High Performance Aviation
Flight Plan Views in the Garmin G1000
One of the great (and sometimes confusing) things about the G1000 is that it provides many options for customization. One of the simplest options available to us is the ability to change the layout of the Flight Plan page on the MFD. While you may have your own preference already, here are some ideas of why you might choose one view over the other.
WIDE vs. NARROW
The G1000 Flight Plan can be changed from Wide to Narrow view. To change the view, follow these steps:
- Press the FPL key on the MFD to display the Active Flight Plan Page.
- Press the VIEW softkey.
- Press WIDE or NARROW softkey for desired setting.
- Press BACK softkey.
Although I typically use the wide view, there are benefits to both options.
Benefits of NARROW View:
- More waypoints visible without scrolling down
- Larger map view visible
- Good for instrument approaches or flight plans with lots of waypoints defining the route
- Data fields: DTK, DIS, ALT
Benefits of WIDE View:
- More detailed fields of information available
- Data fields: DTK, DIS, ALT, FUEL REM, ETE, ETA, BRG
- Good for trips with fewer waypoints. (Typical flight from point A to B)
CUMULATIVE vs. LEG-LEG
The G1000 allows us to view information about our route on the Flight Plan page. The active flight plan can be configured to show distances and ETEs as cumulative for the whole trip, or for each individual leg (waypoint-to-waypoint). These settings are selected with the “CUM” or “LEG-LEG” softkeys.
To switch, follow these steps:
- Press the FPL key on the MFD to display the Active Flight Plan Page.
- Press the VIEW softkey.
- Press CUM or LEG-LEG softkey for desired setting.
- Press BACK softkey.
I personally prefer the cumulative view. The cumulative view allows me to answer the “Are we there yet?” question… You can now view distance (DIS) and estimated time enroute (ETE) for the entire rest of the trip – not just the current leg to the next waypoint. If you fly IFR, or use multiple waypoints to define your route, you may find that you prefer the cumulative view on the flight plan as well. If you only fly GPS direct, or never use the flight plan on the G1000, then this setting won’t matter to you.
COLLAPSING AIRWAYS
One of the great features of the Flight Plan Page is the ability to load airways without having to program every individual waypoint defining the route. If you have loaded an airway, there are two options for viewing it in the flight plan: expanded or collapsed. By default, when you load the airway, it is automatically expanded to facilitate review of the flight plan.
To Collapse / Expand Airways:
- Press the FPL key on PFD or MFD to display the Active Flight Plan Page.
- Press the MENU key.
- Select “Collapse Airways” or “Expand Airways”, then press the ENT key.
In the collapsed view, the active Flight Plan Page will keep the following three waypoints visible: “From” waypoint, “To” waypoint and “Next” waypoint. (This means that if your airway only contains two or three waypoints, you may not see a difference between the expanded and collapsed views.)
The more you fly with the G1000, the more you will begin to notice the benefits of customizing the settings to give you the information you want. Regardless of which setting you use, make sure you know which setting is selected so that the information is not misinterpreted.
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