but I wonder if some of us who learned on steam>gauges may find ourselves missing those challenging days at>some point...Possibly!!!Besides, I crammed all those steam gauges into my plane........ to make myself look smarter than I am; at least to the casual observer! :)But, one thing about it; these new moving maps greatly add to the "instant" situational awareness when urgently required. Far too many pilots fly into rising terrain around here, when sudden IMC (whiteouts) occur, especially in darkness. And in one case last year, the pilot was actually on an IFR plan, and had cancelled to fly to the local airport, but mistakingly turned towards rising terrain. Another tried to follow the freeway to clear wheather but made a wrong turn into a blind canyon; and an IFR student & instructor flying in complete darkness hit a mountain peak before activating their flight plan. They survived, thanks to cell phones, but didn't see the mountain at all.Since I've been pushing "moving maps" for about 12 years or so, I really believe in them, whether panel or hand-held. Some prefer the chart & cross-check instrument method, but it doesn't help when you only have a few seconds to regain your "lost" bearings.I've even now heard the term "idiot gauge" in reference to using a GPS. Whatever???............... as an investigation into the AA757 (South America) & Ron Brown 737 flying into rising terrain, pointed out that a full range moving map could have provided the pilots a "big picture" of the situation that they didn't have. It's a fact, a modern GPS moving map will tell you instantly where you are & where you're going, along with terrain & obstacle warnings. You just can't beat them for situational awareness; and when old/bold pilots believe these units make new pilots lazy................... I just think the old & bold are too lazy to figure out how to use these "enhanced" safety devices!!!L.Adamson

>other things that I found interesting was that Cessna>encourages and recommends using the autopilot almost from>takeoff to landing. They said 5 out of 6 hours of training at>Cessna will be on autopilot. This could be a knee-jerk reaction to many fatal GA accident that could have been prevented by using an AP (just to mention JFK's off Martha Vineyard). FLYING claims APs in GA are underutilized not to mention flying instructors often do not have required training to teach student how to use AP. Richard Collins in his editorials was making fun out of people who believe that if your are flying on AP you are really not "flying".Michael J.http://www.reality-xp.com/community/nr/rsc/rxp-higher.jpg

I also know a Northwest 747 pilot who has to do sim training every month to stay current as almost his entire flights are flown by autopilot. He is actually trying to demote himself to a dc-9 for more enjoyment and challenge.I use my autopilot all the time-and live for my gps's-but nothing beats the "enjoyment" of doing a challenging maneuver by hand. I guess my point is-Ga airplanes are rapidly becoming what commercial aircraft have become-a computer system monitored by the pilot. Of course along with this comes increased safety and utility-like the airlines. However-at the same time-a lot of what we enjoy about flying goes out the window.A lot of airline pilots fly GA aircraft for this reason-to get back to the fun and challenge of flying-back to the basics.I am certainly not against the g1000-and when one approved (or even better one is approved that are available for home builts now) I will be the first to get one for my plane.http://mywebpages.comcast.net/geofa/pages/rxp-pilot.jpg

To a degree I agree with you. Some approaches can't even be legally flown with AP engaged. Therefore my personal preference is for a fully functioning Flight Director. Then I can fly manually and still enjoy all the advanced functionality. But for some weird reason Skylane won't have FD available in its G1000. Same is true for Diamond installation. So far I only know of Cessna Mustang that will have G1000 with FD. But Lancair's Columbia 400 comes with Avidyne's FD. Go figure ...Michael J.http://www.reality-xp.com/community/nr/rsc/rxp-higher.jpg

I'm all for seeing the G1000 available for FS!I mean, who isn't?Same for the other manufacturers. I wonder how many current GA pilots use Flight Simulator for keeping their navigation chops sharp...And if it's a lot, I suppose that being able to pull up an "operational" version of the G1000, for example, may actually sell some systems... and would certainly help in setting goals for us poor sim pilots ;)I think, if I remember correctly, there have been manufacturers who created "stand-alone" programs for training on their GPS systems. That's fine too but it's not nearly as appropriate as learning in a flight environment, or, a simulated flight environment, in our case.Frankly, it's just weird to see big flat panels! I like it though. I'd also be interested, just for interest's sake, to find out what type of options are available for visual configuration - for example, in the G1000, the AI seems to basically be the "whole" screen. I realize that's part of the boost to situational awareness, but I'm also wondering how much or little that type of thing can be configured, as well as color choices and so forth.Man, I hope to be able to afford this stuff one day, even in a measly little 172.sighAndrew

I tend to see the G1000's implementation as a step towards both situational awareness for the present, but also to step towards NASA's "Highway in the Sky" plans for aviation. With integrated displays like this, a projected "road" is displayed for the "pilot" to follow to their destination. While I agree that this will indeed help and possibly save the lives of many future pilots, I'm with the crew that loves the steam gauges. Maybe I'm all doom and gloom, but I think that these expensive toys can potentially make bolder pilots out of more sensible individuals when it comes to marginal VFR or non instrument pilots attempting things they wouldn't in less equipped aircraft. Perhaps there is a market for this display to be used in FS, but if you have to use the autopilot to maintain level flight all the time, why not just fly a jet? JM2C

"Maybe I'm all doom and gloom, but I think that these expensive toys can potentially make bolder pilots out of more sensible individuals when it comes to marginal VFR or non instrument pilots attempting things they wouldn't in less equipped aircraft."Yes, agreed. I imagine, though, that this happens to some degree with every "step-up" in cockpit technology... from HSI to weather radar..."Perhaps there is a market for this display to be used in FS, but if you have to use the autopilot to maintain level flight all the time, why not just fly a jet?"Not sure what you're asking here. I certainly don't need to use the AP to maintain level flight - what do you mean?Andrew