Ron Natalie wrote:

wrote:


Garmin claims their panel mounts will be able to do RF legs, but I remain
skeptical. I can see it working but only in a robust installation with an
electronic HSI (where the course setting auto-slews to keep up with the RF leg's
constant course change) and with a good steering computer for either a flight
director or nav mode of the autopilot.


With GPSS steering engaged the HSI OBS is ignored and the only reason
you need touch it is to keep the needle oriented right. It reads
left-right of course just fine even on my old steam-gage King HSI.

It seems it depends on how the autopilot gets its steering information. The most
common for light aircraft, as I understand it, is to use the value in the OBS window.
Having said that I have no doubt there are other methods of doing it with all the
technology out there.

My concern is that a pilot cannot, should not be able to hand fly an RF leg without at
least a flight director providing valid steering commands.



(Garmin's holding patterns are not real-world patterns in any case; rather just
symbols for holding course and turn direction.)


They're real enough that the autopilot flies them as depicted.

That doesn't make them bear any relationship to the holding pattern containment area
provided by the procedures designer.