Hello,

I thought I would point out two differences I found between the Mindstar and the real G1000. They might seem small but I run into them quite frequently.

 

Point 1 is that on the real G1000 I use, it's possibly to load a STAR and then edit the flight plan to remove some of the waypoints you have just loaded by highlighting the waypoint with the cursor and pressing the CLR followed by the ENT button for each one you want to delete. This is useful if ATC asks you to fly "the balance" of a STAR after a certain waypoint. For instance, flying from Abbotsford to Victoria, I often get asked to fly the balance of the APASS4 arrival from YYJ. I therefore like to load it on the ground, but delete all the points which come before YYJ. Pressing the CLR button on the Mindstar does not produce the expected result. It hides the flight plan pane and goes back to the main map, which is the action that should result when this button is held down.

 

Point 2 is that after the enroute section of the flight plan, I'm pretty sure that the real G1000 automatically starts sequencing the waypoints in the Arrival or the Approach, so if the autopilot is on Nav mode, the plane will proceed from the last of the waypoints of the enroute section to the initial approach waypoint. The Mindstar G1000, on the other hand, does not start sequencing the approach unless the approach is first activated.

Garmin is constantly providing new versions of the firmware in their G1000 avionics systems. As well, there are distinct differences of functionality across airframes. We can't be expected to match every possible version of the G1000's firmware (which includes optional behavior choices chosen by aircraft manufacturer).

 

I will research this further and get back to you regarding your post.

Is this Mindstart software 430/530/G1000 approved for FAA training?

First, no software is 'approved' per se. Training systems are approved. I don't personally know of any approved training systems that are strictly software. Mindstar Aviation 430s/530s and G1000s are in FAA certified AATD trainers.

 

Second, it's not FAA training.