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GOT DME?

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Gemini Sparkle

Key Takeaways:

  • The article details the complexities of flying instrument approaches in aircraft equipped with "legacy" avionics, contrasting it with modern GPS systems.
  • It stresses the critical need to thoroughly understand approach chart notes, such as "ADF or DME required," and to correctly identify the source of DME information (e.g., VOR vs. localizer).
  • Pilots must master traditional skills like navigating DME arcs, using lead radials, and calculating timed approaches with limited equipment.
  • A key challenge involves efficiently managing a single VOR/LOC receiver and DME unit for different navigation requirements throughout an approach and missed approach procedure.
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With full RNAV equipment, the occasional ILS might seem quaint, but it’s still a useful procedure. It even requires RNAV in some updated versions. Meanwhile, there are still plenty of ground-based navaids to accommodate the full spectrum of aircraft capabilities, all the way down to “legacy” avionics, of which, yes, there really are lots. Some are newly acquired, waiting for avionics makeovers. Until such time, new owners might need refreshers on VOR, DME and LOC.

Back to Six-Pack

A few weeks back, you found a cherry Piper Cherokee 140 for sale. Efficient and user-friendly, it’s perfect for your two-hour commutes to visit friends and relatives from your home in the Twin Cities. This beauty came with a new interior and paint, and even new replacement vacuum-driven AI and DG, but only one VOR/LOC receiver with CDI (no glideslope). It also has DME, however that works.

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