What's new
Van's Air Force

Don't miss anything! Register now for full access to the definitive RV support community.

Garmin 495 vs 496 for RV-12???

E

E. D. Eliot

Well Known Member
Would be interesting to learn which Garmin (495 or 496) the 'pioneer' RV-12 builders are choosing.

I understand that the choice of Garmin model hinges on the projected 'mission' of each pilot and so I hope in addition, to learn about what type of flying you early kit builders are going to do. Also, hope to hear from some of the European and Canadian builders.

Is the 496 worth the extra $$$?

Hope to get a good response - thanks to all on your thoughts.

Don't know how to set up a 'pole'. If it's a good idea the maybe one of the moderators can do so.
 
I installed the 496 over the 495, because I wanted to have the option of subscribing to the XM service after completing the test hours. I am still flying without a subsription, but I thought it was worth the extra money to go ahead and install the antenna the associated wiring with the rest of the avionics kit. You could easily add the wiring later, but you would have to remove the firewall sealant around the wiring bundle and reseal after the install. I wanted to be done with the firewall sealant! Hope this helps.
Bruce
 
Since Garmin has offered a GPS with the capability to have in-cockpit weather I have had one and the subscription. It is absolutely an invaluable tool, especially if you do frequent cross countries.

For me it's one of the "gotta haves."
 
MLock said:
Since Garmin has offered a GPS with the capability to have in-cockpit weather I have had one and the subscription. It is absolutely an invaluable tool, especially if you do frequent cross countries.

For me it's one of the "gotta haves."
Click to expand...

Ditto, but us international guys do not have the luxury of XM WX so we wish we had it and go with the 495 instead.
 
Ditto Mitch's comments

MLock said:
Since Garmin has offered a GPS with the capability to have in-cockpit weather I have had one and the subscription. It is absolutely an invaluable tool, especially if you do frequent cross countries.

For me it's one of the "gotta haves."
Click to expand...

I bought the Garmin 396 at EAA Oshkosh 2 weeks after it was introduced for sale. The WX feature has saved my backside many times since - I would not want to fly anywhere without it.

Don
 
We bought the 496 option, $500 is not too big an add-on for a $70K project. Out RV12 is not finished, so I took the 296 out of my Citabria and have been using the 496 with XM. I agree with others on the value as a cross country tool, it has some amazing features. The least expensive subscription is ~$35/month, so it is not cheap, but the subscription can be canceled with only 30 days notice. I wish I would have had one when I was flying IMC.
 
The guys who never go anywhere...

...don't need a 496. A lot of them just buzz around locally, so having WX is overkill....we have some guys around here like that.

Personally, it's very seldom my plane DOESN"T go on a trip somewhere, after it's started, so I love having WX in the cockpit, especially now that I'm IFR current...woohooo.

Best,
 
495

I live in northern California and don't do a lot of long cross country trips. The weather in my area is generally pretty stable. We don't get summer thunderstorms as a general rule. The weather feature just wasn't that useful for a vfr pilot in a vfr airplane. Our biggest weather problem is waiting for the local marine layer to burn off each morning. Once it does, it almost always stays clear the rest of the day.
 
Same as Rudi.

No WX in the UK :-( Actually, tons of WX, just no 496 capaility...

Cheers...Keith
 
Mark Henderson said:
I live in northern California and don't do a lot of long cross country trips. The weather in my area is generally pretty stable. We don't get summer thunderstorms as a general rule. The weather feature just wasn't that useful for a vfr pilot in a vfr airplane. Our biggest weather problem is waiting for the local marine layer to burn off each morning. Once it does, it almost always stays clear the rest of the day.
Click to expand...

I'm VFR in a VFR plane, but travel across a number of states in the mountain west quite regularly. Out here, the weather can vary greatly, and the XM weather is very useful for making route decisions on the "fly". I also like it's ability to show current TFR's along the flight route, as well as the TFR boundaries. I can also pick up ATIS/ AWOS far in advance of what the comm will do. And...........I use the XM radio too! :)

L.Adamson --- RV6A
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top