[This post is originally by JohnJ but was re-added by EuroGA after a minor systems screw-up]
If only the Garmin documentation was as good as the kit . . . .
I'm not dim (well, I would say that, wouldn't I?) but I can't get to the bottom of the SUSP/OBS Softkey. I think I understand (more or less) what to do with it. What isn't so clear is how to make it appear in the first place! My specific problem with it is that the very comprehensive notes don't make it clear (not to me, anyhow) under what circumstances the SUSP/OBS Softkey becomes visible/available; and in particular whether I can call it up at will. Yes, I've noticed that it can (but doesn't always) appear when using GPS, but if it 'started life' as the Omni-Bearing Selector related to nav beacons, long before Satnav was around, surely it should be available when using just radio aids?
I think I've groped my way towards a kind of understanding by trial and error but would be much happier if someone could confirm the answer - or even point me to the key paragraph I have somehow missed finding?
Garmin produce shedloads of reference material which they make available free to anyone; so far, so good. But it isn't really high-quality teaching (or self-teaching) material, and leaves me with plenty of unanswered questions. I could experiment on a simulator, but the one available to me at the club costs a lot per hour. On my home PC I run Garmin's own 'G1000 sim' package, which wasn't expensive but just doesn't work very consistently ? not well enough to convince myself that the details are a true representation.
So what I would love to find is a well-produced guide of 'how to do it' going through, for example, a complete Nav sortie from departure to Missed Approach, with and without the autopilot. To be fair to Garmin, there is an example cross-country in the G1000 Pilot's Guide for Cessna Nav III, but it is a bit short on detail. (Para 5.11 Navigating A Flight Plan). If others have worked through this example and found it fine then I guess the problem is me. But if anyone has found something better, I'd love to hear about it.
John,
This is my understanding which I hope is of some help.
Pressing the SUSP softkey suspends automatic waypoint sequencing. As waypoint sequencing is GPS related (i.e. it suspends the sequencing of the waypoints in the GPS flight plan) it is only available when in GPS mode. The G1000 knows that there are certain times when it might be appropriate to suspend automatic waypoint sequencing. One occasion is when you reach the missed approach point in an instrument approach. The loaded approach will show the waypoints to fly in the missed approach. However you might have to reach a particular altitude in the missed approach before turning to the next waypoint. Thats because there may be a hill between you and the next waypoint. The automatic suspending of the sequencing allows you to reach the appropriate altitude before cancelling SUSP and continuing directly to the next waypoint in the missed approach. Another time the G1000 makes SUSP available is when you enter a hold in an approach. The loaded approach will show the hold and all the waypoints in the approach after the hold. However the G1000 doesn't know how many rounds of the hold you will need to fly. It therefore suspends automatic waypoint sequencing and keeps you in the hold. When you are ready to leave the hold you cancel SUSP and the G1000 the directs you to the next waypoint in the approach.
As automatic waypoint sequencing relates to the sequencing of waypoints in the GPS flight plan it is not relevant if you are navigating using a VOR or other Radio Nav aid. You have to be in GPS mode and then it will generally only be available for situations such as the above.
I haven't found a good discussion on this subject as it is spread throughout the Pilot Guide.
The OBS/SUSP smart key is a multi use key and depends on what you are doing at the time.
Some observations:
1) When the aircraft is navigating to a waypoint and not currently in a hold, missed approach, or vector to final, then the OBS is a toggle between OBS mode and an auto-sequencing mode. If OBS is not annunciated in reverse video, pressing the OBS button will annunciate OBS in reverse video and the course to the active waypoint will be determined by the PFD course selector and the course pointer. Pressing OBS when OBS is annunciated in reverse video, the course remains set to the last position of the PFD course pointer, the active waypoint remains active, but auto sequencing past the active waypoint to the next flightplan waypoint occurs.
2) When on vectors to final, anytime the aircraft is going the opposite direction of the final approach course (downwind ...), SUSP is annunciated in reverse video until the aircraft is within 45 degrees of the final approach course direction. The pilot has no control over this annunciation.
3) On approach procedures that use a hold in lieu of a procedure turn, the G1000 will overfly the hold fix twice, once on entry to the hold, and the second and final time as it navigates inbound to the hold fix. From this point it will auto sequence to the next fix in the approach procedure. If the pilot wishes to remain in the hold for extra circuits, they may control this by using the SUSP smart button. The hold must be depicted and the SUSP smart button must be visible as the active leg before you press the smart button to control the number of circuits. Pressing the smart button will annunciate SUSP in reverse video. Pressing it a second time will turn off reverse video of SUSP. This can be toggled on and off at will. If SUSP is reverse video when the aircraft reaches the hold fix, the G1000 will continue to do circuits in the hold. If it is not reverse video, when the aircraft reaches the hold fix, the G1000 will auto sequence to the next waypoint in the approach procedure.
4) On a hold that is part of a missed approach procedure, once in the hold, SUSP will annunciate reverse video and remain so until the pilot takes some overt action. IOW, you will remain in the hold for ever or until you run out of gas. Pressing the smart button has no effect. To get out of the hold, the pilot must do a direct-to or activate another approach, or redo the same approach, ...
5) On the missed approach, there are differences between various G1000 implementations. Some aircraft have a go around button, usually mounted on the throttle handle. If the go around button is used, missed approach guidance to the MAP and on to the missed approach procedure is initiated by it. On others, to obtain the missed approach guidance, one must wait until SUSP is annunciated in reverse video and then press the smart button. Some implementations permit an early pressing of OBS, but in others this is a screw up as the G1000 will go into OBS mode, which is definitely not what is intended. I would verify by trial and error how yours works if you press OBS after the FAF, but before reaching the SUSP reverse video annunciation. If it puts you into OBS mode, make absolutely sure you don't press OBS before confirming that you see SUSP annunciated. I recommend to my clients to not be in a hurry to press the smart SUSP button on the missed approach and rather to initiate the climb and if a heading turn is required at an altitude before pressing the smart button to obtain navigation for the missed approach.
My thanks to both Tolka and NCYankee for taking the time to cover this. I guess the answer to my original question ('whether I can call it up at will') is "no", but with an added proviso "but why would you want to, anyhow, given that it's automatically there if you need it?". Fair point!
I guess I'm just an old fashioned control freak. After a full career of military flying, the G1000 in the Cessna 172 is by far the most complex and software-dependent avionics fit I've faced, and I don't feel completely relaxed about having a software engineer decide what I'm going to need. I listened to Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin telling their computer to shut up and let the grownups do it, and I suppose that emotionally I'm stuck in those days, even though I do realise that my current cellphone has more computer power than Eagle had. I guess I'll get over it!
Thanks again for all the tips.
I listened to Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin telling their computer to shut up and let the grownups do it, and I suppose that emotionally I'm stuck in those days, even though I do realise that my current cellphone has more computer power than Eagle had. I guess I'll get over it!
I don't think you are emotionally stuck anywhere...
This is a huge problem.
When I did my conversion training on my then new TB20, in 2002, no instructor I could find knew how this
worked. Well, they knew the heading bug, but the course pointer was a mystery.
This
was an even bigger mystery, but I did eventually find one instructor who knew how to work it.
I downloaded the manuals from the net and flew around Kent at 5000ft on autopilot
until I worked the various bits out. Some (like not engaging NAV to intercept a GPS track unless the HSI bar deviation is at least 3 divisions) I did not work out for years and even got the HSI replaced because Honeywell insisted that behaviour was wrong!
The fuel flow totaliser was replaced ~ 3 times because nobody knew that a bug was actually a long term feature (it was never fixed).
The above G1000 functionality descriptions are just amazing - and I am a hardware/software developer so hopefully not totally thick. In Europe, you will probably have to fly a fair distance to find somebody who really understands it.
If you are technically / electronically minded, what I found helps is getting hold of the installation manuals and reading through them. They are not supposedly available but, ahem, most have escaped into the wild, if you get my drift... One gets a lot of avionics understanding from installation manuals.
Loads of people fly in G1000 aircraft without understanding a lot of it.
Peter, those explanations are not that complex. All the Garmins 430/530, GTNs and G1000 essentially work the same way on these points. It shows though that using advanced avionics like this requires proper training before trying to use it in anger. Mode errors and knowing what the systems will do in a variety of scenarios are key. Constantly ensuring that they are doing what you expect is also essential.
I know on the Avidyne you can get into a lot of trouble if you are trying to fly an ILS and go into approach mode too early with the inbound course behind you as the system will assume a back course and stay there.
Garmin avionics have a pretty weird and unintuitive user interface. You have to train regularly. The Garmin manuals aren't good enough in my experience.
The best in user interface and manual I've seen in aviation is the Aspen. The user manual is very well done and allows for self study. I had no problem using all features of the device after having read the manual -- some sections a couple of times.
no instructor I could find knew how this [HSI] worked. Well, they knew the heading bug, but the course pointer was a mystery.
Hmm, the HSI was the heart of my IR training. Every aircraft had it as well as the FNPT and it was used in the course material all over. If I learned one thing then it's how to deal with an HSI. Lots of things like how to do fly a DME arc using the HSI course pointer and deviation bar, etc.
The G1000 maintenance, installation & user manuals are useless as learning aids.
Max Trescott's G1000 textbooks are ok, but the IFR chapters are incomprehensible. His WAAS book is ok.
The best by far is to get hold of the G1000 PC Trainer (software simulator), with Trescott's book as reference.
Install the Trainer on your PC, spend 4-5 hours on the thing, working through the menus. Set yourself several goals using the simulator, such as...
Enter, edit, save, recall, reorder & delete a flight plan
Fly entire approaches (GPS, VOR, ILS, procedure turns, missed etc) until you can anticipate everything happening
Understand the integration between the autopilot & the G1000
After a while things will click.
The G1000 is a fantastic kit, and a massively useful tool when used properly, but spoken as a software developer: Usability is a near-disaster. The only thing worse is all previous versions of Garmin hardware (like the 430/530), all of which are true usability disasters.
Garmin avionics have a pretty weird and unintuitive user interface. You have to train regularly. The Garmin manuals aren't good enough in my experience.
I think the GTN650/750s are a pleasant break from this general point. Usability is much better.
Thankfully on the Meridian G1000 you have two things. A keypad and airways.
Thankfully on the Meridian G1000 you have two things. A keypad and airways.
I've tried the G1000 keypad on the Columbia 350 & it's indeed a major time saver - the Cirrus Perspective has it as well. (unfortunately it's not available in the DA42)
The airway feature is even better. I couldn't imagine having to type every single fix along a 500nm airway. Too bad Garmin hid it so well - on the DA42 G1000 it's the 6th item under the menu labelled "Menu".
