Mike Granby
February 2nd 06, 02:59 PM
Over the past months, I've been working on a converter to allow
flightplan data from a KLN-94 or KLN-90B to be transmitted to a Garmin
396. This facility already exists with Garmin panel-mounts, but the
King units output their data in a slightly different format. The
converter takes the King data and dynamically modifies it so that it is
acceptable to the 396, with the result that any flightplan entered into
the panel-mount appears automatically in the 396 without user
intervention.
Anyway, I did a flight yesterday with the converter installed, and
more-or-less everything is working great. Flightplans comes across,
with the only issues being the the virtual waypoints created by the
KLNs when in Vectors-to-Final mode don't quite appear in the right
place. I suspect this one won't be fixable, but it's pretty minor, so
I'm not really bothered.
Having the device is a great benefit -- any change to your IFR routing
that you put in the panel-mount goes straight into the handheld, saving
a lot of extra button pushing. It also makes the wx features of the 396
more useful, as your route is there for you to see, allowing much
easier assessment of how the wx is going to impact the flight.
I'll post design details and source code on my website in the next few
days.
flightplan data from a KLN-94 or KLN-90B to be transmitted to a Garmin
396. This facility already exists with Garmin panel-mounts, but the
King units output their data in a slightly different format. The
converter takes the King data and dynamically modifies it so that it is
acceptable to the 396, with the result that any flightplan entered into
the panel-mount appears automatically in the 396 without user
intervention.
Anyway, I did a flight yesterday with the converter installed, and
more-or-less everything is working great. Flightplans comes across,
with the only issues being the the virtual waypoints created by the
KLNs when in Vectors-to-Final mode don't quite appear in the right
place. I suspect this one won't be fixable, but it's pretty minor, so
I'm not really bothered.
Having the device is a great benefit -- any change to your IFR routing
that you put in the panel-mount goes straight into the handheld, saving
a lot of extra button pushing. It also makes the wx features of the 396
more useful, as your route is there for you to see, allowing much
easier assessment of how the wx is going to impact the flight.
I'll post design details and source code on my website in the next few
days.