For Sale: Great Airplane -- IFR!

The advertisement continues thus:

"Low-time engine, great compressions, full IFR w/IFR Capable two-pound lead brick in panel..."

What? Lead Brick in Panel?? Any takers? Not even for the IFR-capable two-pound lead brick?

Shucks...thought so -- and not surprised. That lead-brick thought idea pops into my mind every time my eyeballs scan a used-plane ad mentioning its Loran-C navigator -- every time.

If you've no idea of the source of my irritation, take a moment now and scan this -- then come back...go ahead...we'll wait...

OK...you're back -- and you get it now, don't you...


For those who skipped their reading assignment, Loran C went away back in the first week of February, a victim of budget constraints, its own technological lethargy in the U.S. and the overwhelming predisposition toward GPS -- a navigation system with its own weaknesses and frailties...and now, no area-nav-type back-up.

So while we wait and hope for the folks at DHS, FAA, etc., to get behind advancing Loran into a suitable back-up system with an inherent resistance to frequency jamming, two things:

First, hope, pray, cross fingers that nothing takes out GPS -- which at this moment is suffering with problems with one of two WAAS satellites;

Second, stop telling me you've got a Loran-C in the panel -- please; it's as useless to our flying as a lead brick installed in the same slot -- and the brick at least takes less space and less power. Better still, pay someone to take it out and find a good reconditioned GPS for the panel -- at least it's got somebody talking to it with better hearing than a lead brick. The GPS should help you sell that plane better than a lead brick.

And if you can't do that, at least stop touting it in your ad...

amffn...

Dave