When you really need the data (aircraft are close), it would seem to me that even 4.5 seconds would be too much of a delay… say in the case where someone enters the pattern near you at an uncontrolled airport, which happened to me recently…
Personally, I agree with you.
It should also be noted that in the great majority of cases of the type you mentioned (uncontrolled field), there will be no coverage by TIS, and therefore none by the GTX-330. If you are not within the service volume and coverage of a TIS-equipped TRACON radar, you are out of luck. Since the majority of mid-airs are of this variety, this excludes a high-risk area from benefit.
Still, for the price of the GTX-330, you’ll get more information than just the eyeballs and flight following will provide and it is probably worth it if you travel a lot in high-density areas.
Does Tommy Rogers have any information as to whether the Garmin 330 will display on the Avidyne map and Avidyne dedicated traffic page? Does the Garmin display include a dedicated traffic page?
Didn’t ask specifically, but not likely without an Avidyne software upgrade just like the Garmin GNS430 upgrade currently pending certification.
Yes, Garmin GNS430s when configured to receive traffic from Skywatch will display traffic in 4 areas:
a separate MAP page (MAP#3 I think),
overlaid on the moving map (MAP #2),
as a tiny icon in the DATAFIELDS sidebar to the moving map
as a pop-up overlay when a TRAFFIC ALERT occurs
Given that behavior, I would expect the GTX330 traffic info to show up as well or even better!
Garmin appears to have their STC as of yesterday (Friday). Will do some flying with it as soon as there’s decent weather for bringing it back to CA from KS.