GFC 500 Autopilot Essentials eLearning Course, Review?

[manac]

Anyone who owns a GFC500 take this course and recommend it?

 

[Hang 4]

Haven't taken that course, but this is a pretty good overview from Garmin. I found it gave me most of what I needed to use the AP.

 

[Gary Ward]

Anyone who owns a GFC500 take this course and recommend it?

No I haven't but I stayed in a holiday inn express last night.
I just started pressing buttons on it and figured it out in a flight or two. Ok maybe more than a flight or 2 but it was pretty easy.
I don't feel 30 bucks spent would be a good investment. There are plenty of free videos on it.
I had mine installed 2018 so I doubt that video was out yet.

 

[DaviatorSF]

No I haven't but I stayed in a holiday inn express last night.
I just started pressing buttons on it and figured it out in a flight or two. Ok maybe more than a flight or 2 but it was pretty easy.
I don't feel 30 bucks spent would be a good investment. There are plenty of free videos on it.
I had mine installed 2018 so I doubt that video was out yet.

Replying a little late, but I did take that course and thought it was well worth the $30. I’ve been flying for a quarter century but never had a plane with an autopilot until now, so I needed and wanted a bit of formal training. It taught me everything I need to know about the GFC 500.

 

[Martin Pauly]

Some of these courses are actually quite good.

One problem they cannot overcome is that there is a virtually unlimited number of combinations of avionics devices, and making one video to help pilots understand good ways to operate their equipment and diagnose and deal with failure conditions is an impossible task. That's where one-on-one flight instruction in YOUR airplane is best.

- Martin

 

[DaviatorSF]

Some of these courses are actually quite good.

One problem they cannot overcome is that there is a virtually unlimited number of combinations of avionics devices, and making one video to help pilots understand good ways to operate their equipment and diagnose and deal with failure conditions is an impossible task. That's where one-on-one flight instruction in YOUR airplane is best.

- Martin

Absolutely agree.

The Sporty's course uses G5's and a different Garmin navigator than we have, but it was all similar enough to our (new) Gi-275s and GNC 355 that it was still really helpful as an introduction. But there is no substitute for flying with, and receiving training on, the actual equipment in your own plane. That's even more important before you dive into IFR flight with new avionics.

I wanted to start out by using the equipment for VFR flight to get more familiar with it, and the online course was great for that.