Garmin 430 and 530 basics

Some may find it hard to believe, but I still run across pilots that have no experience with the Garmin 430 and 530 equipment.  Not that everyone has experience with these systems, but with the proliferation of these units through the early 2000's, most pilots know what they are, and have likely been in an aircraft with one installed.

These pieces of equipment have been out for quite some time, but there are still pilots that are just starting to think about getting a GPS in their aircraft, and these units provide probably the lowest cost of entry these days that will allow a pilot to get a great moving map GPS that can be approved for IFR approaches.

I put together a quick cheat sheet for the first time pilot that wants to just fly their aircraft and get used to the functions of the GPS.

Communication Side----------------Navigation Side

Setup Navigation to an airport

• Press “Direct To” Button
• Use the knobs to enter the airport identifier
•  Each airport starts with a K
•  No “K” if the airport has a number in it. (ie. C09)
• The large knob moves the cursor
•  The small knob makes letters
• Press Enter TWICE

Find Nearest airports (In an emergency)

• Rotate the large knob on the right side - all the way to the right until you see NEAREST

Reset unit to default screen

• Press and hold the CLR button
• Rotate little knob on the right, one click to the right

Scheduler Function on Garmin 430/530

Ive been in enough aircraft to know that this function is starting to get a lot of attention, but there are still times where I fly with folks that have no idea what this is, or what it is about.

In the Garmin 430/530 navigators, there is a scheduler function that allows you to set up a recurring message (Alarm) that pops up at a certain interval. I love to use this function to help remind pilots to change tanks.  The Garmin 430 and 530 manual specifically uses this as an example when setting up scheduled tasks.  I know some pilots that use this to remind them of an oil change, transponder testing, and even BFR and medical!

Check out page 157 of the Garmin 430W manual. (Its PDF page 167 in the following download).
A copy of the manual can be found on the Garmin website, or here: http://www.takewinginc.com/documents/GNS430W_PilotGuideandReference.pdf

 

The castering nose-wheel

I do a lot of Beechcraft transition training - mostly in the Bonanza.  Over the past two years, I've had three pilots come to me for transition training where there previous aircraft had a castering nose wheel, such as the Cirrus or the Grumman American Tiger.

I've noticed that pilots transitioning from an aircraft with a castering nose wheel have a hard time breaking the habit of using differential braking for turning.  This can be caught by the instructor by keeping their toes on the pedals to determine whether they are being used for steering, or whether the brakes are being applied.  An experienced instructor will be able to tell this right away.  The thought is to save on brakes while taxiing.

Another item of interest is the use of brakes on take-off in a Cirrus or Grumman.  I see this happen all the time and I personally think this is bad technique.  Once you get rolling, you should have enough rudder authority to counteract the wind (to an extent) once you get rolling.  The Bonanza has very effective brakes - attempting to correct directional control while heading down the runway is a recipe for disaster.