IFR Refresher

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TECHNOLOGY EFIS-HINTS AND TIPS TO EXERCISE The advent of GPS and Electronic Flight Instrumentation Systems(EFIS)for GA aircraft ushered in an era ofamazing capabilities. By Joe Shelton When I purchased my Garmin GlOOO-equipped Columbia eight years ago, I was told by three airline pilots that the GlOOO was better than what they flew with in their Boeings and Airbuses. The technology has matured and there are now several EFIS/GPS man ufacturers. Because of my familiarity with the GlOOO, these hints and tips are slanted towards it. Other brands you fly may have some or all the same capabilities. I separated these tips into six categories to make them easier to grasp. Let me challenge you to become intimately familiar with these capabilities to make your fly ing safer and more pleasurable. Autopilot The autopilot is an important func tion, and the pilot must understand the various modes and button-ology to get the most out of it. First, get ahead of the game by programming it as much as possible before takeoff. It's best to use a bottom-up flow to set the AP: 1) Enter and activate the Flixfu Changf: Active flight plan; 2) Select the departure procedure if appropriate; 3) Press VS to activate the vertical speed; 4)Press NOSE UP/DOWN to enter the de sire climb rate; 5) Press HDG to set heading hold mode;6) Set the Head ing Bug to the initial heading (usu ally runway heading), and finally; 7) Verify all settings on the PFD's Navigation Status Bar. Pressing AP will then couple the autopilot. The GlOOO's autopilot will com mand a climb at whatever rate (ver tical speed) is set, but this can get you into trouble if a rate is selected that the aircraft cannot achieve or maintain as the altitude increases. As the AP pitches up attempting to maintain the VS rate; the airspeed can drop-off to the point where the AP will disconnect (typically about 70 knots). To adjust the VS rate, simply press NOSE DN to decrease the commanded rate by 100 fpm for each push. But another mode is more use ful. FLC is Garmin-speak for Flight Level Change, or in more pedestrian terms, a constant airspeed climb or GPS ! AP Airspeed Reference DIS_|? Sdecied Mtiitide Capture Mode Armed TLC 1P0KT ALTS^ so descent. Use it for Vx or Vy or ex tended cruise climbs (for additional engine cooling). Again, use NOSE UP or NOSE DN to change the air speed one knot per push. Don't for get, there are minimum altitudes at which the AP can be engaged—400 feet for the Columbia and 800 feet for the Cessna 182. Setup & Navigation Given the redundancy of the PFD and MFD controls (both bezels have the same set of buttons), consider operating the GlOOO using an in verted T orientation. Only use the bottom soft-buttons on each display and all the controls between the two displays—ignore the controls on the Keep the Navigation Status Bar in your scan and verify each change in Auto Pilot The Auto Pibt is arguably the most use- mode with its presentation. Note here that Flight Level Change (FLC) has been fulfunction in the cockpitfor single-pilot selected with a speed of120 knots and that Altitude Capture Mode(ALTS)is armed. operations. Know each mo^ and button. IFR Refresher February 2017 3 left side of the PFD and the right side of the MFD. This puts all the keys in your immediate scan. To set up the GlOOO, start at the bottom right of the MFD, working across the bottom toward the center of the panel (checking that the appro priate traffic/weather/terrain icons are visible in the MFD), then up the left face of the MFD setting the autopilot, heading, and nav frequencies, verify the switch panel is set correctly, then down the right side of the PFD en tering the com frequencies, altimeter, and etcetera. Finally, left across the bottom of the PFD. This flow makes setup a snap, especially if you touch each control and think about how it needs to be set. these two values makes it easy to hand-fly approaches. You might think that the HDG and CRS displays above the HSI are equiv alent to using TRK and BRG,but they aren't. HDG includes wind correction while TRK shows the actual ground track—and that's what matters. I also added the Vertical Speed Re quired (VSR) field. It shows the de scent or climb rate needed to reach a user-specified altitude at a specific way- point. VSR is useful for determining when to request or initiate an altitude change. For example, sometimes con trollers will issue a slam dunk arrival that may not be comfortable for air craft or passenger. Decide on a desired descent rate, monitor the VSR field, Regardless ofthe type ofEFIS youfly, know the modes andfunctions ofeach button , especially ifyou are a renter. The inverted T technique works wellfor setting up the All four fields in the MFD's Nav Status Box can easily be changed to show data pertinent to any phase of flight. My default choices are: TRK / ETE / VSR / GS . Track (TRK) is useful because comparing the PFD's BRG value and the MFD's TRK value allows hand flying as precisely as the autopilot. If the two values are identi cal, the aircraft should maintain the course. If there's even a one-degree difference, the aircraft will diverge from the desired route. Comparing The Navigation Status Box at the top ofthe variety offlight data that are user selectable. and then request a descent as it nears the desired descent rate. When given a mandatory crossing altitude, use VSR to determine the climb or descent rate required. It's also handy when VFR to know when to initiate a descent into an airport traffic area. Just add the VSR field to MFD's Nav Status Box. Then enter the desired or reference altitude to the specific waypoint on the MFD Flight Plan page, and the target ver tical speed (VS TGT)in the Current VNAV Profile box. I use a com- fortable 300-fpm descent. MFD can display a Pilots should know their air craft V-speeds and the GlOOO of fers the option of displaying three (Vx, Vy, Vg) on the Airspeed Tape. Having Best Glide displayed can be