Lets Talk 296's

n20junkie

n20junkie

Pre-takeoff checklist
Joined
Oct 21, 2005
Messages
429
Location
Grand Island, NY
Display Name
Display name:
Grant Farmer
Ok, I am a IR comm pilot, looking to upgrade my crappy old gps. The 296 seems to the the cheapest one I can get that has the nice color screen. And being garmin it has the same menus as the 430/530 series that I trained with. Now my airplane of choice is the cloud bustin C-150, so were not going into anything that nasty, its just training for currency/profecency in fog and the sorts. So what do you like about the 296, and what do you hate about it?
 
n20junkie said:
Ok, I am a IR comm pilot, looking to upgrade my crappy old gps. The 296 seems to the the cheapest one I can get that has the nice color screen. And being garmin it has the same menus as the 430/530 series that I trained with. Now my airplane of choice is the cloud bustin C-150, so were not going into anything that nasty, its just training for currency/profecency in fog and the sorts. So what do you like about the 296, and what do you hate about it?
Click to expand...

I went with the 196 versus the 296 to get the same functionality in gray scale with an 8 hour battery life versus 1.5 or 2 for the Color screen.
 
296=good. Like having a sectional that tells you where you're going. I worked mine from the cigarette lighter in the old airplane, and now have it wired into the panel. I don't need terrain, since I live somewhere flat and can see mountains anyway. I don't need weather as I am a VFR pilot and can see the stuff.
 
If you don't need / want xm weather then the 296 is still the state of the art hands down. Sure the jepp database in the 496 has a couple of additional things like private strips and the refresh rate is faster, but unless you are exceeding 300 knots the refresh rate difference wont be noticeable.

As contrast to Ray's experience, the battery life in my 296 often exceeds ten hours. That is with the backlight turned on at about a medium intensity and with a lot of keystrokes, in cold temps to boot. I never bother to plug it into the plane and I can often do multiple trips without charging in-between.

I'm not sure about the 196, but the 296 also has instrument approaches in its jepp databasen (not the plates, but the 430-style info.)
 
Last edited:
RMCN172RG said:
I went with the 196 versus the 296 to get the same functionality in gray scale with an 8 hour battery life versus 1.5 or 2 for the Color screen.
Click to expand...

I have a 296 that I use as backup (and an electronic E6B) in a /G Baron. I have XM weather displayed on a MFD so I didn't see much point in getting a 396 although I do wish the 296 had audio terrain callouts like the 396.

BTW, I get 7-14 hrs on a charge with my 296 depending on screen brightness.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top