dredmoody(at)cox.net
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 Posted: Wed Nov 21, 2007 8:17 am Post subject: Glass Panels and back-ups |
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As with any issue we discuss on the list, there are as many answers as there are people to ask. Craig's answer is, "Why add steam gauges when I installed a glass panel unit to get rid of them?" Good answer. My answer is that I am installing two AFS AF-3400 units to get more info packed into less space and displayed in a format which I find more intuitive. The point for me is to be able to sum up what the display is telling me much more quickly so that I can act on the info with less lag time and get my head back out of the cockpit for more of the flight.
The HSI on the EFIS screen requires only a glance to get the same data into my brain compared to three or four times as long to get the same situational awareness from a six-pack of steam gauges. The "picutre" of the HSI takes me much less time and attention diverted form the outside world. Old pilots will argue that with enough practice and experience, the six-pack would serve me just as well. True, but the HSI on the EFIS does it for me now not 100 or 200 hours from now. Is that a cheat? Who knows? I think it is a good thing. The color and audible warnings programmed into the displays warn me of various speeds, temps, pressures etc. and can alert me more quickly if trouble is coming my way. Some older warbirds had panels designed so that all the steam gauge needles pointed straight up when they were "in the green". That made it faster and easier to scan the instruments. In a similar fashion, that's what the glass panels do for me. For some guys, it might just be eye candy or the futile quest to be at the cutting edge of technology. For me, it is a desire to make each flight as safe and rewarding as I can make it....... now, today, on the very next flight.
I will differ from Craig in that I'm not on a quest to eliminate steam gauges anymore than I am on a jihad against all wisdom teeth in my dental practice. I only work to remove as many of the troublesome ones as I can. Similarly, I have installed an ASI steam gauge and a Tiny Tach in my panel to give me the absolute minimum info I want (my opinion only) to get the plane back onto the ground if something unexpected screws up the glass panel(s). What could possibly do that? Hell if I know..... it wouldn't be unexpected if I could answer that, would it? I just know that when I fly from the rear seat of my fat ultralight with an unrated pilot in the front (solo) seat, I have a tach and ASI in the rear seat to get me what I need to know. End of lecture... class dismissed.
I hope that helps,
Dred
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