Joining a departure such as the Fort Lauderdale Nine departure through THNDR to the north requires you to set the intersections (inset image), activate the leg that fits best with your assigned heading once you get it and then intercept the magenta line.

by Paul Sanchez

Judging from the feedback we got from February’s installment on getting the most out of a Garmin 430, it’s apparent that many operators are merely scratching the surface of what the box can accomplish. Before GPS, avionics were fairly simple devices. Even the sophisticated (for its day) KNS-80 RNAV receivers were units that could be used to their full capability with an hour or two of practice.

Advanced avionics pack a lot of function into a small unit. The compromise is menus and submenus, with buttons and switches taking on different roles depending on what menu is active. It takes a substantial amount of experience to get used to…