π
2005-11-12 23:34
by Merlin
in Flying, Nflying
Cessna 182 and G1000 avionics
Saturday, I went for my second flight to practise in a Cessna 182 (bigger
plane & more horsepower), and I picked up one with brand new Garmin
1000 avionics (aka glass cockpit), which is basically the fanciest instruments
you can get in a small airplane nowadays.
I started with a 2H class explaining the new avionics and giving
demonstrations, and then got to sit in a cessna on the ground to play
with all the buttons without having to worry about flying the plane.
I did got about 45mn ground time with the avionics and buttons, plus
the time in flight (2.8H).
My take is that some interface things are still quite non intuitive
on it, like some buttons from the left screen affecting the right
(nav/com), but not all, and not consistently like switching the nav/com
focus.
All in all, the learning curve is fairly high and there is a clear risk of
the pilot spending too much time looking at the screens instead of focussing
on the rest of the flight.
Also, the C182 had a separate auto pilot, which was mostly coupled but
not quite, so each time you got atis, you had to reset the baro on
- the backup altimeter
- the G1000
- the autopilot
All in all, despite an experienced CFI (probably one of the ones with
the most G1000 time at my club), some quirks were hard to figure out and
quite distracting in flight.
However, for the rest, I was impressed:
- the 2 screens were awesome, quality wise
- they back each other up and you can get a combined screen if one fails
- they have their own battery backup in case main power fails
- soft keys all over make the interface much more liveable than the G530
- the real time weather maps, along with XM radio, are cool
- real time terrain distance under you is also quite useful
All in all, while the garmin folks still need some better UI/usability
people, the G1000 is well designed inside and quite interesting to use.