As a pilot, I hate to do math. Before Foreflight, it was a toss up of which was worse, doing math in my head or using the manual E6B. After Foreflight, my math and E6B skills have deteriorated somewhat. Even worse than doing math while pre-flight planning, is doing math in my head, in the …
For most GA instrument pilots, the event that causes the most surprise and stress is an unexpected missed approach. Don’t we all just make the automatic assumption when we listen to the METAR and hear the ceilings reported above the MDA or DA that we will see the runway? With that glass half full mindset, …
Unpublished holds are never enjoyable. When ATC gives a pilot holding instructions, it’s often times unexpected and typically, the pilot doesn’t have a whole lot of time to set up the hold. The two things that cause the most frustration are what the hold is supposed to look like and what entry is supposed to …
The Avidyne IFD units are very well thought out GPS units. Avidyne’s approach of simple to use and easy to install was implemented well with the Avidyne IFD 440 and 540/550 units. The goal was to have a slide in replacement unit for the Garmin 430s and 530s, which, when the Avidyne IFD units came …
The Key To Unlocking the Avidyne IFD Flight Plan Read More »
The retrofit glass panel market wowed all pilots in 2008 and 2009 with the announcement of the Aspen retrofit PFDs and MFDs and the Garmin G500 and G600 units. Both companies will argue who came up with the idea first, but in the end, both were revolutionary. The ability to get rid of an airplane’s …
Instrument training involves a lot of hand flying. Most of the airplanes these days (even Cessna 172s and Piper Archers) are equipped with autopilots, but it is vitally important during instrument training to know how to hand fly while scanning instruments. This is known as Basic Attitude Instrument Flying. This is important for two reasons. …
After 8,500 hours of total flight time, with at least 3/4 of that time giving instruction, I officially qualify as a career instructor. My journey into flying didn’t start off with a dream of teaching pilots every day, but when I was nearing the end of my college career at LeTourneau University in 2009, the …
The flight plan page on the G1000 is a very nifty tool – it can be as simple as point A to point B or as complex as airways, latitude/longitude waypoints and VNAV profile altitudes. To get to the Flight Plane page, use the FPL button on your Garmin keypad or PFD/MFD. Creating a flight plan: …
In a Garmin G1000 flight plan, there will always be waypoints. Whether the pilot is flying directly from the departure airport to the destination airport, or a complicated IFR clearance with departures, victor airways, and arrivals is to be flown, something will always be in the flight plan. Let’s focus on the complicated IFR …
One of the most important habits to be in while flying with a glass panel, or any instrumentation that includes an autopilot, is the autopilot annunciations. I like to refer to it as the Autopilot Scoreboard. On the Garmin G1000/Perspective, the Autopilot Scoreboard is located at the top of the Primary Flight Display (PFD). The GPS Scoreboard …
