Going for a Private Pilot License

[Henning]

This. Glass cockpits are WAY more complex than steam gauges. Sure they give you more tools as a PILOT but as a student they just add more things to learn and more things to have to demonstrate that you know how to use. I'd tack on at LEAST 5 hours MINIMUM because of the glass and this assumes you go nuts with home study of the glass cockpit manual.

If at all possible skip the glass (they're usually more expensive to rent, too) and this is coming from a computer loving engineer who really enjoys flying a glass cockpit plane.

I don't understand why people separate the training phase from the pilot phase. First off, it's not the glass panel that takes any particular learning, it's the radio that drives it. If you have a 430w in a six pack plane, the learning curve is pretty much the same as a G-1000. Now if you want to go to a a non GPS plane, ok, you don't have to learn how to use the box. However, if you are planning to use the GPS/Glass plane after you get your license, then it makes no sense to avoid it in initial training; in fact it makes poor sense as you will need additional training after you get your license to become proficient or even safe with it. Makes more sense to start with the equipment you plan to continue with, that way when you have your ticket, you have 40hr of experience with it and have proven ability and competency at operation. You and your passengers will be safer if you start with the equipment, and THAT is the point of the training, NOT getting your ticket with the least time and effort possible.

Train like you fly.

 

[MAKG1]

Yes, but not all at once.

There is enough to do presolo especially without dealing with all the extra sensory input and buttons.

There are still a lot of rentals out there with no GPS, let alone no glass. You can get all the way through the timebuilding phase without it, and it's cheaper and easier to schedule that way. It's not until instrument training where the glass has any big advantages.

So, you do the glass transition when you have control down. It's not THAT hard, but it's a massive distraction from just learning to fly the plane. A G1000 172 flies the same as any other 172.

 

[Henning]

Yes, but not all at once.

There is enough to do presolo especially without dealing with all the extra sensory input and buttons.

There are still a lot of rentals out there with no GPS, let alone no glass. You can get all the way through the timebuilding phase without it, and it's cheaper and easier to schedule that way. It's not until instrument training where the glass has any big advantages.

So, you do the glass transition when you have control down. It's not THAT hard, but it's a massive distraction from just learning to fly the plane. A G1000 172 flies the same as any other 172.

As you said, they fly the same, why should it be a distraction? You can still hand dial a frequency. There is as much sensory input from an analog panel as from digital, both can be ignored.

 

[tehmightypirate]

As you said, they fly the same, why should it be a distraction? You can still hand dial a frequency. There is as much sensory input from an analog panel as from digital, both can be ignored.

Because how can it not be a distraction? You have all these features so it would be foolish not to learn (or want to learn) how to use them? Consequently you spend a lot of time inside the plane than outside when you first start. Flipping through map pages, learning the autopilot, learning SVS if it has it, learning terrain avoidance systems, using the engine lean assist, exploring all the data and aux pages, learning the fuel totalizer, learning the GPS, fiddling with the GPS, trying to use the G1000 features like selecting frequencies from the GPS, etc.

Even if you or your instructor smartly puts those off to later you can't help but look at some of them. The simple fact is the glass cockpits give you a lot of information. This is a good thing but even as a private pilot when I learned the G1000 my first few flights I spent almost as much time in the plane as out of it. Now that I am familiar I can manage the system without it taking up all my time but that's not a skill I would suggest learning at the same time as basic airmanship.

That said, I agree that if you plan to fly glass in the future then it can make sense to start with it early. I'm simply saying it's more to learn so expect to take some more time with the system during your private training. Also, it would make sense to me that any student starting out on glass should fly the plane using the revisionary mode for the first few hours. This way it cuts down the data to only the most critical amount.

Oh, and they don't exactly fly 100% the same (but I'm nitpicking, they are almost the same). Small weight differences and very different checklists are probably the biggest. Also, the AHRS and FDC are much faster at displaying rate changes than steam gauges. Thus, with steam I use the altimeter to identify if a climb or descent has begun as it responds faster than the VSI. With the G1000 I use the vertical speed indicator as it responds faster than the altimeter. In that regard I fly the plane slightly differently.

 

[MSPAviator]

I passed my checkride about 4 hours above minimum time flying out of an uncontrolled field.

Flying into a Class Delta towered field or transitioning through Delta towered airports under a Bravo shelf made me realize how green I was. Then I got my tailwheel endorsement and really learned how to fly.