The 496's screen is very
restrictive in what it can show, by comparison.

If I were you I'd borrow someone's 396/496, mount it on your yoke as
pictured in your photo. I think after 2 or 3 flights you won't be
complaining about the screen size. All the cardinal information is fit
nicely into that screen without having to squint.

Actually, I own the 496, and have it mounted on the co-pilot's yoke
(since it requires so much "head-down" time, we put it over there).
For the pilot we have a Lowrance 2000c, which IMHO is a superior basic
moving map GPS.

We have flown quite a few hours with the 496 since purchasing it at
OSH, and have been very disappointed with its diminutive size. I
thought we would get used to it, but neither Mary nor I have. The
bottom line is that once you've flown with a good-sized GPS like the
AvMap, it's just very hard to go back to a dinky screen.

I love having the weather, though. For that reason alone it was a
worthwhile trade, going from the AvMap to the 496 -- but it's just too
bad that we have to choose between size and weather. You'd think that
for almost three grand we could do better.

Incidentally, if the stars ever align properly (weather, my schedule,
and shop schedule) I am having the 496 installed into an AirGizmo
"panel dock" -- which will essentially turn it into a panel-mounted
GPS. At the same time we're having the 496's XM radio output routed
into our intercom, and all that nasty wiring (XM satellite antenna, GPS
antenna, power cord, and XM music-to-intercom wiring) will disappear.
It'll be nice to have the co-pilot's yoke back, and all that
gobbledygook wiring gone.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"