Anyone flying with the new GI 275 unit?
- Thread starter gbanker
- Start date
flyingcheesehead
Touchdown! Greaser!
Add me to the list. Just replaced yet another piece of King stuff with yet another piece of Garmin gear:
A few things to note in the picture: We're just beginning an approach. It's an ILS, but you can see the 275 is still on "GPS" - Changing the Nav source on the GTN does not switch it on the GI 275 *unless* you also have a GFC 500 that is coupled to the approach. Supposedly that's to allow for multiple nav sources - For example, if we had a second Garmin navigator I could have the HSI on Nav1 and the AI on Nav2.
The little airplane icons just inside the 20º marks on the bank index are the standard rate turn indicators, and they move in and out based on your true airspeed. This requires the GTP 59 OAT probe.
The VSI indication is the down arrow "0.2" just under the altitude. There's also a visual indication to the right of the altimeter, but it's barely visible here.
I've only flown with it once so far. Overall, I really like it. (The weird "reflection" on the screen above is the protective plastic - I like to wait until my partner in the plane is present to remove that from new gear since he did pay for half of it.)
My biggest annoyance: The UI design isn't great. I love the normal presentation on the screen, but there's no way to adjust the altitude/airspeed/heading bugs without touching the screen. Pushing the knob when on the main screen switches the altimeter setting between whatever you have set and "STD BARO" (aka 29.92), which is really only useful when climbing/descending through FL180. Yes, I've had the plane that high. ONCE. I really don't need that function... Twisting the inner knob changes the altimeter setting, so at least that's easy to get to.
But, like I said, the bugs all require a touch to the screen, and all the other functions of it are buried in the menu (which you get to by holding the knob in for a second or two, or swiping up from the bottom of the screen).
IMO, it'd have been much better for the bugs to also be available by twisting the outer knob and having that rotate between them, highlighting one at a time and allowing adjustment using the inner knob. The outer knob doesn't really do anything at all until you're in the menu.
In addition, most of the stuff you'd want to do is not in the top level of the menu. IMO, they could really benefit from reorganizing the menus based on the things that you are going to want to do most often.
I may be giving the impression that I hate it. Nothing could be further from the truth - It's just that everything else on it is fantastic, so these minor UI issues seem like glaring deficiencies in comparison!
I'm looking forward to getting some more time behind it, and I'd be happy to answer any questions that anyone has about it.
A few things to note in the picture: We're just beginning an approach. It's an ILS, but you can see the 275 is still on "GPS" - Changing the Nav source on the GTN does not switch it on the GI 275 *unless* you also have a GFC 500 that is coupled to the approach. Supposedly that's to allow for multiple nav sources - For example, if we had a second Garmin navigator I could have the HSI on Nav1 and the AI on Nav2.
The little airplane icons just inside the 20º marks on the bank index are the standard rate turn indicators, and they move in and out based on your true airspeed. This requires the GTP 59 OAT probe.
The VSI indication is the down arrow "0.2" just under the altitude. There's also a visual indication to the right of the altimeter, but it's barely visible here.
I've only flown with it once so far. Overall, I really like it. (The weird "reflection" on the screen above is the protective plastic - I like to wait until my partner in the plane is present to remove that from new gear since he did pay for half of it.)
My biggest annoyance: The UI design isn't great. I love the normal presentation on the screen, but there's no way to adjust the altitude/airspeed/heading bugs without touching the screen. Pushing the knob when on the main screen switches the altimeter setting between whatever you have set and "STD BARO" (aka 29.92), which is really only useful when climbing/descending through FL180. Yes, I've had the plane that high. ONCE. I really don't need that function... Twisting the inner knob changes the altimeter setting, so at least that's easy to get to.
But, like I said, the bugs all require a touch to the screen, and all the other functions of it are buried in the menu (which you get to by holding the knob in for a second or two, or swiping up from the bottom of the screen).
IMO, it'd have been much better for the bugs to also be available by twisting the outer knob and having that rotate between them, highlighting one at a time and allowing adjustment using the inner knob. The outer knob doesn't really do anything at all until you're in the menu.
In addition, most of the stuff you'd want to do is not in the top level of the menu. IMO, they could really benefit from reorganizing the menus based on the things that you are going to want to do most often.
I may be giving the impression that I hate it. Nothing could be further from the truth - It's just that everything else on it is fantastic, so these minor UI issues seem like glaring deficiencies in comparison!
I'm looking forward to getting some more time behind it, and I'd be happy to answer any questions that anyone has about it.