Avidyne has done many things well with their venture into the glass cockpit arena (brief side note: I find it humorous that even Avidyne still uses Garmin’s GPS. As usual, I digress). On the PFD, there are eight bezel keys, four on each side, each with it’s own function. On the bottom of the display are two knobs, one on each side, that are used to input information into each of the different fields next to the bezel keys.
Hypoxia, defined straight from NASA, is “a state of oxygen deficiency in the blood, tissues, and cells sufficient to cause an impairment of mental and physical functions.” Basically, it ain’t good. How does this oxygen deficiency occur in aviation, you ask? Good question.
New Cirrus aircraft equipped with the Garmin Perspective avionics suite are a pilot’s dream. All parties involved got this one right. Gone are the days when general aviation pilots have to twist knobs to select an airport identifier. In comes the Garmin Control Unit (GCU) with a complete keyboard which saves time and frustration. Most of the knobs are gone off the MFD, now repositioned on the GCU for easier access. Even the avionics panel is streamlined. I’m getting ahead of myself, though. Let us start with the PFD and analyze the whole setup.
Remember as a kid all the pictures of Santa’s sleigh with the open cockpit design? Well, Claus finally wised up and enclosed the cabin (more comfortable when traveling through the northern latitudes). It was a bubble canopy, vacuum sealed and pressurized. He even had an emergency oxygen tank tucked in a compartment in the back. True airspeed does increase with higher altitudes, so I guess he makes better time up high.
Last week, I discussed changing the type of fuel we’re burning in our engines in order to save some money. This week, I will discuss changing the type of engine entirely. Gasp. You mean not running a piston reciprocating engine in our general aviation aircraft?