Zander 940/941 or ZS-1 Flight Computers???

Hello All:

I've got a couple of questions regarding Zander flight computers. If
anyone has any insight (good or bad) I would appreciate it.

1) Are there any opinions out there about the Zander 940/941 flight
computer?

2) How about the new ZS1 flight computer?

3) For North American pilots, any idea why they are so popular with
contest pilots in Europe, but seemingly so unpopular on this side of
the pond?

Thanks in advance,
Tim McAllister EY

On Aug 7, 3:03 pm, Tim wrote:
Hello All:

I've got a couple of questions regarding Zander flight computers. If
anyone has any insight (good or bad) I would appreciate it.

1) Are there any opinions out there about the Zander 940/941 flight
computer?

2) How about the new ZS1 flight computer?

3) For North American pilots, any idea why they are so popular with
contest pilots in Europe, but seemingly so unpopular on this side of
the pond?

Thanks in advance,
Tim McAllister EY

On Aug 7, 3:03 pm, Tim wrote:
Hello All:

I've got a couple of questions regarding Zander flight computers. If
anyone has any insight (good or bad) I would appreciate it.

1) Are there any opinions out there about the Zander 940/941 flight
computer?

2) How about the new ZS1 flight computer?

3) For North American pilots, any idea why they are so popular with
contest pilots in Europe, but seemingly so unpopular on this side of
the pond?

Thanks in advance,
Tim McAllister EY

1) I own a Zander 940 and a Zander gps flight recorder in the glider
I keep at Serre. I own an Ilec SN10 here in the States. The Zander
is a first class computer. Very good vario function and GPS data
logger. If you are dedicated to competition flying, especially in
Europe, the software will deal with any permutation of task that could
be called. The wind calculation is probably the best if combined with
an optional electric compass, since a lot of European flying is using
wave and ridge complicated with major changes in wind direction in
very short distances.

2) The ZS1 flight computer has more information per page display than
the Zander 940. Software essentially the same.

3) Native to Europe.

I love the SN10 because the interface is very intuitive. The Zander
is a bit more like working with DOS rather than Windows. Having said
that, when I fly in France with the Zander, I have no problem working
with it. If the majority of my time was spent flying in conditions of
ridge and wave (straight flight) where significant wind directional
changes occurred from one valley or mountain to the next, I would go
with a computer that took accurate wind measurements with the aid of
an electric compass such as the Zander. In those situations, wind
calculation with circling flight is less helpful.

John Iacobucci

At 19:03 07 August 2008, Tim wrote:
Hello All:

I've got a couple of questions regarding Zander flight computers. If
anyone has any insight (good or bad) I would appreciate it.

1) Are there any opinions out there about the Zander 940/941 flight
computer?

2) How about the new ZS1 flight computer?

3) For North American pilots, any idea why they are so popular with
contest pilots in Europe, but seemingly so unpopular on this side of
the pond?

Thanks in advance,
Tim McAllister EY


I've flown with a selection of Zander computers but not the ZS1. IMHO the
functionality and accuracy are all there but the human interface leaves
something to be desired. I had a week with a 940 and the manual was out
most of the time; by day 3 I'd managed to get a task in and set up the
audio: this was in a two-seater with the the instructions in front of me!
I was reminded of older varios like the Peschges VP3 that took a whole
season to get comfortable with but were very good once you were familiar
with them.

I'm sure once you're accustomed to Zanders they're just as nice as
anything else but the learning curve is a little steep for my liking. The
ZS1 looks like an improvement as they've discovered rotary knobs and the
display seems clearer.

In the UK the only Zander varios I've seen have been in 2nd hand imported
gliders; LX & Cambridge seem to be the most popular here. Go across to
Germany and the situation is almost completely reversed: why, I'm not
sure... I have noticed that in the UK we tend to buy cheapo varios/loggers
and tack on PDAs with WinPilot/SeeYou, etc. whereas on the continent you
see much more in the way of fully integrated systems.

Well...

I have a Zander SR 940 and I am not very happy about it.
OK it works fine but the human interface is very complex, and
absolutely not "user friendly".

When you have to change a menu in flight, you need to be engineer to
understand what you have to do.

I miss my old LX4000 which was more easy to use in flight.
Cheers,
Bruno

Zander has probably the best variometer available, plus working
thermal assistant. Amount of information you can get from the system
is overwhelming. Which makes it a bit difficult to use. SR940 has a
bit restricted graphics and no area task support, so PDA is required
if you need them. ZS1 has better screen and is easier to use. More
than few world-championship-class pilots I know rate the Zander system
best there is.

rk

On Aug 7, 10:03*pm, Tim wrote:
Hello All:

I've got a couple of questions regarding Zander flight computers. If
anyone has any insight (good or bad) I would appreciate it.

1) Are there any opinions out there about the Zander 940/941 flight
computer?

2) How about the new ZS1 flight computer?

3) For North American pilots, any idea why they are so popular with
contest pilots in Europe, but seemingly so unpopular on this side of
the pond?

Thanks in advance,
Tim McAllister EY

The GP941 is a secure logger while the ZS1 if the flight computer.
They have been designed to work together and while I think the ZS1
could work with any logger, the usual setup would be to have it
connected to the GP941, with which it has a dedicated connection
protocol.

On Aug 10, 12:23 pm, Alexander Georgas wrote:
On Aug 7, 10:03 pm, Tim wrote:



Hello All:

I've got a couple of questions regarding Zander flight computers. If
anyone has any insight (good or bad) I would appreciate it.

1) Are there any opinions out there about the Zander 940/941 flight
computer?

2) How about the new ZS1 flight computer?

3) For North American pilots, any idea why they are so popular with
contest pilots in Europe, but seemingly so unpopular on this side of
the pond?

Thanks in advance,
Tim McAllister EY

The GP941 is a secure logger while the ZS1 if the flight computer.
They have been designed to work together and while I think the ZS1
could work with any logger, the usual setup would be to have it
connected to the GP941, with which it has a dedicated connection
protocol.

I inherited an early Zander in my ASW-20 ten years ago. After a
season, it died in the Arizona heat and I was unable to obtain any
repair or spares assistance from the manufacturer. At the time,
Zander support in the USA was pretty non-existent. I switched to a
Borgelt at the time, which not only worked well, but being Aussie
could survive our extreme heat. Heat failure is a common problem of
much consumer-grade electronics (especially PDAs)

I now run an Ilec SN10 which works well enough (although I preferred
the Borgelt navigation page). I hear that the LX series and Cambridge
perform well. I look forward to some innovative instruments designed
and built this side of the Euro Curtain.

Mike