That aviation is a highly regulated activity should come as no surprise to readers. Many other applicable rules are unwritten, developed by pilots after a mishap or mistake, which not necessarily resulted in an accident or incident. How we tackle becoming comfortable with new avionics aboard a familiar airplane is a question FAA regulations don’t address, but the unwritten rules offer some guidance: Good operating practices and a dollop of common sense argue strongly in favor of not launching into poor conditions without at least a few hours of experience with the new equipment.
I’ve not always followed that advice. When installation of my Garmin GNS 530 was complete, I performed a couple of local flights to verify GPS reception and other operational details, then launched from Hagerstown, Md., for New Orleans. The weather was good along that route, though, except for stiff headwinds. I spent the next several flight hours becoming familiar with the new toy and soon was comfortable enough with it that I was shooting approaches to minimums. I still have the 530, now upgraded to the 530W configuration and, in many ways, I’m still learning what it can do.
