I run two different setups in the two gliders I own. My ASW-20 has an
old Zander SR 820. No GPS, but decent speed-to-fly and netto vario
calculations. For navigation I have a PNA with XCSoar. Slightly more
workload since I've got two instruments to set Macready on if I'm
trying to keep them in sync. I generally don't worry too much about
that though. Leave the PNA at MC2.0 or so depending on the day and it
gives me enough info about what is reachable that I can always fly
faster/slower on a final glide and watch my arrival height. Word of
caution on the PNA though, the GPS altitude is not terribly accurate,
though it seems fairly linear in how much it is off. So while it may
be off by 1000ft at 17500, down low it is usually off by less. It's
just something to be aware of since if you've got a marginal final
glide it might be overly optimistic with your actual height.

In our Duo, we've got a Cambridge L-nav and GPS-nav model 20. In
general the wind calculations from circling are pretty comparable with
the XCSoar. While I think it is supposed to calculate wind while on
glide, I don't trust it much. I think the SN10 does a better job.
Final glide and speed-to-fly are good with clear push-pull visual and
audio indications. Final glide is total-energy compensated so if
you're on a fast final glide, the height of finish includes a pull-up
at the end. Just something to keep in mind, but this can also be
useful when dolphin flying as it will tell you if you're really being
more efficient by pulling up in lift since a poorly timed pull-up will
usually result in more height, but less energy as far as the flight
computer is concerned.

I still fly with XCSoar in the Duo as a backup and moving map for
reachable airfields as the interface is so much more intuitive at a
glance. Another nice aspect of XCSoar (probably other PDA/PNA tools
as well) are the thermal statistics available. On my thermalling
screen I keep the "thermal climb" and "thermal climb all" fields
available. At a glance you can see what your achieved climb in the
current thermal including centering. Nice for having a less
subjective view on your thermal rather than a 30 sec average or your
mental average.

I only have about 3 flights in a Duo with an SN-10, but I liked it.
Not your cheapest option for sure.


On Sep 12, 11:49*am, ryanglover1969 wrote:
On Sep 12, 11:46*am, jcarlyle wrote:





I predict the consensus will be "whatever I have in my ship". Having
said that, I have a SN-10B, a Volkslogger, and an iPAQ 3950 running
Glide Navigator II. The Volkslogger because its utterly reliable and
interfaces with the SN-10B (although the VL does have some quirks).
GNII because it's really simple to use and tells me only what I need
to know about where I am, what my options are and what's coming up.
The SN-10B because it's dead nuts accurate with wind and final glide
(although it does have a rather steep learning curve).

-John

On Sep 12, 1:30 pm, ryanglover1969 wrote:

Looking for some consensus of opinion on what is the best combination
of flight computer, logger and PDA. / soaring software.

Recently sold my glider with LX 1600, Colibri and 3800 series Ipaq
running SeeYou Mobile. I liked the set up ok, but there were some
minor glitches, as I'm sure there are with any set up. What do you
think is the best? And cost is a factor.

Thanks John! That's exactly the kind of information I'm looking for.
Anybody else want to weigh in?