The transition to Glass-Panel displays

April 29, 2008 · Filed Under Aviation Related 

I learned to fly on old fashioned steam instruments in a C150 and Piper Warrior just years ago, but when I began my instrument rating I was introduced to the Garmin 430 GPS. It is a sophisticated and costly little device (near $10,000 installed) that will display all the information one could ever ask for and so much more. It will display everything from your TAS (True Airspeed) and GS (Ground speed) to your current position and approach procedures. I learned to fly instruments using a VOR with the assistance of this device, which was a great introduction to glass-panels without substituting the challenging good old fashioned VOR navigation.

After passing my Instrument ride I was quickly introduced to the wonderful world of multi-engine flying. The flight school I attended had two Diamond Twinstars (DA42) equipped with the Garmin 1000 GPS. The 1000 model is completely glass and consists of one or two Primary Flight Displays (PFD) or in either 10 or 12″ sizes and one Multi-function Flight Display (MFD) in your choice or 10, 12 or 15″ sizes. In my case, the DA42 consisted of two 12″ screens, one Primary Flight Display and a Multi-function Flight Display. My first thought was how much this system added the base price of the airplane. The answer is an additional $25,000! That is a big ouch, but there are some very big advantages. The G1000 incorporates everything the smaller Garmin systems do, plus an auto pilot, FADEC (Full Authority Digital Engine Controls), Topographic relative terrain and obstruction clearance mapping to enhance situational awareness and safety, Traffic awareness, NEXRAD weather, XM radio, and hundreds of other features.

Flying with the G1000 took approximately three flights to get use to when transitioning from the Garmin 430/530 GPS models. It would take considerably more lessons for someone with no Garmin experience to become adaquate, but once you do it becomes second nature. I believe it’s easier to scan the information without one’s eyes moving across the hardware that separates conventional instruments and the data they present.

My favorite feature of the G1000 is the radio transmission playback button. If you fly, then you know it can be easy to miss a call from ATC and asking them to repeat can irritate them. If you hear a transmission and you find yourself asking “Was that call for me?” or “Did he say 2,000 or 3,000 ft.” then simply push the playback button and hear the last call. If you repeatably push the playback button the recording continues to go further back. This comes in handy, all the time. :)

In conclusion, I can’t find a reason why I would not choose the glass-panel display over the conventional steam instrument setup. If you lose power, including the emergency battery, then backup instruments that are not connected to the G1000 are available.

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Comments

One Response to “The transition to Glass-Panel displays”

  1. Mike on May 1st, 2008 9:34 pm

    I've been flying with the G1000 for about a month now and I never want to go back. I'm scared to go back haha.

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