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I am
in a motel room right now in Medford, OR. Landed a few hours ago
after retuning from a six day trip to Anchorage, Alaska and back in a Cessna 182
RG with two Chelton displays. Obviously certified. I am a relatively
low time IFR pilot and not nearly as capable as many of you. With that
said, On this trip I flew approximately 15 hours IMC and shot 25 approaches
all of which were IMC except two. Several were to minimums. To
get a feel for this trip, check out the approach and miss into Valdez,
Alaska. It went to minimum however we made it in. I can tell
you point blank, the Chelton improved the safety of that approach 1000%. I
will also tell you I would not have left the ground on any leg without an
autopilot. All legs were flown from total IMC to some IMC. The
Chelton system is amazing.
We did
have some problems with the Chelton after one of our stops in heavy rain.
The PFD went tango uniform as Brent says. We departed with one display and
backups. The PFD was fine when it was turned on in level flight.
Doing so did eliminate the flight plan. Did I say I wouldn't leave the
ground without an autopilot? We also had an attitude problem on the
MFD. So in summary, backups are mandatory, but the Chelton was a key
reason my trip was both very enjoyable and safe. Oh, most of the IMC was
at zero to -2 degC. You can figure the rest out. Actually it was not
bad at all.
Craig
Berland
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