Wow, TOTALLY legal for IFR operations. :eek:

I read the same in AOPA Pilot and am less than impressed with the avionics, performance of the aircraft, and the airplane's cabin space. It is purely meant to apply to the "Hey, I'm cool because I have a jet, never mind that it's the same size inside as the Baron I used to fly at less than half the cost" crowd.

Why would you think it's illegal for IFR? Of course it's legal!

The brand new Falcon 2000EZ my company used to fly had a Garmin 496 in it because the airplane didn't have a nexrad uplink.

I think what somedayRJ meant was you can't do IFR-RNAV/GPS approaches with it, as according to Garmin's website it is only VFR intended. Lot's of cool stuff though... just seems a little ghetto that a nice shiny new VLJ would need a handheld (IMHO)

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Yup. That was my point, especially considering my current aerodrome has a VOR MDA of 1100' (A-B-C) while the RNAV (conventional GPS) MDA is 620', and the RNAV WAAS goes down even lower than that.

I'm into GPS for terminal operations given the current conditions at my home base...having the ability to tell the box to take me automatically from here to Salinas and back along airways is a side benefit.

Because your company flies a jet with a Garmin 496, you think it is legal? It's not legal for IFR. Where did you get this idea? WAAS capable doesn't make it IFR approved. There are currently no handheld gps legal for IFR operations. No handheld gps meet TSO standards. They all need an approved installation. Sticking your gps on a windshield won't do it. It is only approved for situational awareness.

Vern Raburn was replaced as the CEO of Eclipse yesterday. The debt holders demanded his removal as a condition of more financing.

What is it about GPS? So many people will start chiming in with what they think is right, and they usually never are.

Any GPS is legal for IFR. You don't need any TSO standards. You don't need an approved installation. I can use any off the shelf GPS I want and file direct to anywhere I want using it. What rule says I can't?

What they aren't able to be used for is GPS approaches. Anyway, my point is that probably (I don't know this for a fact, I've never been in one) they were in the Eclipse for the weather uplink. The Eclipse certainly has an IFR GPS onboard with the Garmin 400, right?

Wow, that's a totally false and uninformed statement......While most GPS's are good enough to use for IFR, the FAA has never - and probably will never - approve a hanheld GPS for primary navigation under IFR. The reason is simple: the power source. The FAA just doesn't trust pilots to keep a fresh set of AA's on hand, and you can't launch into IFR without a reliable power source.

Eclipse was giving new owners Garmin portables because the installed system was not yet approved for anything. But to use a Garmin 496 as primary navigation once above 18,000 is illegal. Period.

Agreed. It wasn't my intention to say that it was meant for a primary navigation source.

I would be very careful making this type of statement when a FAA inspector comes. Read the GPS section of the AIM. You actually do need TSO standards and a handheld GPS is not legal for IFR operation only as a situational awarness tool. Going direct a fix during IFR operation using your handheld is not considered situational awarness.

What rule says that? Well here it is. AIM Page 1-1-28; d (1) (a).

"GPS navigation equipment used must be approved in accordance with the requirements specified in TSO C129, or equivalent, and ..."

"...hand held GPS are not authorized for IFR navigation, instrument approaches, or as a principal instrument flight reference. During IFR operations they may be considered only an aid to situational awareness."