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Avionics brain surgery in progress.
an unexpected need to replace two cables on the traffic system. I spent the downtime reading the GTN750 manual and using the Garmin Trainer, an iPad app that simulates the GTN function. I believe anyone familiar with the Garmin 430/530 will find the GTN750 very intuitive, yet there are a lot of advanced features as well. The panel is much cleaner. You don’t see audio panels or transponders, which are controlled by the 750s.
When we picked up the airplane, JetTech already had the databases loaded. Rob spent about two hours
The completed installation – clean and attractive.
with us in the cockpit reviewing the operation of the systems, and we departed KBJC for Lincoln, NE that afternoon to visit daughter Matel. We felt no need for an instructional flight.
What do I like about the system? Everything (well, almost). LPV approaches are reliable, and there are no surprises. But once established on final, you still need to select autopilot “heading,” then “activate vectors to final,” then autopilot “approach” in order to couple the glide path. The GTN750Xi adds some features
beyond the basic GTN750. One is Connext, a Bluetooth data link between the panel units and portable electronic devices such as an iPad running ForeFlight. This allows automatic transfer of f light plans, FIS-B weather, ADS-B traffic and other data. Imagine how much easier the helicopter flight would have been if we could have transferred all those user data points instead of entering the lat- lon coordinates manually. The Stratus unit that we previously had in the cockpit is no longer necessary.
28 • TWIN & TURBINE / December 2020
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