Mike Spera wrote:

...............

So, today, I may take to the skies to see the thing in action. I'll
report back.

Mike

I just got a 396 and got a chance to use it for the frist time in the
air last weekend (4 hours total). I'd have to say that the price is
steep for a handheld, but considering the quality of the display and
the weather, it was well worth it. I just got the Aviator LT service,
but having the weather radar, and the METARs for every airport were a
really nice feature. Might have to try out the higher level of service
with winds aloft, lightning, & TAFs at some point.

I agree about the excessive number of cables. It seems they could have
bundled the Power, XM, and audio into one cable.

It will be interesting to see how Garmin tops this one. The 2 major
upgrades I can see are a larger screen (the current screen is very very
good, but could be larger) and the ability to receive TIS traffic
information without being wired to a transponder (not sure how easy it
would be to set this up though).

Enjoy flying with the 396, I think you'll find it to be worth the
expense.

By the way, I now have a Garmin 195 in perfect working condition, that
I don't have any need for. I'll be listing it on ebay at some point,
but if anyone wants a Garmin with a bigger screen than anything
currently on the market, let me know and we can talk price.

Eric
1959 Pilatus P-3 A-848
http://www.hometown.aol.com/bartscher/P3A848.html