Steam plus GPS

bobmrg

bobmrg

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Bob Gardner
Show of hands, please. How many of you are flying/training in a plane with steam gauges for flying and GPS for navigating?

Bob Gardner
 
I use steam gages with a portable GPS. Does that count?
 
iphone222.jpg


I am.
 
That would probably be me.

Round gauges with a Garmin 430W and Avidyne 450 MFD in my Baron.

It is getting harder and harder these days to even find a rental airplane around here without at least a 430.
 
Yep. I'd guess the majority of the active piston fleet is in this class.
 
A lot of our flight school planes have steam gauges plus a 430 or 650.
 
Mixed response...

My panel:

15421910260_8b4b5597be_z.jpg


While I do have "glass" in the form of my Dynon, I normally only reference it for TAS and DA.

Call me old fashioned, but I find the steam gauge airspeed and altimeter much more intuitive and easy to interpret than the tapes on the Dynon.
 
FastEddieB said:
Call me old fashioned, but I find the steam gauge airspeed and altimeter much more intuitive and easy to interpret than the tapes on the Dynon.
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Me too. If I ever go to an Aspen PFD, I intend to keep my ASI and Altimeter.
 
I prefer dead reckoning but I have a GPS available to point me in the right direction should I lose track. Gauges are primarily digital.
 
My training was done in a steam + a 430W.

though now i'm in a club plane with just steam + tablet
 
I have steam and a Garmin 396 in addition to my iPad and ForeFlight.
 
FastEddieB said:
Mixed response...

My panel:

15421910260_8b4b5597be_z.jpg


While I do have "glass" in the form of my Dynon, I normally only reference it for TAS and DA.

Call me old fashioned, but I find the steam gauge airspeed and altimeter much more intuitive and easy to interpret than the tapes on the Dynon.
Click to expand...
Absolutely love your cockpit!! Looks gorgeous!!

That said, I think once you actually use the tapes as primary there is no going back. Having both doesn't count, as you can always rely on the dial.

Looking at that makes me think I completely missed the boat by not having my own airplane. Guess it's not too late..
 
Steam + G530W in mine. I'd love to add a 430 instead of my KX155... and someday a have a 750/650 combo. But I'll stick with steam on the left side of the panel.
 

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Mine's kind of a hermaphrodite.

Garmin 695 for nav and to drive the autopilot.

The autopilot is electronically driven and also has a head which serves as the artificial horizon.

The engine stuff (CHT, EGT, OP, OT, FP, RPM, etc.) is digital.

The ASI, Altimeter, Compass, VSI, G-meter, and fuel gauges are steam.
 
Currently, everything I have access to has steam plus a certified IFR GPS (mostly WAAS), or glass. The last club wasn't that way and I got quite comfortable navigating with no GPS.

Rhvpilot's 172 has no GPS and I have several hours safety pilot time in it. No problem avoiding airspace, even giving vectors.
 
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I have glass, steam, and WAAS GPS...frustrates some CFIIs when they think about partial panel...which is exactly why I built it that way. Real world partial panel is really unlikely...

I didn't mention the wet vacuum pump or relatively recent rebuild of the TC and AI...
 
Kritchlow said:
That said, I think once you actually use the tapes as primary there is no going back. Having both doesn't count, as you can always rely on the dial.
Click to expand...

To be fair, prior to getting my Sky Arrow in 2007, my prior ride was a Cirrus with Avidyne PFD/MFD combo. So, I did manage to use the tapes on the PFD as primary.

But I still prefer steam gauge representation. In my panel shot I see 5,500' and 95kts at a glance. It just takes me a second longer to zero in on and interpret tapes, even when IAS and ALT are shown digitally.

Not right or wrong, just my preference.
 
I learned on steam in 06-07, then bought steam plus 430W.

As others beat me to, I do not like the speed and altitude tapes. A quick glance at the dial, I can tell about where the needle is pointing; a quick glance at the tape tells me nothing, I have to look long enough to clearly see and absorb exactly what the number is, since it's always in the same place.

Some smart programmer should work on that, replacing those silly tapes with something easily and quickly recognized.
 
Hank S said:
I learned on steam in 06-07, then bought steam plus 430W.

As others beat me to, I do not like the speed and altitude tapes. A quick glance at the dial, I can tell about where the needle is pointing; a quick glance at the tape tells me nothing, I have to look long enough to clearly see and absorb exactly what the number is, since it's always in the same place.

Some smart programmer should work on that, replacing those silly tapes with something easily and quickly recognized.
Click to expand...

Yeah, like a screen representation of a traditional six-pack. I personally see no advantage from a human factors standpoint of presenting flight performance information like you're flying an F18.
 
Hank S said:
As others beat me to, I do not like the speed and altitude tapes. A quick glance at the dial, I can tell about where the needle is pointing; a quick glance at the tape tells me nothing, I have to look long enough to clearly see and absorb exactly what the number is, since it's always in the same place.

Some smart programmer should work on that, replacing those silly tapes with something easily and quickly recognized.
Click to expand...

Yup. A quick glance at the altimeter and if the long needle is pointing straight up or down I know I'm at the correct altitude for cruise flight (x.000ft. Or x,500ft.)

Also, I have a good idea where my reference speeds are on the airspeed indicator.

While I love flying our clubs G1000, I find the Speed/alt tapes a step backward from the round dials. Everything else I prefer digital.
 
Turningfinal said:
Yup. A quick glance at the altimeter and if the long needle is pointing straight up or down I know I'm at the correct altitude for cruise flight (x.000ft. Or x,500ft.)

Also, I have a good idea where my reference speeds are on the airspeed indicator.

While I love flying our clubs G1000, I find the Speed/alt tapes a step backward from the round dials. Everything else I prefer digital.
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Or you busted your altitude by 1000 feet and didn't notice it. :D

Seriously, reading a number ain't that hard, but each to their own.
 
It took me a while to warm up to speed and altitude tapes.
 
Seemed like a poll type of question?

Is it just me?
 
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