pilot4500
IT Architect/ Former Cirrus Charter Pilot
Ram has that Apollo GX-50 in most of their planes. All of the old Package planes have the Garmin 430 units. After you get used to the Apollo---its a pretty cool little unit, I actually liked it better than the 430 by the time I left Ram.
I learned a lot about navigation at Ram. Taught myself how to use a LORAN in IMC.... learned that if Nav1 is one dot left, Nav2 is one dot right.... GS1 is one dot high, GS2 is 1 dot low.... you're probably right on the LOC and GS! Take the average of NAV1 and NAV2![]()
You are right about about the GPS. Most planes in the Ram Air fleet have the GX-50. It gets the job done but I definitely prefer the Garmin 430. Maybe I am partial to it because I used to fly the Cirrus SR-20 at my last job. Nevertheless I am always glad to fly any airplane that is GPS equipped. And I am saving up to buy that handheld GPS.
I also taught myself how to use a Loran, but in my case it was in VFR confiditions.

I also learned how to use an RNAV unit as well. That was another thing that I had read about but never used. My boss showed me how it works. It works well as long as you are within VOR reception range and you know which buttons to push. It is not as intuitive as using a GPS, but it gets easier with practice.