After over 8000 hours of general-aviation and airline flying, the other day I declared an emergency for the first time outside of training. It wasn't that serious, but it was real and could eventually have become life threatening. I'd just picked up my airplane from the avionics shop after three and a half months undergoing a major panel renovation with a dual-headed Garmin G500 TXi system, new GTN Xi navigators, and a lot of extensive related work. A couple days earlier I'd spent a few hours in the airplane on the ground reviewing things, checking configuration, and generally going over the work just completed. I'd then taken the plane up for my three take-offs and landings to regain lost currency. In the article on page 16 of this issue I introduce the project.
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