Sporty's E6B vs. ASA CX-2 Flight Computer

Cal Goat said:
As somebody who flies /A everyday, I'll say that it sucks in this day and age. Any pilot who chooses the more analog/old anything because he thinks it makes him more of a man is a poser. I haven't even used a goddamn E6B in 10 years (pre-private). Hell, my watch has an E6B bezel and I've completely forgotten how to use it because I can accomplish all of my major calculations with basic math. I have an older ASA (I think) electronic E6B, but I haven't used that in years because its usefulness to the working pilot is pretty negligible. E6Bs are the domain of student pilots, I reckon. If I really needed one, it would be in my flight bag.
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Well there ya go, if the OP is never gonna use it once he's done with training, why waste the money on a fancy shmancy electronic one?
 
Cal Goat said:
As somebody who flies /A everyday, I'll say that it sucks in this day and age. Any pilot who chooses the more analog/old anything because he thinks it makes him more of a man is a poser. I haven't even used a goddamn E6B in 10 years (pre-private). Hell, my watch has an E6B bezel and I've completely forgotten how to use it because I can accomplish all of my major calculations with basic math. I have an older ASA (I think) electronic E6B, but I haven't used that in years because its usefulness to the working pilot is pretty negligible. E6Bs are the domain of student pilots, I reckon. If I really needed one, it would be in my flight bag.
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Agree 100%. As a CFI I would teach the E6B but I would also show much easier ways to calculate these things. There are plenty of flight planning programs on phones and computers that make electronic and manual E6B's obsolete. Think smarter not harder.
 
Roger said:
Be a man. Use a real whiz wheel.
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Roger said:
Well there ya go, if the OP is never gonna use it once he's done with training, why waste the money on a fancy shmancy electronic one?
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Well I have one and do know how to use it. Time is money on the written tests so punching buttons is faster than spinning a wheels.

Cal Goat said:
As somebody who flies /A everyday, I'll say that it sucks in this day and age. Any pilot who chooses the more analog/old anything because he thinks it makes him more of a man is a poser. I haven't even used a goddamn E6B in 10 years (pre-private). Hell, my watch has an E6B bezel and I've completely forgotten how to use it because I can accomplish all of my major calculations with basic math. I have an older ASA (I think) electronic E6B, but I haven't used that in years because its usefulness to the working pilot is pretty negligible. E6Bs are the domain of student pilots, I reckon. If I really needed one, it would be in my flight bag.
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I agree I haven't needed one for flying helicopters since I was doing private ground school.


One thing I have read about the CX-2 is the screen is hard to read unless your inside and it is not backlit. Anyone have to deal with this?
 
If you have an iPhone, Sports has an E6B app, I am pretty sure its on Android as well. I have had students use it on check rides so it is good enough for flight training for sure.
 
Rotor2Wing said:
One thing I have read about the CX-2 is the screen is hard to read unless your inside and it is not backlit. Anyone have to deal with this?
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Not been an issue when i've used it in flight or well lit areas. The CX-2 does have an adjustment available for screen (text) brightness.

The CX-2 is good for the written exams.

In all other practices- to each their own.
 
Rotor2Wing said:
Well I have one and do know how to use it. Time is money on the written tests so punching buttons is faster than spinning a wheels.
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If you're in a position where the time difference between a paper E6B and a digital one is a make or break thing on your writtens, ya might wanna study a little more. Just sayin'. If you know how to use the paper one, don't waste your money.
 
Roger said:
Well there ya go, if the OP is never gonna use it once he's done with training, why waste the money on a fancy shmancy electronic one?
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A fair point, actually. I bought my electronic one on a whim one day while on the road with my first flying job. I guess I felt the need to calculate my mach number in a Duchess. :dunno: No wonder I couldn't hold onto a girlfriend at that time....

Inverted said:
Think smarter not harder.
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I <3 U
 
You can probably get one for $50 or $60. Pass it on to a friend or a student. Mine (original Cx1) is still going strong and helping out a commercial student...
 
I had a CX-1 for many years, and thought it was the best digital flight computer. It finally bit the dust, and I got a CX-2. Nowhere near as good... I was terribly disappointed.

But... and this is a big "but"... frankly, I prefer a mechanical E6B. It's faster for me than an electronic flight computer (It has one moving part!), it's significantly less expensive, it requires no batteries, and ... did I mention that for most things it's quicker than an electronic E6B? I used one for the diversion on my commercial checkride, and really, for anything other than wind-side, it's hard to beat the speed of an E6B ... especially for conversions, TAS, etc.

I can't believe yous guys are ragging so hard on it :P

Even spock uses them!

~Foxy
 
Faster a mechanical E6B ? Hmmm.... Getting a full VFR x-country flight plan done on a mechanical E6B is quite time consuming, a breeze with an electronic one. Plus it seems so anachronic to use a whizweel in 2011... I like vintage stuff, but if it's making your life harder... Meh...
 
Pépé le Pilot said:
Getting a full VFR x-country flight plan done on a mechanical E6B
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Horses for courses. Still, with a few small exceptions, I'd take an E6B and a nav log over an electronic E6B for VFR cross-country planning.

Of course, I'd take a computer over either, for practical flight planning. :P

Plus it seems so anachronic to use a whizweel in 2011... I like vintage stuff, but if it's making your life harder... Meh...
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If it was making my life harder, I wouldn't use it. I find that it makes my life easier, and that others perceive it as anachronistic is something that doesn't materially affect my opinion.

~Fox
 
I prefer the CX-2. I had a sporty's and the screen became hard to read unless you tilted it to a certain angle. CX-2 has larger keys, a clearer screen and a better case in my opinion.
 
Pépé le Pilot said:
Faster a mechanical E6B ? Hmmm.... Getting a full VFR x-country flight plan done on a mechanical E6B is quite time consuming, a breeze with an electronic one. Plus it seems so anachronic to use a whizweel in 2011... I like vintage stuff, but if it's making your life harder... Meh...
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Just because you didn't learn how to competently use a manual E6B doesn't mean it is anachronic. I dominate with my manual E6B.
 
For me it came down to the fact that I'd psych myself out on tests, and even the simplest mundane tasks become more difficult. On a checkride, or bouncing around in turbulence, do I want to count tick marks or just get the number? I'll take the number. Between the Sportys E6B and the CX-2, I chose the CX-2 because of the display and the additional features. The Sportys version has a really simple LCD like the kind you would find on a 1980s calculator. The CX-2 has a much more complicated alphanumeric display and a cursor, allowing for a more dynamic menu structure and the ability to scroll through the input variables, change what you need to change and recalculate the problem if you make a mistake.

I'm a huge fan of the whiz wheel, slide rules and other old school technology - the use of which will put hair on your chest - but I'd rather just read a number off a screen and spend the time it would take to multitask flying an airplane and counting slide rule tick marks on something more productive... Like say looking out the window so I don't have a midair and DIE. :beer:

PS. Don't forget about Distance = Rate * Time. Works great for fuel burn too.
 
Inverted said:
Agree 100%. As a CFI I would teach the E6B but I would also show much easier ways to calculate these things. There are plenty of flight planning programs on phones and computers that make electronic and manual E6B's obsolete. Think smarter not harder.
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DUAT works just fine for flight planning.
 
Pépé le Pilot said:
Faster a mechanical E6B ? Hmmm.... Getting a full VFR x-country flight plan done on a mechanical E6B is quite time consuming, a breeze with an electronic one. Plus it seems so anachronic to use a whizweel in 2011... I like vintage stuff, but if it's making your life harder... Meh...
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Which is why I don't even use an E6B to plan a cross country. DUAT flight planner will give me a nice fancy nav log that tells me how long it will take to get from checkpoint (in my case 80% of the time is VOR to VOR) to checkpoint and the total. It also tells me how much Fuel I'm going to burn, all I have to do is add on the reserve and my flight planning is done in less than 5 minutes.
 
Inverted said:
If you have an iPhone, Sports has an E6B app, I am pretty sure its on Android as well. I have had students use it on check rides so it is good enough for flight training for sure.
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If it were allowed on the written exams I would be using that. It would save me some money for sure.

NC_BE300 said:
Not been an issue when i've used it in flight or well lit areas. The CX-2 does have an adjustment available for screen (text) brightness.

The CX-2 is good for the written exams.

In all other practices- to each their own.
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Thanks, I think I will give the CX-2 a try unless I do find my Sporty's over the next couple of days.
 
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