597)
I didn't consider experimental and I agree it sounds more reasonable there. I'm not super familiar with experimental regs, other than the obvious "no commercial use" rule and the necessity of hanging on real tight while you bump and wobble your way down the strip :P
Interesting about the fact that you can fly IFR on your own GPS. I would not have figured that would be allowed since you will be around other aircraft under similar weather conditions/operating rules. Particularly in Class Bravo airspace where it's busy. Or are there other restrictions about experimental aircraft in Class B?
Re:Updating my plane’s very old GPS data in a very modern way
by spitfire on Saturday November 19, 2016 @02:30PM
(#12995163)
Why wouldn't you? You can fly IFR with a paper map and a few instruments.
Re:Updating my plane’s very old GPS data in a very modern way
by paulmd on Monday November 21, 2016 @01:00AM
(#13003481)
As long as the paper maps and your instruments are accurate, that's perfectly legitimate.
There's no guarantee that a random GPS you built yourself is anywhere near accurate, doesn't have random edge cases, etc. That's problematic when there's a high density of other aircraft containing hundreds of people around.
Not saying it's not legal, it just surprises me because the FAA is usually really cautious.
It is my understanding that, in an experimental, you can even legally fly IFR with a GPS you built yourself, as long as it complies with the performance standards and you document the test data that verifies that it does so. Whether it's wise to do so is a different question.