The pilot was really excited. After taking out a second mortgage on his house and forgoing the purchase of a new car, he finally had his new IFR-certified, panel-mounted GPS with all the bells and whistles. Shortly after the installation was complete and approved he headed off on a flight with a friend. He managed to get the flight plan entered without much trouble, and the first part of the flight went well. However, things started to get interesting as he entered the approach environment. He had some trouble getting the approach set up on the GPS, and then just when it seemed to be correct, ATC changed his clearance. The more he turned knobs and pushed buttons the more confused he got. As he concentrated on trying to straighten things out, he suddenly realized the airplane was going into a spiral dive. Finally, he decided to forget the GPS approach and request the VOR approach he was used to flying.
Like most pilots, I have lusted over the new all-in-one GPS navigators such as the Garmin GNS 430. I could picture how well the 430 would look on the panel of my Twin Comanche in place of the well-worn KNS 80 and KY 197. I had even budgeted the money for a 430 as part of my overhaul project. Unfortunately, I spent the money during the overhaul without buying the GPS. However, I am beginning to realize that maybe a Garmin 430, UPS GX50 or similar unit would not be in my best interest. With the glowing descriptions of the capabilities of the new GPS receivers there is a growing awareness that all that sophistication comes at a price, and I'm not talking dollars. It takes considerable effort and constant practice to attain and maintain the skills necessary to use an IFR-certified GPS in the IFR environment. Anyone who is not willing to invest the time and effort to learn and practice using their equipment will be at a significant disadvantage when things start to get busy in the cockpit.
There has been an interesting discussion on AVweb (www.avweb.com) following a review written by Mike Busch on the GNS 530. As Mike wrote, "One glance at the 214-page owner's manual makes it clear that this isn't your father's GPS." One pilot wrote, "I had to relearn my IFR procedures." Several people talked about a steep learning curve and spending hours with the book and the simulator. Other pilots were worried about the amount of "heads-down" time required to program and run the unit. There was also a comment about how hard it is to find an instructor who is capable of teaching you how to use your equipment.
All this is not meant to disparage the new GPS navigators. Most of the people who talked about the effort required to learn how to operate the unit went on to say that, having spent the time, the unit was relatively easy to master and well worth the effort. So for anyone willing to pay the price in time and effort required to learn how to operate a sophisticated GPS in an intensive IFR environment with unanticipated changes to the flight plan, go for it. However, if you are not willing to do what is required to come up to speed on your unit, and if you are not going to practice GPS approaches on a regular basis, then you are just setting yourself up for disappointment, distraction or worse by getting an IFR GPS.
