MFD of DA42 displayed with Percent of Power Indications

In the past several years, general aviation has seen its share of technical evolution, and the instrument panel on the DA40 Diamond Star and the DA42 Twin Star are no exceptions.  After a short, but unfruitful experimentation with the Avidyne Entegra panel on the DA40, Diamond chose the Garmin G1000 cockpit on nearly all 4 seat aircraft produced after 2004.  Why did the G1000 cockpit takeoff with potential owners and how is it doing so far?  This article will explore some features of this amazing system and discuss some of the important aspects that pilots will encounter as they move from a conventional cockpit to the Technically Advanced Aircraft (TAA) glass cockpit of the Diamond G1000.

The G1000 appeared on production aircraft coming from London, Ontario in late spring 2004.  Transport Canada and the FAA both had reservations about pilot’s ability to comprehend the new panel paradigm without special training, so the factory training program in London was born.  I arrived in London in August 2004 to accept our first G1000 aircraft.  This DiamondStar would be added to our fleet of three DA20 Eclipses.  Having spent considerable amounts of time in prerelease with the G1000 at various meetings and training sessions with both Cessna and Diamond, I felt that I had a reasonable handle on the system, but I was eager to settle into the 8 hour training program and go for my first ride with the G1000.  This was also to be my first exposure to a FITS approach to training using scenarios.  Both Cessna and Diamond utilized the approach that every pilot had to take the factory training class or its equivalent prior to releasing the aircraft. I knew that the class was vital and could not be taken lightly.  One cannot expect a pilot to learn this system by osmosis and those who thought they were good enough pilots to bluff the system were in for a surprise. 

The G1000 has everything a pilot needs all neatly tucked into a series of menus and screens that are called up by softkeys along the bottom of the display or through a series of “bump-scroll-and twist” movements of the FMS knob.  Keeping the sides straight is one of the things that make the G1000 a challenge for some pilots.  Many functions of buttons and knobs such as Heading bug and Altitude bug controls are identical between the PFD and MFD and can be operated with either display, but the pilot needs to know that flight planning and moving map control has different functionality depending upon which screen you use.  These are the aspects of all glass cockpits that cause good pilots to become distracted with the technology and spend less time looking out the window.  The pilot must be willing to adapt their procedures and preconceived notions to the new panel.  Even after a thorough 8 hour ground school class, the pilot will continue to find new features and new flows that will make the system perform for them.  Because there are so many different configurations that the pilot can use, it would be rare to find two pilots that set it up and use it the same way. That is not the point, though.  The point is spending the time upfront to learn the system so you can enjoy the system and manage the flight while you’re flying rather than fretting over the technical challenges learning it in enroute.  The major point of having a system like this is to become aware of, understand, and to use some of the features that are easy to overlook but are essential to improving the pilot’s aeronautical decision making ability and situational awareness. 

The first time I went to the factory to take the G1000 overview class, it was taught by John Kellner of Empire Aviation.  John and I quickly bonded and he later adopted me as his student in the three flight scenarios we would fly over the next two days.  The Canadians have a slightly different way of teaching, but I found it refreshing.  The class covered the Primary Flight Display and then the Multi Function Display, the GMA1347 audio panel, as well as the overview of the Line Replaceable Units (LRU) that were installed strategically throughout the aircraft in a way which kept the weight and balance distribution harmonious. 

As we settled into the aircraft acceptance inspection with the Diamond factory delivery pilot, I felt somewhat burdened as the checklist had grown in size adding many new steps and checks that I knew had to be standardized across our team of instructor pilots.  The two GDU1040 screens fill the panel and with the exception of the autopilot control face being below the screens, everything is centrally located on the panel, easily within reach of either the right or the left seat.  The aircraft startup procedure is straightforward , but I noticed a significant change in the startup flow:  all flight planning and system programming is done prior to engine start.  The IO360 quickly came to life and we started our taxi toward the active runway.  Again, no surprises:  A straightforward taxi procedure with very little braking required to keep the nose-wheel going where we wanted it to go.  The run-up had some new procedures including a thorough test procedure of the autopilot and the trim system.  One thing I noted about the G1000 was how much information it presented about the engine and electrical system.  Digital voltage and amperage displayed prominently on the MFD.  As an A&P, I really appreciated that and I determined that the DA40 needs an idle speed of at least 1100RPM to keep the system voltage at 28 volts so the battery was fully charged for takeoff.

G1000 Cockpit of a Diamond DA42

Once in flight, The Diamond G1000 PFD was a joy to fly.  The instruments had a very natural feel even though some of their portrayals had changed from a round display to a tape gauge.  I was already comfortable with the King KAP140 autopilot, but I had a bittersweet feeling about it.  It is a capable unit, but many pilots have found it confusing as it is an analog unit with a digital face.  I am looking forward to the introduction of the Garmin integrated autopilot that will start appearing on DA42s later this fall.

In order to help the reader truly understand the G1000 excitement, let us look at some examples of the aeronautical decision making and situational awareness tools offered by the G1000 system to the Diamond pilot through both the Primary Flight Display (PFD) and the Multifunction Display (MFD).  We will explore other features in upcoming articles, but for the purposes of enticement, I will start with several of the most useful features.

Trend Vector displayed on MFD showing position of the aircraft in 60 seconds

The moving map shown on the Multifunction Display (MFD) comes preset with many of the most important features turned off.  For instance, there is an aircraft trend vector that can be turned on or off using the MFD menu setup option.  This feature shows where the aircraft will be in 60 seconds using a blue hashed arrow emitting from the nose of the small aircraft image on the moving map display of the MFD and the inset map of the PFD.  This trend vector also deflects left and right to show the effects of the wind on the aircrafts drift.  It seems like a trivial point, but try using this during an instrument approach and you will suddenly gain a “controllers-eye” view of the aircrafts relationship to the final approach course.  Add to this the traffic function supported by a mode S transponder and the pilot can suddenly see other traffic that may be along the approach corridor.  This allows the pilot to see not only other potentially conflicting traffic, but the pilot also can now see other aircraft that the controller is sequencing.  For electronic situational awareness, seeing other traffic along with our own produces a more accurate picture of the aircraft’s relationship to the final approach course.  You also get a great view of when the controller might issue the next vector toward final. 

Wind indicator displayed on MFD

Now, the trend vector is plenty enough compared to what we used to have available to us in the pre-electronic cockpit days, but consider the wind vector box that is also available, should the pilot decide to turn it on.  The wind vector is an optional piece of information that no pilot should intentionally want to ignore.  The system constantly calculates the effect of the wind in terms of direction and speed and displays it prominently on the top of the MFD and on the top of the inset map of the PFD.  I use this piece of information in many ways during a flight, and each pilot will grow to depend upon its guidance for information about wind drift in everything from instrument approaches to short final. 

Fuel Range Ring Function displayed on MFD

Another major function that pilots will learn to love is the fuel range rings.  This fuel flow driven subsystem gives the pilot a dynamic pictorial view of exactly how much fuel and how many minutes of operation remain until the fuel level falls to a preset reserve limit.  The pilot is cautioned that this system does not reflect how much fuel is actually in the tanks, but rather reflects the range of the aircraft since the last time the pilot manually reset the fuel levels using the RESET fuel, INCrease Fuel, or DECrease fuel buttons on the MFD.  The pilot should make sure that every startup flow checklist includes a check and verification of the fuel level by using the handy fuel tank level verification tool provided with the aircraft by Diamond.  Since the inboard tank of the DA40 is hidden from the pilots view at preflight, it is impossible to ascertain an accurate fuel level by peering into the opening.  The aircraft comes with the range ring feature turned off, but this can quickly be changed by the pilot so that this information is displayed on the MFD main menu map setup page.  The system operates by placing two concentric rings on the screen when it is adjusted out to a view range large enough for it to be visible.  The inner ring indicates the preset reserve limit and the outer ring indicates a zero fuel range projection.  Now the reader might wonder just how this piece of information can help the pilot, but consider that these rings dynamically change every time the power, mixture, and propeller controls are moved because each of these changes the net fuel flow passing the fuel flow transducer on its way to the engine.  The system recalculates the effect that any engine setting has on remaining fuel on board and then triangulates ground speed information to project an effective range in all directions.  This means that the rings are elliptical in shape favoring an increased range in a downwind direction and show a decreased range in an upwind direction.  I have checked the accuracy of this system on an extended flight and found that it depicts fuel flow accurately and is a tool that can be used to make fuel stop decisions.  For example, I was on a ferry flight from the London factory back to St. Louis and after resetting the fuel level  and departing Northern Michigan after a customs stop, I noted that the 0:45 minute reserve ring was beyond my final destination.  That meant that I needed an interim fuel stop in order to land at my final destination with legal IFR/Night fuel reserves.  I picked an interim fuel stop waypoint in mid Illinois and programmed that into my flight plan.  As I passed south of Chicago, the winds shifted favorably to a tailwind and soon the fuel reserve ring moved clearly to the other side of my destination insuring that I could pass the fuel stop and proceed direct to my destination and take on fuel there.  Upon reaching the destination, I noted that the fuel added to the aircraft was within one tenth of a gallon of what the fuel flow computer suggested that I burned since departure.  Now that is a powerful feature that pilots can use.

The last set of features we should discuss is the terrain and obstacle mapping features.  The G1000 features three different terrain and obstacle subsystems that the pilot can use.  Let us first differentiate between what the major difference is between terrain and obstacles.  Terrain is dirt and rocks.  This information is kept in one database and it has its own update schedule from Jeppesen.  Obstacles are in a different database and represent manmade obstructions which rise above dirt and rocks such as towers, smoke stacks, and other such items that are also reflected on the sectional chart.  The terrain subsystem provides an overlay on the map which tells the pilot when the aircraft is within 1000 feet of the ground by painting those areas yellow and within 100’ feet of the ground by painting those areas red.  Many pilots leave the terrain subsystem turned off unless they are in feature rich terrain.  To have this system engaged would paint all of the land on the moving map red around the aircraft when it was on the ground and this is just too much bright colors causing a distraction to the pilot when it is unnecessary.

MFD shown with Terrain subsystem highlighted in Red and Yellow

The topographical mapping feature on the MFD map and also contained on the INSET map of the PFD uses the terrain database.  This TOPO feature contains the shading colors found on a sectional chart and actually yields information to the pilot which can be interpreted as rising and falling terrain in color depiction corresponding to the colors of the sectional chart legend.  In general, blues are sea level, greens are up to 2000 feet and then yellows and oranges show terrain rising up to 5000 feet, etc.  This is considered the default map coloring and is particularly useful for navigating amid terrain with hills and valleys trying to find an airport but can be less useful in flat non-detailed terrain, as we find in the Midwest.  Many pilots turn the TOPO feature off when navigating in dense urban areas such as Los Angeles because it becomes impossible to discriminate between features because the map becomes cluttered with TOPO detail such as town names, highways, etc.  Even when using the declutter feature of either the MFD or the INSET maps stepped down, it is almost impossible to read any usable information in these dense areas.  By pressing the MAP softkey along the bottom of the screen and then pressing the TOPO softkey, the pilot can toggle this feature on and off.  When it is off, the screen becomes mostly black which accentuates other aeronautical features such as Navaid compass roses, north reference barbs, etc.  I call this night or IFR mode.

MFD shown with obstacles highlighted in Red and Yellow

Now, the obstacle feature is mapped over the top of the TOPO feature to show manmade obstacles within a preset range of the aircraft.  Typically, it does a pilot little good to see an obstacle more than 20 miles away, and imagine the clutter on the screen if you could.  This also appears on the MFD and the inset map to show obstacles within that 20 or so miles that represents a reasonable distance for a pilot to be concerned about.  An obstacle within the selected range first appears as an obstacle symbol.  In order for the pilot to really gain some insight about the obstacle, they must use the range pointer (joystick) and move it on top of that obstacle which brings up an information box telling its height in both MSL and AGL.  Now Garmin has included a very useful feature by applying the terrain subsystem coloring (red and yellow) of the obstacle symbol when the aircraft is low enough to come within 1000 feet or 100 feet of its height.

The reader can now see the immense amount of detail that is contained in the G1000 system and we have just started to talk about a few of the most prominent details.  We hear from pilots wondering how a FITS accepted course for the G1000 Diamond, Cessna, Mooney, and Beech aircraft needs to be 9 hours long.  Believe me, the program could be longer.  This unit and the autopilot subsystem that controls it are integrated and loaded with functions that must be learned by the pilot.  It is not like a VCR.  There are no unimportant functions and it is not acceptable for a pilot to be fumbling around with buttons and knobs in the air trying to learn it on the fly.  But that is the point.  Why would a pilot want to take the risk of being in an aircraft not knowing exactly how to work it, if something were to go wrong.  Our fleet of 5 G1000 equipped aircraft now have almost 1200 hours.  There have been a few problems, but mostly growing pains as the various manufacturers updated software to improve the pilots flying experience.  It is important to note that we have not had a single failure of a G1000 system while in flight.  If something is going to act up, it typically does on startup and many times this can be quickly rectified by shutting down the power and restarting the system; sort of like a computer reboot.

After teaching our G1000 ground school for the 75th time and checking out almost 200 pilots to fly these aircraft in our Skyline Aeronautics FITS Accepted FAA Approved CFR 141 certification programs, I am more convinced than ever that the FITS scenario based training technique is the one we should be all using to teach glass cockpit aircraft regardless of whether they are in a Diamond or not.  I feel confident that we are preparing pilots to handle whatever Murphy can throw at them.  After all, isn’t that why we have flight training?  We have now been operating our G1000 DA40s for almost 2 years and have found them to be excellent training and cross country platforms.  Much faster than their high wing cousins with the same engine, but isn’t that why we all bought Diamonds?