How many radios

Tom-D

Tom-D

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Tom-D
In simple small aircraft like the Cessna 100 series and the piper PA-28 series.

What radios do you actually need for VFR operations?

There are a lot of new small radios, that require very little space, what do you really need?
 
1 VHF, 1 UHF, 1 HF, 2 FMs, SATCOM. All secure and freq hop. Oh, VFR? Just a VHF is fine.
 
For VFR flying, one radio is fine as long as it actually works. With the inexpensive COM radios on the market today there is little excuse for people to still have a panel full of old junk.
 
Tom-D said:
In simple small aircraft like the Cessna 100 series and the piper PA-28 series.

What radios do you actually need for VFR operations?

There are a lot of new small radios, that require very little space, what do you really need?
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The question was “need”. The answer is None. But you knew that already.
 
I vote one because it would be nice to enter airspace other than G/E, but a monitor mode like on the SL40 would be really handy to have.
 
What would be your recommendation for the best and cheapest new COM radios to install in my old C150? I have a Narco Nav/Com where the Nav does not work anymore and it would be great to have a second radio installed for when that craps out in flight.
 
Matthew Rogers said:
What would be your recommendation for the best and cheapest new COM radios to install in my old C150? I have a Narco Nav/Com where the Nav does not work anymore and it would be great to have a second radio installed for when that craps out in flight.
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Assuming we're talking about a VFR plane I'd rip out all the current radios and wiring and just install one of the new garmin COM radios. It has a built in intercom and music interface as well, if those were things you might be interested in.

At this point in time I wouldn't put any money into a Narco. There are people out there servicing them but there is no guarantee how long they'll last when you get them back. Then you'll be in the same spot you were in before you spent money trying to fix it.
 
Matthew Rogers said:
What would be your recommendation for the best and cheapest new COM radios to install in my old C150? I have a Narco Nav/Com where the Nav does not work anymore and it would be great to have a second radio installed for when that craps out in flight.
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You need a transponder, ADSB compliant of course, then it is a matter of COM, I'd simply put an instrument hole radio in the hole left by the nav-head. And close off the hole in the rack with a iPAD mount.
 
flhrci said:
No TACAN or IFF?
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Think Tom is referring to comms only. IFF- “Mustang, when you get a chance can you give me a mode 4 check?” ;)
 
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I have two...I always though I would add a third but never really became a priority.

I like to be on FF on Com 1 which gives me Com 2 to pick up weather or monitor CTAF when inbound before frequency change.

...and my HH. Had a com failure once so did not matter how many radios were in my stack.
 
For VFR one radio is sufficient, a second is nice to listen to weather/switch to quickly but not necessary. All your GPS needs can be handled by non-panel devices. As for ADS-B.... I suspect a lot of people could do without it, depending on where you're based and what your flying aspirations are.
 
Depends entirely on what I'm doing with the plane.

VFR only? I don't care if it has 0 radios. Handheld is fine if I need to go into a Delta.

IFR? Minimum of one Nav/Com and some form of GPS source or two Nav/Coms.
 
One radio. I have a cell phone if I need to come back into controlled airspace nordo.
 
I've got one panel mounted VHF nav-com radio, a Garmin SL 30, and a second external fuselage mounted VHF antenna with a length of RG-58 coax terminating in a BNC connector on the panel that I can connect with a short length of RG-58 to the BNC connector on my Yaesu handheld if the SL 30 craps out.
 
Tom-D said:
In simple small aircraft like the Cessna 100 series and the piper PA-28 series.

What radios do you actually need for VFR operations?

There are a lot of new small radios, that require very little space, what do you really need?
Click to expand...

A simple Com and a USB for a tablet.
 
I have a KX-155 for the VOR that I use in flight and an ICOM that I use for ground and clearance. I also have a handheld that was useful when my alternator stopped and the battery died.
 
Tom-D said:
You need a transponder, ADSB compliant of course, then it is a matter of COM, I'd simply put an instrument hole radio in the hole left by the nav-head. And close off the hole in the rack with a iPAD mount.
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And would make a great VFR panel. In my opinion.
 
Tom-D said:
You think correctly..
How many of us really do hard IFR in light singles.
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Plenty. I used to do hard IFR in the Archer (and it was /A) before I got my multi rating.
 
Tom-D said:
You think correctly..
How many of us really do hard IFR in light singles.
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A whole lot less than take off VFR in a light single over densely populated areas with no emergency landing sites available and/or at night.
 
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Tom-D said:
And every year we hear about someone screwing it up in IMC.
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Yeah but the single engine has nothing to do with it. They “screw it up” because lack of instrument experience.
 
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Velocity173 said:
Yeah but the single engine has nothing to do with it. They “screw it up” because lack of instrument experience.
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There are a multitude of reasons. not having the correct equipment is a biggy.
 
Tom-D said:
And every year we hear about someone screwing it up in IMC.
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And almost all of the time it’s because the pilot wasn’t good at instruments. That can happen in wide body jets, too, and has nothing to do with the number of engines.
 
Tom-D said:
And every year we hear about someone screwing it up in IMC.
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And those are VFR into IMC, or not keeping track of their position relative to obstacles.

Those who keep in practice IFR and don’t go below minimums don’t have problems, no matter the plane type.
 
I have a handheld radio that works just fine. That being said, if you're VFR, having a 2nd panel mounted radio is just added weight 95% of the time. And, only an unnecessary 'nice-to-have' the rest of the time.
 
Ted DuPuis said:
And almost all of the time it’s because the pilot wasn’t good at instruments. That can happen in wide body jets, too, and has nothing to do with the number of engines.
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Single engine failures in IMC have a very high fatality rate.
 
Tom-D said:
Single engine failures in IMC have a very high fatality rate.
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FTFY. What difference does the number of engines make?
Engine failures aren’t generally the cause of IMC crashes
 
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