H'mm I don't know if you would call it an airliner more of a multi crew regional turboprop on timetabled routes ( Jetstream 32). It does have a bog fitted though of sorts. We don't have TCAS in any or Auto pilot in most.
You will also find that the trimble is fitted to BA 146's DASH 8's old 737's in fact anything that has a steam driven instrument set that needs BRNAV for flying in controlled airspace would mind betting that Concorde might have had one on as its a BAe machine.
Yes i agree with you IO540 there are alot of political issues with GPS. Who owns it who has control of it etc etc. And as you say nothing is 100% which is why we always check the ident when using enroute VOR's (I might add if its identing test we just go with the GPS
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I agree GPS is probably the most relaible means of navigation for most pilots, but everyone needs to know the limits and still be able to navigate the old fashioned way. Problem is that other means of nav need practice and if you only ever use GPS, your old skills deminish and you are ill prepared for the fancy black box loosing its fix.
I couldn't agree more with the above statement.
I think we both agree on the major points about GPS IO540. Its just that it does have limitations which professionals know about and have been trained / slapped / sworn at / been called slack bastards into always backing up with traditional methods. If it goes tits up on our flights its a very minor annoyance. If your average PPL who flys max 20 hours a year 2 of which is IMC. Who thinks that because they have a GPS on board they can dump the tradional methods because they have set the pink string up. When it does go wrong in WX that they wern't expecting hadn't been in before they won't have the capacity to deal with it. And they won't be up to speed with the traditional methods to just slip striaght over into using them.
The reason why I can be bothered arguing the point is by just having these reruns of the GPS debate it might mean that new PPL's or new GPS users might think "right its a good bit of kit when used properly". As long as they have it in the back of there mind that there is a possibility of it cocking up and they need to plan for that eventuallity my time has not been wasted.
MJ