Map & Compass issue

[jdm61]

I am not aware of any GPS that is FAA certified for flight operations. Also the altitude errors are 1.5 times worse than coordinate values. This was done by the DOD when they created the system. They optimized ground coordinates accuracy as much as possible and sacrificed some accuracy in altitude to do this. While I have always felt that a GPS would be useful in a cockpit I wasn't aware that the FAA has certified any for flight. Has that changed so there are now some approved for flight operations?

While it is unlikely that the DOD will turn SA back on, they really don't need to because of the new systems. They do reserve the right to do so.

KR

there are a number of GPS units that are FAA certified.............or "certificated" ifyou will.......I hate those made up words that government types use....lol. The entire Garmin 400 and 500 line and their 1000 series "glass cockpit" Garmin was not a huge player in the marine industry early on like Northstar, Furuno, Raytheon. Magellan. etc. They made their bones with the 430 and 530 aviation units and subsequently bought out the UPS line. All of the S-Tec autopilots have GPS "roll steer". They are not yet certified for all operations. They can draw a DME arc better than traditional equipment, but you still have to have steam gauges. You also can't shoot precision landings with them. However, this is changing. There has been a pilot program in Alaska for the "highway in the sky" for a number of years because up there, bush pilots go a lot of places where there is no good VOR signal coverage. All of the moving map and map based terrain avoidance gear that I have seen in general aviation is GPS based. Our old Cessna 421C used dual Garmin 430's for navcom units and our new Eclipse 500 has a hybrid Garmin/Avio glass panel.