TRANSITION

TO
GLASS
transition to Glass
L ittle more than a decade has elapsed since the One only has to think back a few decades to
high-tech full-color flight and navigational recall how limited the average instrument pilot
displays, once available only to the military and was with respect to the information needed to
the air carriers, began invading the cockpit of fly with a high degree of reliability and safety in
general aviation. The new capabilities now at the the IFR environment—especially with respect to
pilot’s fingertips are amazing. weather.
We have discovered that the solid-state replace- IFR Refresher and IFR Magazine have kept pace
ment for mechanical gyros and the three-axis mag- with the glass invasion over the years and many
netometer for the compass has provided new preci- articles have appeared to help pilots safely master
sion in our ability to aviate. Likewise, the GPS and these new miracles of technology. This special on-
the moving map display has enabled precision navi- line issue is a compendium of articles selected to
gation. The near real-time XM satellite weather has summarize some of what we have learned.
opened new and potentially safer air travel for GA.

Table of Contents
3 | First Try At Glass—An old dog’s first 17 | Aspen Retrofit—The move requires
flight with glass and what he learned. considerable thought to make the upgrade.

5 | G1000 PC Procedures TRAINer— 19 | G1000 error Messages—What they

A systems trainer that will save mean and how your flight might be affected.
you time and money
21 | GFC 700 AUTOPILOT—A fully-integrated
7 | GPS Risks And SHortcomings— autopilot is making our flights easier.
Various aspects that could impair
your use for navigation. 23 | Handling Broken Glass—
TAA can be a handful when failures occur.
9 | Glass Displays Differences—
The variations between systems 26 | SYNTHETIC VISION UPDATE—
can present problems. Is it enhanced situational awareness or TMI?
11 | Head-down in Glass syndrome— 28 | NTSB and Glass Cockpit Safety—
Glass is a good thing, but shortcomings can bite. The study caused a stir. We need more information
13 | G1000: beyond the defaults—They to evaluate the safety and risks of glass.
may not be optimal for the IFR flying you do.
30 | Glass of the Future—Just when you
15 | taa vs STEAM—The trade-offs? Does were managing the current TAA technology
automation dependence erode skills. suddenly there are new elements on the horizon.

Belvoir Aviation Group, an affiliate of Belvoir Media Group LLC, 800 Connecticut Ave., Norwalk, CT 06854-1631, publishes the IFR:
Transition to Glass. Copyright© 2014. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system,
or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written
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www.ifr-magazine.com For additional aviation products go to www.belvoir.com/aviation
➣➣ D i g i ta l P i lo t | by D r . R i c h a r d L ann i ng

First Try At Glass confirmation of a solid backup source

of power is critical.
It is also wise to review the POH
for required equipment (KOEL list).
An old dog makes his first flight in a glass panel airplane A glass cockpit will typically entail
a number of additional components
after lots of ground training. Here’s how it went and what that must be available and functional
he learned. for legal flight.
The G1000 makes the preflight a lit-
tle easier by offering electronic check-

I
t did take a while. My excuse is that higher than I was used to in order to lists. However, in the airplane I fly that
I’m an old dog learning new tricks. have a good sight picture out of the feature is not available.
But I finally had the opportunity to windscreen.
transition to a Technically Advanced Differences And Updates
Aircraft (TAA) with a full glass panel. Checklist It was an eye opener for me (and
After attending ground school, In this G1000 aircraft, as in all glass served as a reminder) that no matter
some weeks of studying and playing cockpits, you must use a checklist. how much I studied or worked with
with the simulator, I had my first of- There are a number of steps to be com- a simulator prior to my first flight in
ficial instructional flight in a Garmin pleted prior to engine start unlike any- a glass cockpit there would be differ-
G1000 equipped Cessna 182. thing I had dealt with before. ences between the simulator and the
To put it simply, it was a very re- One check for the G1000 is to make airplane. Everything I had previously
warding experience. sure the forward and aft avionics fans read and practiced required a series of
Once inside the airplane, my first are functioning since without them button pushing and knob twisting to
observation was that the top of the the system will potentially overheat accomplish.
instrument panel seemed higher than and fail leaving you quite literally in I learned quickly that not only does
on the traditional 182. This was neces- the dark. the software behave differently be-
sary to accommodate the large prima- Another necessary check is to veri- tween aircraft types but there are fre-
ry (PFD) and multi-function (MFD) fy the standby avionics battery is func- quent updates to the software that add
displays that take up most of the real tional. With the panel being electrically new features and/or modify existing
estate. I had to adjust the seat slightly driven and having no vacuum pump, ones. Such changes may take awhile to
filter into the simulator software. It is
important to make sure you have the
latest updates to your study material.
Checklists are essential but only
go so far. There were numerous pilot
configurable settings to deal with, right
down to selecting what type of nagging
voice I wanted to hear, male or female,
on various alerts.

Which Settings?
A simple configuration setting (with
significant implications) was how I
preferred the moving map displayed—
Track Up or North Up. I could only
imagine the confusion of someone
unfamiliar with this setup who flies a
course of 180 degrees with a North Up

The first time you enter the cockpit of a

full glass paneled airplane you are in for
a culture shock. Be ready to deal with
differences.

visit us at www. IFR-magazine.com IFR: TRANSITION TO GLASS | 3

The PFD presents the information in a
vertical tape format that will take some
time to adjust. The differences between
analog dials and the digital tape can re-
quire some changes to your scan.

setting to see the little airplane in the

map going what appears to be the op-
posite direction.
Having played with the simulator
enough times I had a feel for what set-
tings I preferred and I needed to con-
firm them as part of the preflight. A
personal checklist to supplement the tem I flew provided excellent traffic entering flight plans and IFR approach
aircraft checklist is a wise idea. alerts (TIS), they cannot be relied upon procedures.
Along with the POH I learned that for traffic avoidance. Unless the other
the glass cockpit reference guide must aircraft are equipped with a Mode C Integrated Autopilot?
be easily accessible. I rarely referred transponder, the system will not report One of the other differences I ob-
to the POH in flight except to confirm them. served between the simulator and the
proper power settings, but until I have Having experience in the aircraft airplane was that where the simulator
many hours of experience in a glass type beforehand allowed me to focus had an integrated autopilot (GFC 700),
cockpit, the reference guide is going to on the avionics systems and not on the first airplane I flew did not (KAP
see frequent usage. learning to fly the airplane. Get profi- 140). That created an additional level
cient with specific aircraft before try- of workload: entering the barometric
Too Much Head-Down Time ing to learn the new avionics. If both pressure in not two but three separate
In flying a glass cockpit you tend to aircraft and avionics are new your first places—the autopilot, the standby al-
spend a lot of time with your head few flights should focus on VMC flying timeter and the PFD.
down during the flight. While the sys- before you delve into the intricacies of Without an integrated autopilot the
altitude you enter on the PFD is merely
a reference altitude. To fly a specific al-
The MFD provides a wide variety of information—if you can only recall the right titude it will need to be entered into
combination of buttons to push and knobs to twist. This can be a formidable prob- the autopilot. It is essential, in my opin-
lem in making the transition. ion, to know what type of autopilot is
installed in the aircraft you will fly,
acquire its operating manual and be-
come very familiar with its operation
beforehand.
Practicing with the simulator well
prepared me for what to look for in my
scan. It proved to be easier to interact
with the PFD and MFD in the airplane
than on a simulator where you use
your keyboard and mouse to push but-
tons and turn knobs.
My experience convinced me that
strong preparation on the ground
greatly eased my transition to the glass
cockpit. While there may be differ-
ences between simulator and airplane,
they proved relatively minor.
Transitioning to glass was not as
intimidating as I expected, and while I
•
still have a lot to learn,I’m enjoying it.

4 | IFR: TRANSITION TO GLASS visit us at www. IFR-magazine.com

➣➣ T r a i n i n g | by F r e d S i m o nds

G1000 PC Procedures on a monitor. And yes, it supports

sound: “Traffic! Traffic!”
There are more than 10,000

TRAINer G1000 systems deployed throughout

the GA fleet, installed in everything
from the Quest Kodiak to the Cessna
Mustang jet. Garmin offers 14 ver-
It’s an excellent systems trainer that will save you a lot sions of the trainer for essentially all
the airframes in which it is installed
of time and money when you belt into the airplane. Here as original equipment. G600 users
are some hints on its operation. can also obtain a trainer, but for them
it’s a three-part download freebie.

I
am one of the many who came of Look Outside In The Real World You might think that this soft-
aviation age in the era of round dials. There is no visual display of clouds, ware is insanely expensive, but it’s
Without getting into ugly numbers, or terrain. This does lead to the not. All the single-user versions are
that goes back to Mode A transponders, unfortunate tendency to stare at the $24.95. You can find it at larger
90-channel tube radios and check rides display once you get airborne just as pilot shops or online at http://snipurl.
that cost $60—checks accepted. you did in the trainer. com/28ddwmy.
My first exposure to the G1000 The cure is the six-second rule: There is nothing technical to pre-
was in 2008 when I was hired at a never look inside at anything for vent you from buying one and install-
flight school that happened to have more than six seconds. We all need ing it on as many computers as you
many so-equipped Cessnas—my to grow egg timers in our heads. But like. Given that and the low cost, it
time had come. you should have mastered this during seems clear that Garmin is promoting
First came a DVD course. It your instrument training. the trainer as a learning tool in order
proved a good way to break the ice, You can hook up a 4-axis joystick to promote its big-ticket flight deck.
tone down the intimidation factor with throttle/power and rudder con- Although you might be able to use
and let me learn at my own pace. trol in seconds using the Joystick Axis your buddy’s old version, it is always
Next I discovered the G1000 PC Configuration tool under the Options best to use the most up-to-date.
Trainer—helpful for both VFR and menu. You can also fly it with the These days most PCs go far
IFR operations. autopilot, called Demo Mode, which beyond the required basic 1.8 GHz
is what I usually do. The display itself processor and 256 MB of RAM and
It’s Not A Simulator is incredibly accurate and attractive a DVD-ROM drive. However, the
It’s carefully not called a simulator
because it’s not an airplane simulator.
For example, when you make a climb
with the PC Trainer, the airspeed
does not budge—flight simulation is
not its reason for existence.
The idea is to learn the G1000
itself. The PC Trainer presents the
G1000 knobs, buttons and displays
just as if you were using the real
thing, a near-perfect replication of a
G1000. What you learn in the PC
Trainer (for almost no money) carries
directly into the airplane, but you
cannot count any time you spend
with it towards currency.

The Garmin G1000 PC Trainer will load

on most computers, but verify that you
have enough processing speed, memory,
and an appropriate graphics card.

visit us at www. IFR-magazine.com IFR: TRANSITION TO GLASS | 5

trainer is processor-intensive and you on your left and the Multifunction Dis- This is absolutely great for giving
want as much horsepower as you can play on your right. They work together yourself time to think about what
get, especially video memory. just as in the airplane. There is no closer you are going to do next, catch up
The primary symptom of insuffi- emulation of the three-way interaction and ultimately get ahead of the air-
cient computing power is intermittent between you, the PFD and MFD to be plane or for simply taking a break.
red Xs in the display which almost had at this price. That feature in itself is one of the
always cause the AP to disconnect. most important reasons why it’s worth
Then you scramble to re-engage the Starting Dual Screen Mode your time to learn the system on the
autopilot as the airplane heads who- You can start dual screen mode from PC Trainer rather than in the aircraft
knows-where. the Start Menu > Programs > Garmin where things can rapidly go seriously
Although this may make you more Trainer > Start Dual Screen Trainer. wrong if you do fall behind.
aware of handling system failures, it In dual monitor, you may have When you leave for real, close
breaks your concentration and the to grab the MFD display and move the trainer by clicking on the power
flow of learning stops for a moment. it to the right-hand monitor. Using button, using the exit drop-down or
On-board graphics cards with Intel the trainer for the first time, skim clicking on the red X in the corner.
graphic chipsets and shared mem- through the brief Help just to see what Not closing the trainer gracefully can
ory will not work with the G1000. you’ve got. lead to problems when you start it up
Nowhere does Garmin say this, but at a later time.
DirectX will not load causing the Select The Airframe The one thing that nearly drove
trainer to fail. Check which airframe you want as me insane was finding the cursor
you cannot change it once you power sweet spots that cause the knobs to
Windows Versus Apple up the system. It does not matter turn right and left. Fortunately, there
It works fine on Windows 2000, XP whether you click on the power but- are keyboard shortcuts you can use if
and Windows 7, but not very well on ton or use the drop-down menu. you lose patience. I preferred to force
Apple machines where PC emulation Pause the trainer by right-clicking myself to do it the hard way since
really slows things down. It will run anywhere in the screen, and select that’s how the real unit operates.
happily on a desktop or laptop. PAUSE from the drop-down menu. My other gripe is that the approach
The most impressive aspect of the The airplane appears to stop in mid- database is anything but current even
trainer is its dual-screen mode. Imag- air, something I’ve always had a hard in the latest versions, and there is no
ine having the Primary Flight Display time doing in an aircraft. way to update it.
Initially, learn the G1000 by study-
ing only what you must know to fly it
A helpful feature is the dual screen option that allows viewing both the PFD and MFD. safely. For IFR pilots this includes
knowing how to load, activate and
edit a flight plan; find airport and
navaid information; suspend automat-
ic sequencing of the flight plan; set up
and fly a hold; load and activate an
approach; change the choice of IAF
and initiate a missed approach. Leave
the exotic stuff for another day.
Use the trainer to build good hab-
its from the start. Construct a cheat
sheet (quick reference guide) and keep
it handy. Focus on the pages most
often used, and you will be well on
your way to mastering the G1000.
In the words of Marie Curie,
“Nothing in life is to be feared; it is
only to be understood. Now is the
time to understand more, so that we
may fear less.” The G1000 PC Trainer
is an excellent way to go about under-
standing more. •

6 | IFR: TRANSITION TO GLASS visit us at www. IFR-magazine.com

➣➣ T e c h n o lo g y | BY Dav i d Is o n

Gps Risks and some challenges in delivering the

eight satellites they are contracted
to produce. Therefore, it is conceiv-

Shortcomings able there may be some periods

when the GPS system does not
have a full constellation available to
users—potentially affecting RAIM
When was the last time you worried if the GPS was and precision.
working properly? Here are some aspects of the system of Old Sol
which you should be aware. Another upcoming threat to
GPS is compliments of the sun.

T
he fact is GPS has lulled us into cerns that satellites would not be Approximately every 11 years, our
believing it is a fail-safe, inter- launched in a timely enough fash- nearest star has a fit of electromag-
minable system. After all, pilots ion to insure that GPS maintained netic storms, which result in black
aren’t required to tune it, identify it, or a minimal 24-satellite constellation. spots and solar flares.
monitor it. GPS “does its own thing” The problem resides in the transi- With these uproars come
and usually works as it was designed tion between two generations of increased emission of particles and
to function. Considering that most GPS satellites, as the U.S. military radiation, which affect the Earth’s
pilots have never seen a GPS opera- is shifting to GPS block IIIA, which atmosphere. Increased solar activity
tional anomaly, it’s unlikely that you’ve offers a variety of improvements can influence GPS is two ways.
been losing sleep about satellite launch over current satellites. The first is that it may increase
schedules, solar activity, satellite fail- Ionospheric delay, i.e., it slows down
ures, jamming, and spoofing. Lowest Bidders? the transmitted signal. This delay
Yet as the FAA migrates the Another complication is that two is proportional to the total electron
entire air navigation network different contractors are working on content (TEC) between the satellite
(NexGen) towards GPS, the shar- the project. Boeing, who is respon- and the receiver.
ing of some cautionary information sible for producing 12 satellites, has Higher levels of solar activity
becomes necessary. faced a variety of setbacks that have raise the TEC thus maximizing this
When I am using GPS to fly led to revising launch schedules. slowing effect. Because GPS posi-
around in the clouds, near moun- Lockheed Martin is also facing tion precision is dependent upon
tains, or using it to shoot approaches,
I want to know its potential flaws.
Unfortunately, there are some threats
to GPS just over the horizon, so none
of us should have our head in the
sand.

Satellite Launch Schedules

The first major threat to the reliability
of GPS is the launch schedule for re-
placement and backup satellites. The
U.S. Government Accountability Office
(GAO) cited concerns that the status
of the programs designed to facilitate
new satellites for launch were facing
long delays.
This resulted in serious con-

GPS has revolutionized navigation in

virtually every facet of our daily lives.
We should be aware of possible failure
modes that could impact our use.

visit us at www. IFR-magazine.com IFR: TRANSITION TO GLASS | 7

 The functions and based transmissions which, as previ-
features found in ously mentioned, are inherently weak.
just about every The good thing is that a jammed
GPS box makes GPS receiver is readily apparent to
navigating to any the user because it simply becomes
part of the world “lost.” To deal with jamming, an
simple. But don’t even higher powered signal is used to
become overly overpower the “noise” created by the
reliant. jamming device.
There are a variety of technologies
being developed to deal with jam-
Earth is under ming such as the use of micro satel-
the influence of lites or loitering airships to transmit
the storms. Thus, the replacement signal. However,
in theory, GPS in today’s world of wackos and ter-
users could be rorists, one might stumble across a
more confident spoofing situation. Spoofing is when
in their equip- false GPS signals are transmitted
ment if flying at that do not disable the receiver but
night. instead confuse it.
accurate signal timing calculation, You might want to familiarize Spoofing can make the GPS
any impairment to signal transmis- yourself with solar activity reports “believe” it is somewhere other than
sion can create navigation errors. and forecasts at http://www.swpc. where it really is. It’s for real, I’ve
Typically, this type of inaccu- noaa.gov. seen it. Flying over Bosnia, my GPS
racy is compensated for by WAAS, Along with the solar activity, there showed me over the San Francisco
which, of course is no consolation is always space debris that currently area. That sort of huge error was easy
to those without a WAAS enabled numbers more than 50,000 pieces in to detect; the idea of a more subtle
GPS. earth orbit. These can and have made spoof, one that fools the receiver by
Another effect that anomalous impact with operating satellites. only a couple of miles on approach in
solar activity can have on GPS is Satellite failures are always a mountainous areas is a scary thought.
that it can block all signals. As GPS concern considering that a mini-
transmissions are extremely weak, mum number are needed for qual- Awareness Is Power
they can be drowned out by radio ity navigation. Moreover, satellite Considering the FAA’s love affair
waves resultant from solar storms. health is even more critical in the with GPS, it is certainly prudent for
More technically, GPS receiv- case of WAAS since there are only pilots to be aware of the potential
ers can adequately hear position two satellites in that system. weaknesses of the system. While
data down to a certain signal-to- perhaps some of the aforementioned
noise ratio. Once the noise from WAAS Satellites threats to GPS may sound like a
another source, in this case the sun, The WAAS system is dependent on bird yelling “the sky is falling,” they
becomes too great, the noise blocks a series of geosynchronous satellites are all legitimate concerns.
out the signal. This can degrade GPS that periodically experience malfunc- So familiarize yourself with
to the point of uselessness. According tions and have to be replaced. This space weather products and GPS
to researchers at Cornell University, can (and has) negatively affect WAAS satellite health information (such as
critical events may last from 10-30 coverage. raimprediction.net).
minutes at a time and may occur ran- There is also the possibility of While you don’t have to reach
domly over a period of several years. random service interruptions lasting the IFR level of skepticism required
Unfortunately, this type of solar up to five minutes for LPV approach when making an NDB approach, it
manipulation also degrades WAAS users. should nevertheless now be appar-
signals; therefore, all GPS users are ent that it’s not wise to take GPS for
affected (though the military does Jamming and Spoofing granted. Continue to periodically
have special equipment to minimize The last major threats to GPS are jam- use VOR navigation and be sure
such negative effects). ming and spoofing. Jamming GPS is you know how to program Victor
The one upside, if you can call it surprisingly easy. All that is needed airways and approaches into your
that, is that only the sun-lit side of the is a signal that overpowers the space- FMS. •

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➣➣ T e c h n o lo g y | BY F r e d S i m o nds

Glass Displays—What tegrated nav/coms and transponders.

The good news is that I found no
product so different from another as to

Are the Differences be overtly life-threatening as in the sky

pointer issue above. Yet, it could still be di-
sastrous to assume that the FMS you now
fly, works the same as the one before.
You’ve seen one, you’ve seen ‘em all? Hardly. The
Inconsistent Presentations
magnitude of the differences between systems vary from You have only to look at the PFD dis-
subtle to a potential killer. plays from Avidyne, Garmin and Aspen
to see how inconsistent they are. Where
is the vertical speed indicator? Both En-

D
espite the fact that all Flight Man- attitude indicator in a Beechcraft Bo- tegra versions show a VSI scale compa-
agement Systems do basically the nanza is widely believed to have been rable to the round dial.
same things, the way vendors go partly responsible for a tragic 1959 loss In contrast, the G1000 shows a linear
about doing and showing those things of control accident that cost the lives tape to the right of the altimeter. Num-
varies widely, even within a vendor’s of three gifted performers—Richie Va- bered marks denote climb or descent in
product line. lens, J.P. Richardson aka “The Big Bop- thousands of feet-per-minute. Minor
This fact was underscored by a per” and Buddy Holly. Accordingly, here marks denote 500-foot intervals. A black
reader who wrote to say that he flies a are some things to be wary of if you fly space indicates less than 100 fpm climb
G1000 Cessna 206 and a Beechjet with more than one flavor of FMS. or descent. The Entegra display has fine
the Collins AMS-5000 system. In the jet For this survey I included the Avi- markings every hundred feet to 1000 feet
(as in many jets), the attitude indicator dyne Entegra 7 and 9, the Garmin and, to me, is easier to read.
always aims at the sky and so is called a G1000 and the Aspen EFD1000. These The Aspen does not display a gauge.
“sky pointer,” whereas in most (not all) products range from old to brand new Instead it shows climb or descent nu-
piston airplanes, the AI points to the top and are not necessarily directly compa- merically.
of the airplane. He, and others, report- rable. For instance, the Entegra 7 and In the G1000, there is an autopilot
ed “correcting the wrong way” when Aspen EDS units are displays that rely status bar at the top center of the PFD.
switching between indicating systems. on external devices for navigation while In my opinion, this is better organized
Pilot confusion over a sky pointer the G1000 and Entegra 9 have fully in- than the Entegra which has AP annun-

Vertical speed is shown on an Aspen PFD (below),

via a digital readout in the lower right-hand cor-
ner. The Garmin G1000 (lower right) has a vertical
tape. The EFD1000 Pro (left) uses an analog arc.

visit us at www. IFR-magazine.com IFR: TRANSITION TO GLASS | 9

ciators spread across the top right half
of the PFD.
Half the battle in learning an FMS is
knowing where to look for information
when you need it. If you are G1000-
proficient and jump into an Aspen or
Entegra-equipped airplane, be prepared
for an Easter egg hunt as you acclimate
to the new environment.
This lack of standardization is in-
consistent with the practice followed by EIS displays vary by vendor and information desired or needed.
all airframe manufacturers from 1968 Cessna Skylane (right), and Avidyne Entegra Release 7 (above).
onward to standardize the “six pack”
flight instrument presentation. It cer- different sources all at once. installations are
tainly appears we’ve taken a huge step In the G1000, the HSI can be driven retrofits; while the
backward in aviation human factors. by the GPS, VOR 1 or VOR 2. While unit will be the
Strikingly, Avidyne and Aspen em- there are also two bearing pointers, same, how it works
braced the split-screen concept from their use is simplified because BRG 1 is from one cockpit
the beginning whereas Garmin did not always driven by VOR 1 and BRG 2 is to another is sure
until recently. driven by VOR 2. Mercifully, only one to be different.
HSI can be shown at a time. As an OEM ex-
HSI Complexities All the units can show a 360-de- ample, in Cessna
Varied HSI formats fill the lower half of gree HSI or an arc mode which varies Nav II installa-
most split-screen displays. In the Enteg- by vendor. Garmin shows 140 degrees, tions pressing the
ra 7, there is no color coding to indicate Entegra 9 190 degrees, Entegra 7 120 RST FUEL button
on the HSI deviation bar which naviga- degrees, and Aspen 100 degrees. sets the fuel total-
tion source is in use—whether VOR or izer to zero. In a
GPS. In the G1000, GPS-derived infor- Engine Indication System—EIS Diamond DA-40,
mation is magenta; VOR is green. Of all the pages that vary, the EIS varies it resets to full. In Cessna installations,
The Entegra 7 offers four nav sourc- more than any other. Of necessity, not course and heading boxes are shown
es: GPS 1 or 2 or VOR 1 or 2. There only does the EIS vary by vendor, but continually, but in Beechcraft they dis-
is also a single, double-bar bearing also between installations of the same appear after about ten seconds.
pointer that can be driven by the same FMS in different airframes with differ-
sources. In all the FMSs reviewed, ma- ent powerplant/propeller combinations. Form Follows Function
genta usually means GPS-derived. In For instance, a turbocharged en- Once you’ve broken the code on any
addition, the Entegra 7 supports four gine calls for a Turbine Inlet Tempera- FMS, learning a new one is easier than
HSI display formats as opposed to the ture gauge; a manifold pressure gauge learning the first although you still have
G1000’s two. is needed to accommodate constant- to reprogram your brain when you
Perhaps this got a little much be- speed propellers. switch between systems to keep from
cause the Entegra 9 has only two dis- being bitten by the differences.
play formats and can accept VOR 1 or OEM Differences If you know the GNS 430, you can
2 or GPS on either the HSI or the single An informal survey shows that the probably slide easily into a GNS 530 or
bearing pointer. It has the added ability G1000 FMS is installed in around 15 G1000 since the heart of the G1000 is a
to toggle the Flight Plan path “on” or manufacturer’s aircraft as original pair of faceless GNS 530s.
“off ” as an HSI overlay and showing, equipment. The original equipment Learn the Aspen EDS1000 and you
or removing , the CDI presentation al- manufacturer (OEM) calls the shots will discover that its concepts and func-
together. on how their G1000 installation will be tionality are similar to the G1000.
Aspen’s EFD1000 PFD shows one configured. It’s not a case of if you’ve seen one
HSI presentation which can be driven This includes differences in features, you’ve seen ‘em all, but a I sat in the
from GPS 1 or 2 or VOR 1 or 2. The autopilots, warnings and cautions to be right seat of a Cessna CJ3, and when
Aspen also has two bearing pointers flagged and how they will be indicated the FO lit up the Rockwell-Collins
which can simultaneously show any of visually and aurally. FMS, it sure looked familiar. I knew I
the above four sources, making it pos- Avidyne OEM installations have could have flown it if I had to… but no
sible to look at three displays from three the same variables. By contrast, Aspen one asked. •
10 | IFR: TRANSITION TO GLASS visit us at www. IFR-magazine.com
➣➣ H u m a n Fac to r | BY Burke Mees

Head-down in Glass coupled to a Primary Flight Display

(PFD), flight director and autopilot.

syndrome No Standardization
Astonishingly, given that flight instru-
ment presentation was standardized
way back in 1968, there is no standard
It’s time to recognize that the glass cockpit is not a safety arrangement for glass cockpits—al-
though the basic placement of the pri-
panacea. It’s a good thing, but there are shortcomings that mary flight instruments is close. The
can bite; be prepared for them lack of instrument standardization
between aircraft has long been recog-
nized as a safety of flight issue. In this

S
ince 2003 we have seen highly ca- unequivocal force for safety initially we have taken a major step backward.
pable glass panels working their thought. More time is now demanded of us
way into virtually all new general to be proficient and safe. We have to
aviation airplanes. They can now be An Objective View spend a significant amount of time
considered commonplace. What is certain is that these new panels learning the details of each glass cock-
Early on, the reviews of this new changed the way we fly IFR in signifi- pit that we fly on top of the details of
technology were written with a nearly cant ways. Now that the “Oh, wow, this the aircraft itself—not a good situation
unanimous tone of unbounded enthu- is great!” smoke has cleared, we can step where pilots are flying fewer hours
siasm. The assumption was that they back and look at them for what they each year.
increased our situational awareness, are: capable tools that have subtle weak-
made us safer, and everyone should nesses and require a certain amount of Situational Awareness
love them except for the few retro- discipline and effort on our part to fully Perhaps the most obvious benefit of
grade malcontents who just don’t like realize their potential advantages. glass cockpits (once you get used to
new things. When I say “glass cockpit” I’m re- a particular one) is the situational
As the newness faded, we began to ferring to a panel organized around awareness they provide in the form
learn from experience that the com- a GPS moving map that displays a of the moving map and other readily
plexity of glass cockpits creates op- programmed “magenta line” route available information.
portunities for new mistakes. We’ve on a screen that can show a stagger- There is, however, more to situ-
become aware that they aren’t the ing amount of information. It may be ational awareness than just visualizing
where you are on the moving map. It
also involves efficiently managing all
the tasks in an IFR flight and staying
ahead of the program.
Now, if the demands and com-
plexity of the glass cockpit are poorly
managed, it is not unusual for a pilot
to experience a net loss of situational
awareness, a situation where the glass
panel contributes to a reduction in the
level of safety.

Into A Trance
For example, the typical glass cock-
pit requires extensive pilot inputs in
the form of twisting knobs, pushing
buttons and scrolling through pages.
Flight instructors confirm that this of-
ten takes on a positively hypnotic qual-
Even with two heads in the cockpit the effect of all that information moving across ity that draws pilots into a heads-down
the glass can be mesmerizing. Never forget that the most important piece of operat- trance.
ing equipment in the cockpit is between the ears of the pilot. If you’re not careful, it’s easy to get

visit us at www. IFR-magazine.com IFR: TRANSITION TO GLASS | 11

absorbed into the panel to the point of good copilot, and it is always a matter because we are happily progressing
neglecting other flying duties, especial- of good CRM to understand the copi- along the magenta line?
ly scanning for traffic. Also, these sys- lot’s personality—in this case an ex- How many of us would have trou-
tems usually have messages, alerts and tremely good stick, but not very smart, ble flying a raw data ILS to minimums
warnings that are specifically designed and in need of explicit instructions. because we’ve been letting the autopi-
to get your attention, which can easily If you provide good supervision, you lot do it? How many times have things
disrupt your routine and cause you to have a great asset, but one that has zero like these been a link in the accident
miss something more important. judgment, so you have to be assertive chain? In the long run, if a system
I regularly see pilots becoming so in your role as PIC. makes us less intimately involved with
bogged down with attending to the As a copilot, the glass cockpit’s flying the airplane, is it really doing us
panel that their situational awareness strong point is that it can relieve us of any favors?
deteriorates. The glass cockpit offers a significant part of the workload. In
new ways both to maintain and to lose theory, this should free up our attention
situational awareness, and it is entirely and result in better situational aware- The glass panel plays
up to us to make sure that the result is a ness. In reality, I often see something
net benefit. That requires the discipline else happen: we lose some of our “edge”. a more active role in the
to resist distractions and keep the big We allow the automation aspect to in-
picture in focus. terfere with our active involvement. flight than did the old
The glass panel has a more active
role in the flight than did the old set Stay Engaged set of round gauges.
of round gauges. It takes care of our We stay engaged with the airplane by
navigation chores, calls certain things attending to the details. As we delegate
to our attention, and, if it is coupled more of those to the technology, we To get the most from glass, we need
to a flight director/autopilot, it partici- can become less intimately involved to devote special attention to staying
pates in flying the airplane. with what is going on. This can com- actively engaged with the airplane and
promise our situational awareness staying focused on what we’re doing.
Good Copilot in small and subtle ways. How many It is a matter of situational awareness
In these ways, it plays the role of a times do we lose track of where we are to understand our role in the airplane,
and at first glance it would seem that,
as we rely more on technology, the pi-
Just like on TV! It is mesmerizing, isn’t it? It takes an effort to pay attention to other lot becomes a less important part of
demands of flight and not become a spectator. the equation.

Strong PIC Needed

After spending some time in very ca-
pable glass cockpits, I realize that the
more technology we have, the greater
need for a strong PIC to properly man-
age it. Given that the glass cockpit has
both benefits and pitfalls, the practical
question is how do we use it to our net
advantage?
The best advice for managing the
high-tech cockpit is to remember the
basics. The complexities of the glass
cockpit require, more than ever, good
organization, discipline, knowledge,
proficiency and judgment—the same
things that have always been at the
heart of good instrument flying.
Certainly the details of how we fly
IFR are changing, but what it takes to
be a good instrument pilot remains the
same. •
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➣➣ D i g i ta l P i lo t | BY F r e d S i m o nds

G1000—beyond the 4. Renters may not know that the MFD

Menu Bar can be modified. Therefore,
savvy renters should return their air-

defaults planes to the defaults after flight unless

it has Pilot Profiles, a feature that may
not be available on all G1000 installa-
tions.
User defined defaults built into the G1000 may not be
In The MAP Page
optimal for the IFR flying you do. Here they are and how to Press MENU to bring up the MAP
customize them for your needs. SETUP page. The most popular op-
tion in Map permits you to change its
upward orientation to North, Track

L
ike most electronic gizmos, the the INSET map, returns the HSI to a (preferred), Desired Track, or Heading.
G1000 is loaded with options 360 degree presentation and deselects Enable the TRACK VECTOR to get the
that allow you to optimize its metrics. predictive cyan “noodle” ahead of the
PFD and MFD displays. This ar- The STD BARO sets the pressure airplane. Its length is set by time as you
ticle is based on the most recent soft- altitude to 29.92 as it would be set for prefer and is very handy for arcs, hold-
ware but subsequent revisions could flight operations above Flight Level
change the information contained 180.
herein.
Default settings can be associated In The MFD
with the MENU selections as well as Changes are made on the desired page
softkeys that allow a variety of different or, for the MFD Data Bar, in the AUX 4
displays such as the wind presentation. System Setup page. They take immedi-
If you fly a rented aircraft, you may find ate effect and survive reboot or power
these defaults configured to deny you cycling. There is no restore default fea-
the information you need at a critical ture in Map Setup, but renters seem ac-
time—so verify these defaults before customed to modifying this page.
you launch. There is a Default softkey in AUX

In The PFD
There are a variety of softkey selections
including MINIMUMS, V speeds and
display brightness. V speeds will return
to the factory-set defaults at restart.
There is a DFLTS restoration soft-
key which can be accessed through the
PFD softkey. This function removes

To access the Map Setup Page (extreme

left), select MENU, then Map Setup,
where recommended settings are shown.
The MFD Data Bar (below) is shown with
typical defaults. The default Menu Bar
appears in System Setup (left).

visit us at www. IFR-magazine.com IFR: TRANSITION TO GLASS | 13

ing turns, or following the magenta line using track and GPS-derived wind XTK cross-track data bar field option
especially with wind. correction angle information required to help define more precisely the dis-
Enable the WIND VECTOR which to keep the track straight. tance from a desired active leg. You will
will appear on the top right. The PFD is Desired track (DTK) is the magen- score big points if you have it optioned
not the only place you can see this. ta rhumb line to the next fix. When the in the first place.
Enable the NAV RANGE RING to desired and actual track angles (TRK Two M.I.T. studies show that TKE
surround your airplane with a compass on the data bar) are the same, you “improves tracking performance during
rose whose radius is ¼ of the scale. It’s might be on course or are more likely simulated GPS instrument approaches”
very handy for vectors and situational paralleling it. The Crosstrack [XTK] and that the track vector “noodle” per-
awareness. It survives an AHRS failure error field option shows your distance formed best in terms of track angle error
because it’s GPS-driven and way better in n.m. from desired track. performance and least workload. The
than the wet compass. numeric TKE format as in the G1000
Track Angle Error emerged second. Having the noodle,
In The AUX Pages Track Angle Error (TKE) is perhaps TKE and XTK is a triple-win.
Using the softkey, set the AUX 1 TRIP the least intuitive but one of the most
PLANNING page to AUTO so, while useful options. It displays the difference
airborne, it can crunch real-time between TRK and DTK as a ± value in
numbers for fuel, time and more. Use degrees. TKE gives you one number
Defaults in rental
MANUAL mode as a rough tool for where you see useful information with-
ground flight planning because there is out subtraction.
aircraft may not display
no direct provision for wind. You must Operationally, if your desired track critical information
enter the groundspeed from elsewhere. is 337 degrees while the aircraft is
tracking 335 degrees, turning the air-
Setting The MFD Data Bar plane two degrees right will parallel
In the upper right corner of the AUX the course but not join it; that is, the Eleven Options, Two Fields Left
page you can change the fields of the XTK value of say 3.5 n.m. will not Since groundspeed is essential, it is
Navigation Status Bar. Of the choices change. To correct this error you must the third choice and goes in the far
available, DIS, BRG and TAS already turn farther right. Now the XTK dis- left MFD 1 field. TRK is not needed
appear on the PFD and cannot be tance and TKE degree values will fall because it is in TKE. Unless you use
changed there. There’s no point in re- to zero as you join the DTK. It’s a beau- VNAV, Vertical Speed Required (VSR)
peating them on the MFD. tiful thing as TKE and XTK help you is probably not useful. Eight options
Given four data bar fields and re- get on course! remain.
maining options, which are the deserv- TKE and XTK can be a lifesaver Here it gets subjective. I vote for Es-
ing four? In my humble opinion, TKE if the PFD fails during an IFR check timated Time En route (ETE) in MFD
and XTK belong in MFD 2 and MFD 3 ride or an IPC. If the examiner fails the 4 to answer the universal query, “When
fields respectively. Here’s why: PFD, the applicant must use the MFD will we be there?”.
Track (TRK) is the path the air- moving map. The G1000 Guide for The AUX 1 TRIP PLANNING page
plane is flying over the ground, right or DPEs and CFIs advises that either the has all the fuel and en route informa-
wrong. GPS groundspeed is computed applicant or examiner can select the tion; it’s not as if it’s unavailable if you
don’t put it in the MFD data bar. The
bar just places the most critical in-
MFD Data Bar Description Units Remarks formation before you. However, the
Field Options
BRG Bearing to fix degrees Redundant–on PFD
XTK and TKE numbers are available
DIS Distance to next fix nm Redundant–on PFD nowhere else, and so deserve to be in
DTK Desired track degrees Built into TKE (see text) the bar.
END Endurance hh:mm On AUX 1 page
ESA En route Safe Altitude feet or meters On AUX 1 page The AUX 1 page has a FUEL STATS
ETA Estimated Time of Arrival hh:mm On AUX 1 page block with automatically-entered fields
ETE Estimated Time En Route hh:mm MFD 4 field;Also on AUX
FOB Fuel On Board gallons or liters On AUX 1 page
for TOTAL ENDUR, REM ENDUR
FOD Fuel Over Destination gallons or liters On AUX 1 page and fuel required to reach destination
GS Groundspeed knots A must. MFD1 field (FUEL REQ).
MSA Minimum Safe Altitude feet or meters On AUX 1 page
TAS True Air Speed knots Redundant-on PFD You must have set the FUEL ON-
TKE Track Angle Error degrees A must. MFD 2 field BOARD in the AUX page in order for
TRK Track [over ground] degrees Built into TKE
VSR Vertical Speed Required fpm/mpm Good with VNAV
the fuel parameters to mean anything!
XTK Cross-track error nm A must. MFD 3 field Verify defaults before tackling IFR.
Always try before you buy. •
14 | IFR: TRANSITION TO GLASS visit us at www. IFR-magazine.com
➣➣ B ac k t o b a s i c s: To m G i l m o r e

taa vs STEAM—What who might screw up. This causes me

to not dwell for extended periods with
my scan away from the primary instru-

are the trade-offs? ments, whether glass or steam. This

reminds many of us to learn how to
quickly reengage the autopilot and not
let the situation get out of hand when
Technologically Advanced Airplanes are terrific, but they the transition back to hand flying has
to happen in a hurry.
encourage dependence on automation that erodes basic
skills. Avoid that with skill drills Rusty Observations
All of this came to mind when I was

M
providing instruction to a client who
any instrument pilots today autopilot and/or flight management was the original owner of a vintage
are migrating into TAA or system, if installed, during the instru- Cessna Cutlass RG. Harry had bought
full-glass panel aircraft with ment practical test to assist in the man- the aircraft new in 1978 and it had the
autopilots being standard equipment. agement of the aircraft.” original Cessna ARC radio stack and
Therefore, it’s not surprising that I am Further, “the applicant will be re- six pack of round gauges. The avionics
starting to observe some weaknesses quired to demonstrate the use of the were primitive enough that the number
creeping in when I’m back in the right autopilot and/or FMS during one of one COM had just experienced a knob
seat of an older steam-gauge aircraft do- the non-precision approaches.” The new failure—it was so brittle with age that
ing a flight review or IPC. emphasis is more on systems manage- it broke apart. Fortunately, Harry could
We often forget that these legacy air- ment in our new glass cockpit aircraft still change frequencies. Consequently,
craft that have not yet been retrofitted and the definition of autopilot usage re- I knew we were going to be back to ba-
with TAA avionics demand much more ally leaves the door open for increased sics when I found out that we would be
in the way of positional awareness and dependence on it. Obviously, these re- working with steam gauges and an in-
basic scanning skills, especially if there cently accepted attitudes are necessary operative autopilot. It was going to be a
is no “George” to rely on to do the flying. to address the types of aircraft many big change from my recent flying with
In fact, there seems to be more of a pilots are flying today. However, basic clients who had, at minimum, a panel-
recent acceptance by many instructors hand flying skills seem to be fading as mounted GPS and autopilot.
to allow their TAA students free rein in a result. When I started to brush-up with
the use of the autopilot, especially dur- One problem with TAA aircraft that Harry, it occurred to me that basic scans
ing enroute flying. encourages autopilot dependence is the and instrument skills are beginning to
mental detour that forces the pilot to erode. With no autopilot to handle the
Training Key Elements hand fly after an unintentional autopilot mundane tasks of holding heading and
Even the PTS for the instrument rating disconnect. My theory when flying with altitude while doing short excursions
has been encouraging full use of the au- any autopilot is to always consider the off the gauges to check a chart, the
topilot during check rides. To quote the possibility that
Instrument Practical Test Standards, George is really
“the applicant is expected to utilize an a flight student

A typical Cessna panel of the 1980s (left) offered the ability to fly
IFR with a reasonable degree of efficiency and safety and it remains
functional today. Thirty years later, the contemporary glass panel
(above) provides greatly expanded functionality and situational
awareness for the pilot

visit us at www. IFR-magazine.com IFR: TRANSITION TO GLASS | 15

workload is dramatically higher. That al approach that can usually help knock dle a hand-flown approach consistently. If
sort of multitasking chore can be easily loose the rust my clients have accumu- there’s even the slightest tendency toward
glossed over when flying today’s auto- lated after not flying for a while. It calls over control, it will make itself obvious at
mated TAAs. I knew that with Harry, for combining some basic flight maneu- this point.
this wasn’t going to be a once over vers under the hood and slowly adding
lightly. He needed lots of basic work, one or two piloting duties to the multi- Conclusions
and he also wanted credit for the newly tasking routine while flying the aircraft In my experience training pilots fly-
revamped Wings Program. Therefore, on an assigned heading and altitude. Af- ing both TAA aircraft and steam-gauge
we had a few hours to spend together ter about an hour of practice drills using airplanes, I am reaching the conclusion
in the Cutlass to knock off some of the some common flight scenarios, such as that each requires a somewhat discrete
rust before we could even consider fly- tuning the radio, copying a clearance or skill set. It’s one thing to step into an
ing some approaches. digging for a frequency while hand fly- archaic Cutlass with old-but-familiar
ing, most pilots are back in the box. round gauges and something else to
Basic Hand Flying Once I got Harry back in the groove af- master a TAA airplane.
After working the practice area with ter delegating some extra workload items A pilot needs total knowledge of
some basic VFR maneuvers, I had Har- and watching him improve his lock on the the avionics suite in a TAA aircraft.
ry put on the Foggles. I immediately primary instruments, we got down to the This is not something you can fake
saw him struggle with the workload as serious side of flying some holds and ap- or learn in a few minutes of checkout
he began his instrument scan and to proaches. In some ways, this is a critical test time on the ramp. A G1000 is several
comply with my instructions to tune of a pilot’s IFR acuity. More balls in the air layers deep, and if you rely on the trial-
a VOR. Any TAA pilot might, without requires a better scan and better manage- and-error method to make it do what
hesitation, get the wings level and do a ment of task not directly related to flying you want, you’ll inevitably get behind
final pitch adjustment on the assigned such as radio work and chart fetching. At the airplane.
altitude before setting up the autopilot this point even the rustiest of pilots is ready In my view, a complete TAA
and then tuning the NAV. This is when to move on to some approach work. checkout requires at least five hours
rust reveals itself, especially after several I like to take my instrument clients of ground instruction, and, given the
months of inactivity. right down to MDA or DH so that they economy and other factors, this is
I like to start with a basic instruction- gain the confidence to know they can han- something that many CFIIs seem to
be cutting short. Few pilots flying the
G1000 use or even understand all of
A good percentage of general aviation aircraft are of the older variety with available
its capabilities. Instructors who have
upgrades that allow the pilot many of the amenities of the modern era. The inclusion
not had much opportunity to work in
of a GNS 530 or KNS 750 is often a good compromise.
the TAA environment should consider
obtaining more specialized training .
Unfortunately, the advent of the
glass cockpit and the technology that
goes with it has descended on the GA
population so quickly that many of us
are finding it difficult to generate the
confidence required to hand fly an air-
plane on instruments. .
A recommendation to be less reli-
ant on the autopilot may fall on deaf
ears, but pilots who wish to retain basic
scanning skills will need to embrace the
idea. There’s no question that it’s safer
to turn on the automation 800 feet after
departure and 200 feet before arrival.
The autopilot will always do a better job.
But even if the AP never fails, you’re
surrendering basic pilot skills that you
really need to have to remain fully en-
gaged with the airplane, the flight at
hand and the IFR system. •
16 | IFR: TRANSITION TO GLASS visit us at www. IFR-magazine.com
➣➣ D i g i ta l P i lo t | BY F r e d S i m o nds

Aspen Retrofit not for ics, don’t make the final payment until
you have received the required docu-
mentation and a copy of the STC .

the neophyte Reverse Engineer

This oversight cost Henry as we must
reverse engineer, to some extent, what
While the benefits more than outweigh the effort, the the shop did. No shop person sat with
Henry to explain the capabilities he had
move requires the pilot to apply considerable thought to just bought. In the spirit of caveat emp-
successfully make the upgrade. tor, you owe yourself due diligence even
if you have to pay for it.
As nice as the jewel-like EFD1000

O
f the more than 200,000 aircraft tion. Aspen has invested a great amount is, his edition of the manual had typos,
in the general aviation fleet, over of effort into assuring that the customer contradictions, disjointed layout and
25 percent are now equipped to is as well informed and trained as pos- occasional techno-babble.
legally use GPS for IFR navigation and sible—as a manufacturer Aspen must Unlike many other advanced avion-
approaches. The list of manufacturers rely on its dealers to fulfill this aspect of ics products, Aspen offers no simulator.
includes BendixKing, Avidyne and Gar- the purchasing experience. However, “Flying the Aspen Evolution”
min—who claims more than 12,000 of The EFD1000 Supplemental Type training DVD from Sporty’s Pilot Shop
these are G1000 systems. While some Certificate requires that the dealer give provides thorough training on the As-
units are fully integrated with the Pri- all the records of the system installation, pen Evolution product line and answers
mary Flight Display (PFD)such as the including configuration setup, wiring most questions a pilot may have about
G1000, others are retrofits as is the diagrams, ICAs, Pilot Guides, AFMSs, the flight displays. At the time we did
case with the Aspen ESD1000. This is etc., to the customer upon returning not have access to this course.
the story of one such retrofit: the good, the aircraft to service. Apparently, this
bad and ugly, and how to minimize the did not happen as specified by the STC Learn It On The Ground
retrofit blues. and should be brought to the attention Rather than take the airplane out and fly
of the installing dealer. it around while we pushed buttons, and
Where’s The Documentation? A simple block diagram of what was lacking a simulator, we did the next best
The tale begins with Henry, a client who done in the retrofit is a major first step thing and arranged for the Bonanza to
needs an IPC in his 1978 Beechcraft F33 in learning the capability of your new be connected to a ground power unit
Bonanza newly retrofitted with an As- system as installed. Fortunately a rep- through its external power receptacle.
pen EFD1000 fed by dual Garmin GNS resentative diagram is provided in the (A small power inverter would have
530W navigators. The EFD1000 is con- EFD1000 PFD Pilot’s Guide. worked as well.)
nected to the Century III via an Ana- Lesson 1: If you upgrade your avion- We sat in the airplane while we
log Converter Unit (ACU) included in
the Aspen installation kit, and provides
heading and selected course informa-
tion to the autopilot.
Henry recognizes straightaway that
he needs help. Those who fly by them-
selves while trying to figure out a con-
voluted installation risk an airspace
bust, midair or CFIT accident. Thus, I
will be safety pilot, instructor, and sys-
tems analyst.
Henry volunteers forlornly that the
avionics shop gave him no documenta-

The Aspen EFD 1000 can expand from a

two port unit to six and provide virtually
all of the functions of the contemporary
glass displays.

visit us at www. IFR-magazine.com IFR: TRANSITION TO GLASS | 17

worked, manual in hand, through the es- position, but does not enable back course plan which we did not recognize at the
sentials of the Aspen’s many capabilities. mode within an autopilot system and time. This is just the kind of thing you
Henry pushed all the buttons and saw therefore will make no adjustments for it. want to discover in a shakedown—it could
what happened. He learned what SYNC The next day we flew a real back be dangerous. Squawk number two.
does, about the HSI, and lots more. course localizer. This time the Aspen The GNS 530W can issue instructions
We came to understand how the failed to indicate a back course—a big to autopilots to fly curved paths such as
twin GPS units interact with the Aspen surprise since it had worked perfectly holds, turn anticipations and DME arcs.
and how it connects to the autopilot. In the previous day. No amount of knob- Our question was whether the Century
GPS Steering mode, the Aspen takes twisting or button-pushing got the Bo- III could understand and execute same.
GPS guidance and feeds it to the autopi- nanza on the localizer so that the auto- The answer proved a sloppy yes. The
lot which needs to be in heading mode. pilot would fly it. Thus our first avionics autopilot would routinely overshoot in
For VOR/LOC/GS steering, the squawk. holds turning inbound, during turn an-
NAV, OMNI and LOC NORM/REV We realized early in our first flight ticipation, and on localizers. I noticed
must be used, bypassing the Aspen. that the autopilot should only be set to that it turned at less than standard rate
We could never have discerned this heading mode when the Aspen is in which didn’t help. Yet it flew a published
so quickly without having formed the GPS Steering or its own heading mode. DME arc perfectly, because the turn
question on the ground. We systemati- Heading home, I showed Henry rate was within its ability. Squawk three.
cally wrote out questions and subse- how to use the bearing pointers. How-
quently answered them in flight. This ever, while pointer 1 aimed right at the Capture, Capture
greatly accelerated our understanding. station, pointer 2 aimed away from it. Our major disappointment was the au-
Bearing info from any GPS configura- topilot’s inability to capture ILS glides-
Airborne At Last tion is wired into the Aspen to provide lopes and LPV glidepaths. On the ILS,
We took off and flew a front course ILS data serially, not in analog format. the glideslope “needle” would not dis-
localizer backwards at an altitude well The only way this disparity would be play until nearly atop the FAF even
above anyone flying it inbound. We dis- possible is if the GNS 530W provided though the manual said it should dis-
covered that the EFD1000 annunciates a different data—the second pointer was play as soon as a signal was available.
back course based on the course pointer receiving information from another flight WAAS approach glidepaths present-
ed normally, about two miles outside
the FAF. The autopilot never captured
any glideslope or glidepath.
The AP has a light which predated
the upgrade. It comes on at capture but
never lit up. Squawk four for the glides-
lope’s tardiness, squawk five for the AP’s
inability to capture.
Along the way we discovered that
the audio for the altitude, airspeed and
traffic alerts could be heard only over the
speaker. These two squawks brought the
grand total to seven. We spent 7.5 hours
airborne and flew 14 varied approaches.
By proceeding in an organized fash-
ion, first working through the system
on the ground while keeping notes and
questions to be resolved in flight then
flying in good VFR and progressively
answering our questions and recording
squawks, we reached our goal of under-
standing and validating Henry’s new
gear. Don’t be hesitant to contact Aspen
tech support for questions that have not
been answered by the manual or the sup-
plier as they are responsive And oh, yes,
Henry aced his IPC. •
18 | IFR: TRANSITION TO GLASS visit us at www. IFR-magazine.com
➣➣ D I g i ta l P i lo t | BY F r e d S i m o nds

Garmin G1000 error terrain database mismatch also pre-

cipitates this message. DB MISMATCH
prevents Xtalk from crossfilling one

Messages GPS into the other, largely negating the

value of the G1000’s redundant GPS’.

GMA Audio Panel

“Hmm, I’ve never seen that before.” Here’s a technical A GMA1 FAIL message not only means
the panel has failed, leaving only COM
discussion about G1000 error messages, what they mean 1 available, but the autopilot cannot be
and how your flight might be affected or aborted. used because AP aural annunciations
cannot be heard. GMA1 CONFIG
means its configuration does not match

T
urning on the avionics switch, the MFD and PFD are not communicating. its backup, requiring service. A GMA1
G1000 begins to boot. A PFD Warn- This can be due to Xtalk itself (XTALK SERVICE message means the panel
ing message pops up: “FPL Waypoint ERROR) or a MANIFEST error. The may still be usable, but needs service
Locked.” The machine continues to load, GDUs (Garmin Display Units) must when able.
but you wonder what and how bad this is have matching software versions. If not,
and whether you can fly. You turn to the a SW MISMATCH error results which Garmin Integrated Avionics
G1000 Cockpit Reference Guide (CRG) also shuts off Xtalk. Two GIA 63 units drive the MFD and
(required to be aboard the Cessna per If either device fails self-test, a SER- PFD via Ethernet. If a screen fails, it
the POH Section 2, “Kinds of Operations VICE error message appears calling for takes its GIA 63 with it. GIAs are essen-
Equipment List”). service. The PFD and MFD each have tially GNS 530A units minus displays.
The CRG explains: “A waypoint in the configuration settings and backup con- A SERVICE message denotes a likely
flight plan database does not exist in a da- figuration memory. A mismatch pro- non-fatal error in a COM, NAV, GPS
tabase update, orphaning the waypoint.” duces a PFD or MFD CONFIG error or glideslope receiver. A FAIL message
Unfortunately, the G1000 does not tell you and pleads for service. There is addi- tells you what has failed, e.g., FAILED
which waypoint has been undercut. tional configuration module memory PATH means a data path connected to
With something as technical as error backup in the PFD. Should it fail, a the GDU or GIA 63/W has quit.
messages, recall that the Pilot’s Guide for CNFG MODULE error results. Operational alerts you never want
the G1000 is not a substitute for the CRG. The G1000 detects a stuck key below to see begin with RAIM UNAVAIL in
If you have any kind of glass, keep its CRG the PFD or MFD bezel. A PFD or MFD non-WAAS G1000s. It means that GPS
or Quick Reference handy. I suggest you —KEYSTK—message results. It also de- satellite coverage isn’t good enough be-
copy relevant PDFs into your tablet. tects stuck frequency swap transfer but- tween FAF and MAP.
tons (COM1 or 2 RMT XFR and NAV1
Alert Organization or 2 RMT XFR). Try to clear them by Back To The VOR
Message alerts are organized by Line Re- pressing the keys. A stuck mic button LOI stands for Loss of Integrity. It
placeable Unit (LRU) hardware modules, produces a COM1 or 2 PTT error. An means that the GPS may no longer be
the database and in-flight alerts. Let’s de- unresolved stuck mic will shut itself off accurate. Reversion to VOR is recom-
cipher some of the cryptic messages so in 35 seconds. mended. Similarly, a GPS NAV LOST
we can react correctly and safely.
First, a MANIFEST alert can occur in Database Mismatch
any LRU. The MANIFEST file is a list of all A DB MISMATCH affecting flight can
software part numbers and versions asso- be either a version or type mismatch be-
ciated with an approved system configu- tween the PFD and MFD with respect
ration. A mismatch means that incorrect to the aviation or terrain database. A
software is installed in a specified LRU, type mismatch results when, say, the
which isolates it from the others. Americas type is in one database and
the European type database is in the
PFD And MFD Crosstalk other. An obstacle version or airport
The GDU 1040 PFD and GDU
1042/1044 MFD displays are linked by
Ethernet which Garmin calls Crosstalk When the GPS fails you may find yourself
(Xtalk). A Xtalk error means that the in dead reckoning mode.

visit us at www. IFR-magazine.com IFR: TRANSITION TO GLASS | 19

message can occur due to insufficient true north. G1000s derive variation A DB CHANGE alert occurs when
satellites, excessive position error or from a mathematical model. If the data- a procedure has been edited manually,
GPS failure. Such a message will likely base version in AHRS1 does not match and only occurs after a database update.
cause an ABORT APR if you are on an AHRS2, an AHRS MAG DB alert re- Again, check that any procedures you
approach. En route, the GPS will fall sults. If the AHRS1 model is out of date, modified remain correct and current.
into dead reckoning DR mode. You still it complains by issuing a AHRS1 SRVC If a new database deletes an obso-
know that VOR stuff, right? alert. The model loses accuracy near the lete approach or arrival stored in a flight
WAAS-capable GIA 63Ws can cause poles, prompting a MAG VAR WARN plan, the dated procedure is removed
a HW (hardware) MISMATCH when if the displayed and actual values differ from the flight plan, prompting a FPL
one GIA detects a mismatch with the by more than two degrees. TRUNC(ated) alert. You must update it
other, leaving only one WAAS-capable. Venturing north of 70 degrees latitude by hand.
An APR DWNGRADE means that takes the AHRS beyond its approved lim- Some messages are self-explanatory:
the approach has been downgraded its, flags the heading as invalid and gen- WPT ARRIVAL or STEEP TURN warn
to a non-WAAS LNAV approach. Use erates a GEO LIMITS alert. Speaking of of one in 15 seconds. The G1000 warns
LNAV minima; if below that, miss. magnets, if the GMU 44 magnetometer of [Special Use] AIRSPC AHEAD less
The Garmin GEA 71 engine analyz- fails, heading is again marked invalid and than ten minutes away. Two AIRSPC
er and GTX 33 transponder are LRUs the AHRS falls back to GPS for backup. A NEAR messages warn of SUA near and
that can generate CONFIG errors. In HDG FAULT error results. ahead and then less than two n.m. away.
addition, the GTX 33 can generate a You should either have permission or
SRVC message calling for service or an Data Link GDL 69A And 74A your intercept procedures memorized
outright XPDR1 FAIL alert. The GDL 69A can generate CONFIG by the time you are INSIDE ARSPC.
and FAIL errors. I have experienced at Sorry, there is no FILE NASA ASRS or
AHRS least two data link failures where there CALL AVN ATTY message.
The Garmin Reference System (GRS 77) was no corresponding alert because the A LEG UNSMOOTH is not a hit on
AHRS shows attitude and heading. If the antenna, not the LRU, failed. When the your flying skills. It means that approach-
ADC stops sending TAS information to data link fails, text and graphical weath- ing waypoints will require steep turns
the AHRS, it falls back on GPS informa- er and TFRs are no longer displayed. and cause significant course deviations.
tion and triggers an AHRS1 TAS alert. A VNAV alert says that it’s unavailable
Four AHRS1 GPS messages include Miscellaneous Messages because a procedure turn or perhaps a
use of the backup GPS path as the A FPL WAYPOINT MOVE appears vector occurred (neither of which VNAV
primary path has failed, not receiving when a new database update relocates a supports) before the active vertical way-
any or defective GPS information, not waypoint. Garmin suggests verifying that point. It also alerts if there is excessive
receiving backup GPS information, or any stored flight plans still contain correct cross-track or track angle error.
operating in no-GPS mode. waypoint locations. If you try to activate a
stored flight plan with a locked waypoint, Can You Fix It?
Magnetic North And South you get a LOCKED FPL message. Remove When you’re trying to fix the prob-
GPS units natively work in terms of the problematic waypoint(s). lems, recycling the G1000 often clears
specious errors. Genuine software
mismatches are un-clearable; a reboot
won’t fix it.

The Go/No Go Decision

GPS navigation is not required for VFR
or IFR. But AHRS and ADC failures are
no-gos. Garmin says that your knowl-
edge of the airplane, flight conditions
and other operational considerations
are the determining factors in deciding
what to do. Isn’t it fun to be a pilot.•

A typical selection of the error messages

shows their cryptic nature.

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➣➣ S ys t e m N o t e s | BY F r e d S i m o nds

GARMIN GFC 700 Another example of active versus

armed status can occur in the lateral
mode. When ATC gives a vector to

AUTOPILOT intercept a radial from a VOR, the

autopilot can be set in heading mode
by pushing the HDG key on the auto-
pilot control panel. The pilot should
This fully-integrated autopilot is making our flights easier. set the heading bug to the vector
issued by the controller and the auto-
Here’s what it can do for you. pilot will turn the plane to match the
heading bug.

A utopilots have been around for

half a century. Experienced
instrument rated pilots no longer con-
its sense of direction, the GFC 700 is
integrated with the G1000 in several
other significant ways. For example,
The status bar will show a green
“HDG” to indicate that the autopilot
is in heading mode. Then the pilot
sider them “crutches” and instead rely when the pilot selects a new target can select VOR number one or VOR
on them in the same way that they rely altitude with the ALT knobs on the number two on the HSI using the
upon their GPS or com radios. We all bottom left off the PFD, that altitude CDI softkey and use the course knob
should know how to continue a flight will appear on the top of the altitude to select the radial to be intercepted.
without any of those items, but when tape and will become the new target Finally the pilot should press the
they are working, they can make the altitude for the GFC 700 to capture. “NAV” key on the autopilot control
flight easier and safer. panel. At this point the autopilot sta-
Autopilots have progressed in their Autopilot Modes On The PFD tus box will still indicate “HDG” in
usefulness and reliability along with Likewise, all autopilot modes can be green, but now “VOR” will appear in
the rest of the avionics in our panels. seen on the autopilot status box at white, indicating that heading mode
We have come a long way from the the top center of the PFD. The auto- is still active but the VOR course is
wing levelers found in some 1960s era pilot status box includes several use- armed and ready to be captured once
GA aircraft. These days nearly all fac- ful features. The left side of the box the radial has been intercepted. Once
tory new aircraft come with some sort indicates lateral modes intercept is complete,
of autopilot installed—the Garmin and the right side of the “HDG” indication
GFC 700 is one of these. The advanc- the box indicates pitch will disappear and the
es in functionality and reliability that modes. Modes that are “VOR” indication will
this autopilot brings to the market are presented in green are change from white to
impressive. modes that are currently green.
active, while modes that
Fully Integrated are presented in white Don’t Change The
When Garmin introduced the GFC are armed and waiting Source Data
700 autopilot in 2005, it decided to to become active. Pilots must be careful
introduce an autopilot that was fully An example of this when in NAV mode
integrated with the G1000 Primary would be when verti- (VOR or GPS) that
Flight Display (PFD). That integra- cal speed is active (green they do not change the
tion brought with it several significant “VS” in the status box) source data on the CDI
advantages. and altitude capture is by pressing the CDI
The first was that the autopilot armed (white “ALTS” in softkey. Doing so may
determines its sense of direction from the status box). Once confuse the GFC 700
the Attitude and Heading Reference the target altitude has autopilot.
System (AHRS). The AHRS is the been captured, the “VS” The autopilot status
unit that replaces spinning gyros and indication will disap- box will indicate the
generates the Attitude Indicator (AI) pear and the “ALTS” confusion by flashing
and Horizontal Situation Indicator will change from white “NAV” for several sec-
(HSI) information. This highly reli- to green indicating that onds and then revert-
able source of attitude information the autopilot is now in
means that the autopilot is significant- altitude hold mode and
ly less likely to lose its sense of balance. vertical speed mode is The GFC 700 control pan-
In addition to using the AHRS for no longer active. el is quite intuitive.

visit us at www. IFR-magazine.com IFR: TRANSITION TO GLASS | 21

ing to a green “ROL” indication. Go-Around by pushing just one button rath-
Once this has occurred, the pilot Most installations of the GFC 700 er than several. Just be sure that
will need to reengage either heading also include a Go-Around (GA) after the initial phase of the missed
or nav mode as desired to recapture button that is placed on or near the approach, the appropriate pitch and
the desired course. throttle. Many older autopilots did roll commands are used for the rest
Another significant advance in not have this feature and therefore of the missed approach and, if appro-
the GFC 700 autopilot is the Flight many pilots are not familiar with priate, the autopilot is reengaged.
Level Change (FLC) mode. FLC the use of a GA button. Like all autopilots, the GFC 700
is a pitch mode that commands The most common use of a GA has several limitations which the
the autopilot to maintain a speci- button is during the missed approach pilot must observe. One that is
fied indicated airspeed. Once the phase of an instrument approach. often overlooked is that the audio
FLC button is pressed the pilot can When the GA button is pushed five panel must be working because all
adjust the speed to be maintained different things are done at the same autopilot audio annunciations come
by using the “Nose up” and “Nose time: 1) the autopilot is disengaged; through the audio panel. There are
Down” buttons. The speed to be 2) the flight director commands a also minimum altitudes for engage-
maintained will be displayed next to seven-degree nose up attitude and ment. Typically these are 800 feet
“FLC” on the autopilot status box at wings level; 3) “GA” is annunciated AGL except when on an approach
the top of the PFD. FLC is very use- in the autopilot status box for both when the autopilot may remain
ful in low power aircraft that may pitch and roll; 4) if a GPS flight plan engaged as low as 200 feet AGL.
not be able to maintain a specified is active and includes the current There are also minimum and maxi-
vertical speed at higher altitudes. instrument approach, the flight plan mum airspeed limitations that vary
By setting FLC to Vy, the pilot is taken out of suspend mode and from aircraft to aircraft.
will assure that the aircraft climbs sequenced to the missed approach Like any autopilot, the GFC
as best as possible without the risk segment and 5) the HSI is switched 700 requires that the operator
of the autopilot causing a stall. In from whatever source had been pres- knows how it works and the various
descents I have found that most ent to the GPS. modes in which it can be placed. Be
pilots prefer a given vertical speed By using the GA switch, the sure to study the Pilot Operating
(generally 500 fpm) and so VS very busy initial phase of a missed Handbook for all the modes and
mode is often preferred for descents. approach can be made much easier limitations of the plane you will
be flying. Practice
using the autopilot
in a safe area and
good VFR before
using it in IMC.
With the advances
available in the
GFC 700, flights
can be made safer
and easier than
ever. •

The operating modes

are shown on the au-
topilot status box at
the top center of the
PFD. The left side
(white ellipse) shows
lateral modes, the
right side (red ellipse)
shows pitch modes.

22 | IFR: TRANSITION TO GLASS visit us at www. IFR-magazine.com

➣➣ D i g i ta l P i lo t | BY T e d S p i t z m i ll e r

Handling Broken of an AHRS or ADC failure may

seem almost trivial as the back-
up instrumentation is fully capa-

Glass ble traditional round-gauge flight

data presentations. The pilot may
be tempted to continue as though
Operating a Technically Advanced Aircraft in the IFR there is little increased risk. But
there are several implications here.
environment can be a handful when failures occur. For example, the scan now becomes
one that, more than likely, has been

W
ith glass cockpits becoming Failure and Fail-safe Modes rarely practiced and redirects the
more prolific, a wider spectrum In some instances failures result in fail- pilot to seldom referenced locations.
of the pilot community is now safe backup modes—such as switching In the approach phase the work-
engaged in flying them. Understanding a COM unit to 121.5. While these may load and possible change of pro-
the implications of malfunctions is an seem prudent, they can present un- cedures can lead to distractions
important responsibility of the PIC as expected surprises if the pilot is not that could get the pilot behind the
higher levels of technology competence aware of the fallback configuration. aircraft—the domino effect of fail-
and preparedness are required. Single pilot operations can be ure. While training for these pos-
While glass presents increased particularly impacted—procedures sible situations is an obvious solu-
capabilities for pilots, it also offers a that work well when all is operating tion, there are limitations to many
new set of problems when the equip- normally may present significant glass systems—such as the ability
ment does not function as advertised. problems when failures occur. The to mimic problems—that inhibits
While coping may be a bit awkward availability and use of memorized realistic failure preparation.
in VMC, it is a critical issue in IMC. and written checklists can pro- In my experience conducting
Unfortunately, many of the cur- vide the pilot with an effective and IPCs, I have found that when the
rent manufacturers of Technically appropriate means of coping with pilot loses the AHRS on the G1000
Advanced Aircraft (TAA) and their failures—assuming the checklists for example, and begins using the
avionics suppliers do not offer a com- are comprehensive and immediately back-up AI, they tend to also revert
plete understanding of the implica- available. to using the back-up airspeed and
tions of various failures that may altimeter because they are in the
occur. This often makes the impact Primary Flight Display Failure immediate area of the new scan—
of failure not easily predictable, and At first glance, the aviating aspect virtually ignoring the rest of the
pilots may face difficult choices in
aeronautical decision making and risk
management when failures do occur.
Because the display panels and sev-
eral critical components are duplicated
to provide redundancy (such as with
the G1000), debilitating failures are
rare. Yet there are some sun-systems
that represent single points of fail-
ure such as the Air Data Computer
(ADC) and Attitude and Heading
Reference System (AHRS) whose fail-
ure can create critical situations for
the pilot. It is imperative that the pilot
understand all of the components and
what the options are when they fail.

An AHRS failure annunciated. It’s so rare

that you may only get to see it here or
in a simulator. The solution? Keep flying
the airplane and revert to the standby
attitude and heading indicators.

visit us at www. IFR-magazine.com IFR: TRANSITION TO GLASS | 23

information still available on the and allowing the pilot 25 minutes A thorough preflight and adher-
PFD. This disruption of the scan to extract themselves from a critical ence to the checklist will ensure
has the effect of introducing more situation is a worthwhile exercise. that required KOEL items are veri-
complications to the piloting tasks. The pre-flight brief may define the fied as operational. Even the peri-
location of VMC allowing the pilot odic rehearsal of a failure by sim-
Working Electrical Failures to select from available options. ply selecting a system or function
Electrical failure is a major concern and reviewing the appropriate POH
because of the heavy reliance of Know Thy POH And KOEL checklist will help keep the pilot
glass on it. When working electrical Many pilots are not knowledgeable conversant with their location and
malfunction scenarios into initial of the checklists in the POH—like- use. Note that in the checklist, vir-
training or an IPC, it is important wise the importance of the Kinds of tually all electrical failures resulting
to ensure the pilot has an awareness Equipment List (KOEL). The KOEL from a tripped breaker allow only
of the auto-load shedding features lists the various components against one reset.
as well as the PICs responsibilities the operations the aircraft is cer- Knowing the correct response to
to oversee and augment the process. tificated to fly (Day-VFR/Night-IFR a failure—and the alternatives—is
The availability of a standby etc.) and identifies if that item must half the battle in avoiding deeper
battery to provide up to 30 minutes be functional to perform that opera- problems. Even something as simple
of power may also seem adequate. tion. Thus, even before the flight as the cabin heat can be involved in
But the pilot must understand the begins, the KOEL can help keep the addressing specific failures.
use and limitations of the Essential PIC from inadvertently violating an As some failures can induce a
Bus—as the minimum load bus FAR, not to mention placing the “reversion” of the PFD informa-
may be called. flight at high risk. This is particu- tion to the MFD display, the pilot
During training, setting a timer larly true of the glass cockpit. must know what other capabili-
ties are lost. For example,
under what circumstances
might COM 1 or NAV 1
be compromised?
Ask your CFI for a list
of questions that will get
you into the POH and
help you understand the
systems and the conse-
quences of their failures.
This is especially true for
the autopilot (AP).

Advanced Training
Training for failures
has become a challeng-
ing aspect of the glass
cockpit. There are display
masks that can overlay
the PFD to help prepare
the pilot for selected fail-

The G1000 system diagram.

No failure of the system or
a component renders your
airplane unflyable. Know-
ing the consequences of
particular failures speeds
troubleshooting and mini-
mizes disruption.

24 | IFR: TRANSITION TO GLASS visit us at www. IFR-magazine.com

 their ability to
detect failures,
as often the sys-
tem will reveal
a problem
before the pilot
might notice.
This is particu-
larly true of the
loss of electrical
or a bad AHRS
(solid state
gyro). Some
modes pro-
vide more time
to think and
respond ratio-
The G1000 in a Cessna 182 showing relative positions of PFD, MFD and standby instruments (white ellipse). nally. Advising
When on “partial panel,” the scan takes the pilots attention from the PFD, which still may have important the pilot of the
information, to a seldom used part of the panel. failure and the
removal of the
erroneous infor-
ures. It was easier when we only had (ADM—higher order thinking), 5) mation—with the big red X—is a
to put the rubber suction cover over apply appropriate corrective action. major advantage of the high-tech
the desired instrument. Failure to achieve any of these is a TAA.
Perhaps no aspect of training is serious shortcoming. Another important aspect is the
so dependent on well thought out aural and visual warnings through
scenarios than glass failures. Flight Use Of Simulators the use of color coded annunci-
Instructors need to exercise caution Simulators can play a key role in train- ators to provide the appropriate
that they don’t paint the pilot into ing for proficiency in glass failure. visual alert level. Green, gray, yel-
a corner from which there is no But it is critical that scenarios built low and red typically represent the
escape; pilots occasionally do that to replicate failures avoid those areas severity of an annunciated message.
themselves. that the sim does not reproduce Because the message is often accom-
The following objectives must realistically. Training that does not panied by a flashing alert, pilots are
be mastered when training for bro- provide accurate representations of encouraged to turn off the blinking
ken glass: 1) control the aircraft, 2) the conditions that will prevail is cursor entry field when not actively
become proficient in recognizing dangerous. engaged in data input. This pro-
failures, 3) use all available resourc- No single aspect of glass cockpit vides increased awareness to any
es (SRM), 4) make sound decisions training is more important than a blinking field on the displays.
good simulator that can help the Even the unlikely failure of GPS
pilot acquire the correct sequence of navigation (most systems have two)
actions to achieve the five objectives could result in a ded-reckoning drift
Color coded noted above. I have been impressed mode that can provide time for the
a n n u n c i a - with the number of glass cockpit pilot to work alternative navigation
tors accom- sims that are now on the market. capabilities such as the VOR or
panied by Some of these appear to address vectors.
aural warn- failures with reasonable fidelity. The TAA and its glass presenta-
ings provide However, all sims have their tions have dramatically increased
e n h a n c e d limitations. Make sure you under- the utility of aircraft while reduc-
notice of stand them—especially when work- ing the risk in GA operations. But
c r i t i c a l ing failure modes. these capabilities come at a price of
anomalies. greater training requirements and
Detecting Failures awareness of system functions and
Another strong point with the TAA is their failure modes. •

visit us at www. IFR-magazine.com IFR: TRANSITION TO GLASS | 25

➣➣ H u m a n Fac to r s | BY Rick Durden

SYNTHETIC VISION UPDATE tains, but is sufficient to help you avoid

a CFIT accident or colliding with a
tower. The display reasonably repre-
sents terrain but is limited in field of
One powerful development of the glass revolution is view and resolution.
FAA AC 23-26 compares this to
synthetic vision with its computer-generated terrain the “compressed” image in your car’s
images. Is it enhanced situational awareness or TMI? rearview mirror—useful if not entirely
accurate.
Terrain images are drawn on the

I
FR pilots fly the three most dan- head-down display. NASA has worked SV display from a digital elevation
gerous profiles in general aviation: with SV since the late ‘80s. Years of re- model database. Obstacles such as
IMC, at night and in low visibility. search are in every SV device sold. towers exceeding 200 ft. AGL, land-
Not surprisingly, those profiles repre- SV for general aviation began in marks and the like are also drawn but
sent the majority of GA fatal accidents. 1994 with AGATE, a consortium of derived from logically separate gov-
Technology has precipitated a sea the FAA, NASA and private indus- ernment databases.
of change in the way IFR is conduct- try. Along with Highway In The Sky This is because obstacles change
ed. More than any development since (HITS) pathway displays (more on and need updates whereas mountain-
Doolittle made the first “blind” flight, this later), SV promised better situ- ous terrain is forever.
the “glass” revolution has offered situ- ational and geographic awareness, Manufacturers can apply Terrain
ational awareness on a scale bordering lower pilot workload and quicker er- Awareness Warning System (TAWS)
on TMI: Too Much Information. ror detection. specifications or develop their own
Now we have synthetic vision AGATE saw SV as a way to artifi- system. If the latter, it must generate
available in more and more GA flight cially make IMC flying resemble clear, a visual and aural one-minute caution
decks. daytime weather, believing that mis- and 30-second warning if the current
takes made in IMC would decrease flight path will meet terrain or an ob-
What Is It? and the GA accident rate would fall. stacle. A safety margin of at least 100
The FAA has defined synthetic vision If safety was the first consideration, feet is mandated, but seems mighty
as “a computer-generated image of utility was close behind, coupled with thin to me.
external scene topography from the peddling more airplanes.
perspective of the flight deck, derived Verify Approved Databases
from aircraft attitude, high-precision SV And Terrain Buyers of SV systems should assure
navigation and a database of terrain, Generally, SV installations in GA themselves that the system includes
obstacles and relevant cultural fea- aircraft offer terrain awareness, not terrain and obstacle data. TAWS-ap-
tures.” “Cultural features” means hu- avoidance. The display is not accurate proved databases are okay for synthet-
man-built things like towers, runways enough to thread you through moun- ic vision use. All the same, NOTAMs
and obstacles.
The question becomes whether
synthetic vision (SV) is a useful aid
to awareness or just TMI? The FAA
clearly believes the former, but with
many caveats as discussed in their
thoughtful Aviation Circular 23-26.

From ‘50s Head Up Displays

Synthetic vision originated in the
1950s in the military, an extension
from head-up displays into SV as a

SV alone may not provide sufficient

depth perception or field of view. A sec-
ond top-down display should depict the
same features, which could be shown as
an inset.
26 | IFR: TRANSITION TO GLASS visit us at www. IFR-magazine.com
Some of the abilities of syn-
thetic vision include joining
Highway In The Sky—the goal
is to fly through the rectangles.

and ATIS remain the best

real-time sources of obstacle
information.
If TAWS is installed, it
must not conflict with SV,
which would be confusing at
the least. The FAA cautions
that SV may be so com-
pelling that pilots may be
tempted to rely solely on it
for terrain avoidance. selected or programmed navigation conflict is easily recognized as a
However, a potential accumula- path using a perspective view of the break in path continuity in or near
tion of small errors dictates that path. The three-dimensional path- terrain.
additional flight and navigation way provides navigation position On the miss, the pathway does
information be consulted to avoid information to pilots.” not take the pilot below MDA nor
cumulogranite. A HITS pathway is a reced- down to MDA if the miss is begun
The SV display is designed to ing series of rectangular or oval- early.
help pilots clearly distinguish ter- shaped flight path markers. If you Should the airplane stray below
rain above and below the aircraft. fly through the center of each, MDA, the pathway shows vertical
All’s well if there is no terrain you’re on course. It’s a flight direc- guidance to at least MDA.
at or above the zero-pitch line and tor on steroids. The benefits are If the pilot elects to miss early,
hopefully well below. improved pilot performance and the pathway goes to the MAP and
HITS symbols, also known as reduced workload. then to the miss unless the pilot is
flight path markers, should appear Marker symbols are “damped” so far off that going to the MAP is
above the terrain and not lead to appear smoothly, making them impractical.
through a hillside. Good idea. easy to fly. In general aviation, approach
The bugaboo in GPS and SV A pathway is designed to be eas- pathway vertical navigation is GPS
navigation is HMI—hazardously ily reacquired if it leaves the PFD’s or ILS, and the system tells the pilot
misleading information. HMI is the field of view. FAA pilots evaluate which is in use. This dual-sensor
stuff of nightmares where the flight this and every other aspect of a syn- implementation serves up the path-
management system sends you on thetic vision system. way from GPS but raw ILS data is
an incorrect heading to nowhere or flown.
indicates a dangerous flight path. Pathway Fixation Pilots must comply with MDAs
The avoidance and statistical calcu- Pilots may find flying the pathway and DAs as usual. En route, baro-
lation of the likelihood of HMI is so compelling that they fixate on metric altitude for vertical guidance
utterly paramount in the world of flying through the hoops or boxes. is required in order to be consistent
silicon navigation. It may be necessary to train out of with other airspace users.
No one suggests that SV replace this potential problem. Pilots can fly with SV, SV plus
approach plates. But an SV depic- On approach from FAF to MAP, HITS or neither.
tion of an approach should correlate HITS shows a vertical descent path HITS shines when flying com-
with the plate. Secondary features including stepdown fixes even if the plex SIDs or STARs. With HITS
like rail lines, roads and lakes are approach offers only lateral naviga- you can meet altitude restrictions
fine on MFDs, but discouraged on tion. smoothly and precisely.
PFDs as TMI. It then shows the glidepath from You don’t need a fancy airplane
MAP to runway. Should a pathway to sample SV or HITS. The Garmin
Highway In The Sky go behind or through terrain (it is G1000 PC Trainer or a simulator
HITS is often bundled with SV. HMI) it is not presented and trig- incorporating a recent G1000 will
HITS “provides a picture of the gers a terrain conflict warning. A do. Try it out. It’s a blast. •

visit us at www. IFR-magazine.com IFR: TRANSITION TO GLASS | 27

➣➣ T e c h n o lo g y | BY Rick Durden

The NTSB and Glass the Aspen, the conclusion is clear.

Talk with someone who is in the
business of providing airplane instru-

Cockpit Safety ments and ask how hard it is to get a

round gauge repaired.
Attrition and upgrade is going to
take out conventional instrumenta-
The study on glass cockpits caused a stir. We need more tion; the only question is how long it
will take. We might as well accept it and
information to evaluate the safety and risks of glass. make our plans based on that reality.
Therefore, we need safety/risk data in

T
he NTSB Safety Study Report en- Limited Value By Itself order to know our concerns and risks.
titled Introduction of Glass Cockpit As a result, the study didn’t tell us much.
Avionics into Light Aircraft (SS- To draw any conclusions about the safe- Standardization
10/01) offered as its premise that acci- ty of glass, it’s got to be from a study that There are two things we can be pretty
dent data over recent years showed that compares similar in-flight exposure. sure of regarding glass panel operation-
glass cockpits had not generated the ex- Without a comparison of accidents al risks from what we know with data
pected increase in levels of flight safety. in, for example, conventional gauge available right now.
While I don’t recall any promise of Cessna, Cirrus and Piper aircraft with First, at a very primitive level, we
increased safety, nevertheless, the study their glass panel counterparts on IFR should be able to move from airplane to
did generate a certain amount of excite- cross countries, there is no valid way of airplane without having to go through
ment in the aviation community rang- saying one panel is safer than another. a complete relearning process based on
ing from refusal to accept the results to Until that happens, I’m not willing who made the avionics.
assertions that glass cockpits are an evil to give the NTSB study more weight In 1968 the airframe manufactur-
plot to undermine general aviation. than a good first look into the subject. ers agreed on a standard instrument
I’m going to review more information presentation, the “six pack” we now
Time For Mature Reflection before I am willing to form any opinion take for granted. Prior to that you had
Now that some time has passed and the on comparative levels of safety. to learn the scan for each airplane you
dust has settled a little, we can look at What isn’t stated in the report but is flew. Failure to do so often meant auger-
what the NTSB said about several years obvious is that steam gauge IFR is going ing in.
of experience with glass and what we away. It’s not possible to say how long it’s Now the differences we have to sur-
instrument pilots, who are increasingly going to take, but when you see that only mount are in the avionics; a negative
going to be flying behind that method a tiny fraction of the airplanes being sold trickle down from jets where you get a
of instrument presentation, can learn. in this country have round gauges and type rating for each, and the differences
The NTSB data showed two things: the availability of replacements such as among the panels matter little.
glass cockpit airplanes built in the time
frame reviewed had a lower accident
rate than conventional-gauge airplanes
built during the same time, but when
they did go in, the fatal rate was much
higher.
The problem with the two-part con-
clusion was that conventional-gauge
airplanes of recent vintage had a notice-
ably different flight profile than glass.
The round-dial airplanes were most-
ly used for VFR training, and when they
crashed it was on landing or rollout, low
speed affairs that tend to be survivable.
Glass cockpit airplanes were used
for traveling. They went IFR in weather,
and they had accidents associated with
their exposure, at higher speeds that
were often not survivable.

28 | IFR: TRANSITION TO GLASS visit us at www. IFR-magazine.com

 Bad Habits
A sad axiom of aviation is that
poorly trained pilots exhibit bad hab-
its. With new technology this means
they make using glass harder for
themselves than necessary and gen-
erally fail to get the most from the
information available with glass gear,
especially weather data.
Further, the dearth of training
provided to pilots about glass cock-
pit systems may lead them, when the
heat is on, to misunderstand, misin-
terpret and inadequately respond to
system failures.
The NTSB recommended devel-
opment of new training procedures
I accept that training for glass is found that the quality of training varied
complex and means using some form wildly. The thing that most concerned and tools to ensure that pilots are
of simulator to figure out the big pic- users was learning very complex sys- prepared to safely operate glass-
ture of the flight instrument presenta- tems and then how to stay current with equipped aircraft.
tion and then the niggling details of them. The FAA responded to this with a
how to load and fly a flight plan with- While we need more safety data on recitation on FITS, or FAA Industry Train-
out inadvertently deleting everything glass, we can be pretty sure at this early ing Standards introduced in 2003.
during vectors to the ILS. stage that lack of standardization is a FITS is centered on scenario-based
But to have to do that for each killer that must be fixed, and that train- training in an effort to make training
avionics manufacturer’s presentation ing and recurrent training are even more relevant to the real world.
method is unacceptable in piston air- more important than on round dials. Initially, FITS was conceived as be-
planes; we learned that in 1968. Taking an IPC every six months is ing aircraft and equipment-specific,
a good thing in round-dial airplanes; to the point where FAA could have
Weak Training I think it’s going to prove essential for required type-specific training and a
Our sister online publication, AVweb, risk management in the complex world logbook endorsement for same un-
ran an in-depth survey on glass and of glass.• der 14 CFR 61.31(h).
This never happened and the fail-
ure of glass-cockpit technology to
provide increased available safety is
one result.
Since then FAA has gotten away
from type-specific training and has
adopted a largely passive approach
focused on updating training manu-
als and promoting FITS instructional
techniques such as scenarios, task-
oriented training and student-led
performance reviews.
Frankly, good instructors taught
by scenario long before FITS existed,
and I have yet to see data show-
ing that self-grading is significant in
terms of training value.
—Fred Simonds

visit us at www. IFR-magazine.com IFR: TRANSITION TO GLASS | 29

➣➣ T e c h n o lo g y | BY F r e d S i m o nds

Glass of the Future plane should your “up” get confused

with your “down.” The DFCs include
stall and over-speed protection, where
lift and speed margins are continu-
Just when you were managing the current TAA technology ously computed. Should the airplane
approach stall, the autopilot takes over,
suddenly there are new elements on the horizon. reduces bank and vertical speed to
keep the wing flying.

I
t might seem hard to imagine, but the presumption that the pilot is hy- The DFCs also handle over-speed
the G1000 is a decade old, having poxic or incapacitated. It even knows in the same minimalist way, with pull-
been born in 2004. Its forebearers, the minimum altitudes to which it can outs around 2 G. Unlike the Garmin,
the GNS 430/530s, date to 1998. While safely descend. Avidyne’s envelope protection requires
they are classics, there are many tens the autopilot or flight director to be on.
of thousands of Avidyne, Aspen, and TOGA
BendixKing panels the world over. The ESP-capable GFC 700 autopilots of- The New Synthetic Vision
question becomes, what lies ahead of us fer automated go-arounds, commonly Garmin, Aspen, Avidyne and Honey-
in the brave new world of avionics? called Takeoff/Go-Around or TOGA. well have advanced synthetic vision
The integration of all aspects of At the MAP, press the TOGA button (SV) technology almost beyond rec-
flight monitoring and control, naviga- on the throttle to keep the AP engaged. ognition. Aspen’s SV software for its
tion, communication, and error and It then commands a climb, sets itself to EFD1000 display system permits not
malfunction annunciation have revo- nav mode and sequences to the missed only an overlay of the HSI on the SV
lutionized the cockpit. approach. You add the power, retract display, but permits up to three screens
the flaps and gear, and away you go. to show synthetic terrain frontally, top
Silicon Stability Avidyne’s Envelope Protection down, and three-dimensionally in nor-
There you are, having overshot base to works through its DFC attitude-based mal view and in a close-in adjustable
final, working your way into a cross- autopilots. The DFC90/100 is intended field of view. Although lacking dramat-
controlled stall with too much aileron, to replace S-Tec autopilots in Entegra- ic rectangles to fly through, it does have
opposite rudder and back pressure. outfitted aircraft, because the DFCs get the de rigueur green flight path marker
Smoothly but firmly silicon-controlled more and better information from the which shows where you’re headed.
servo-muscles engage the yoke, nudg- Entegra’s ADAHRS, not the turn coor- Avidyne offers a three-dimensional
ing the airplane back into a surer flight dinator as with the S-Tec. traffic and terrain PFD with visual and
envelope. aural warnings. It zooms out as wide as
You have just experienced “Gar- Straight & Level Via A Button 120-degrees and in as narrow as 20-de-
min’s Electronic Stability and Protec- The DFCs have a “Straight & Level” grees with 45-degrees the norm. The
tion—ESP. ESP gets its data from the button that you press to right the air- PFD can be split horizontally to show
air data computer (ADC) and Atti-
tude and Heading Reference System
(AHARS) and works through the au-
topilot servos—but not through the
autopilot itself. ESP can be disabled on
the G1000 AUX page when intentional
maneuvers are being executed, and it is
automatically disabled below 200 feet if
the pilot is hand-flying.
If the airplane is about to leave the
envelope and the pilot takes no action
or if the pilot is deemed unresponsive
over time, ESP will take control of the
AP to descend to a lower altitude on

Touchscreen technology is the next in-

novation that has started its move into
the cockpit.

30 | IFR: TRANSITION TO GLASS visit us at www. IFR-magazine.com

 Some autopilots such as this Avidyne
DFC100 may have advanced features that
could include a Straight & Level button
(white ellipse).

if you seek a G1000-like upgrade and

then some, then consider the 650/750.
instruments in the upper half with an The GTN Series Having flown the Cessna 350
inset top-down moving map or infrared The biggest thing, in my view, in the with its button-based center console,
camera video in the bottom. Garmin TouchScreen 650 and 750 is I can attest to the ease of data entry
Avidyne codes airport flags in the simplification of the user interface. with something to rest your arm on,
green if they are VFR and then in There are fewer knobs, buttons, and soft- not having to reach up and obscure a
stages through red denoting low IFR. keys, but retention of the familiar direct- screen with said arm and the general
Creatively, Avidyne singles out nearby to and home buttons and concentric coolness of having a jet-like FMS at
terrain in “threat bubbles” whose colors knobs—including shallow “two-touch your finger-tips.
advance from blue to red if you get too away” menus, similar to GNS units. The console can even manage air-
close. Gripping points ease data entry in craft lighting, heat and air conditioning.
For the GA jet crowd, Honeywell is turbulence. High-definition graphics
experimenting with a highly integrated for older eyes are a vast improvement The Iridium Connection
marriage of synthetic and infrared vi- over the CGA-graphics look of the GNS Through Iridium satellite communica-
sion. In this “blended technology,” the 430/530. Also included is graphical flight tion, your aircraft can make periodic
infrared camera display is centered planning with the pilot-beloved rubber- GPS-based “bread-crumb” reports, es-
within a synthetic vision display (as pecially valuable when operating in re-
opposed to a split-screen) with the mote areas.
PFD instruments overlaid atop it all. The Achilles heel Garmin offers an XM satellite data-
All told, SV’s realism is so uncanny it link alternative via Iridium, providing
makes one wonder whether you should of high-tech is the nearly seamless worldwide coverage
log “actual IFR” time with it on. Still, through its G1000/3000/500/600 dis-
several pilots have asked me to turn it training and proficiency plays. Coupled to the G1000 or G3000,
off as they found it distracting and in you can text message or e-mail any-
more than one case, TMI—too much required to use it where and make satellite phone calls
information. through the aircraft intercom system,
speaking and listening on headsets.
Up To The G2000 band insertion of intermediate way- Don’t forget to fly the plane.
Garmin’s G2000 is for high-perfor- points and built-in airways database.
mance piston single-engine airplanes. The GTN 750 has a nearly seven- Intuitive Interfaces
Installed in the forthcoming Cessna inch screen—almost twice as big as a If there is one Achilles heel to the high-
Corvalis TTx, the G2000 offers 14-inch GNS 530. You can shrink or enlarge an tech that has invaded the cockpit it is
screens, split-screen MFD, ESP and approach plate—i-Pad style. The GTN the training and familiarity required
dual AHRS. 650 screen is half again bigger than to understand and operate these de-
The large screens make the 3D SVT the 430’s yet occupies the same verti- vices. Often engineered by software
even more realistic, and the PFD in- cal space. Since the rear panel wiring is programmers with little regard for the
cludes topography plus obstacles and different, the 650 is not a drop-in 430 knowledge level required, many of the
traffic from the new GTS 800 which replacement. capabilities of these units are buried in
offers up to 12 n.m. of active traffic sur- To make the larger GTN 750 screen layers of displays—revealed only by a
veillance. fit, Garmin made the transponder and plethora of button pushing and knob
Central to the G2000 is the GTC 570 audio panel remotable—placed else- twisting that can frustrate even the
touchscreen control panel. Touchscreens where, with remote control buttons in most hardened technology buff.
have been greeted with a degree of skep- the 750. In the 650, only the transpon- In all my research I did not find the
ticism, fearing input errors in turbulence der can be remoted, but then again it is one thing many IFR pilots crave more
and familiarity (if not affinity) with all smaller. than anything—a holding calculator. I
the knob-twisting that accompanies the It is going to take a lot to pry the ven- guess that’s what keeps IFR instructors
G1000 and GNS 430/530 series. erable 430/530s from users’ panels. But in business. •
visit us at www. IFR-magazine.com IFR: TRANSITION TO GLASS | 31
 Belvoir Aviation
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