Old Meets New….

So you’ve probably heard the term “steam gauges” and “glass cockpit”.  Well steam gauges don’t run on steam, they’re the little round dial instruments shown on the left.  Glass Cockpit simply means computer screens instead of round dial instruments.  It requires a bit more proficiency to fly “round dial” or “steam gauge” airplanes as your scan has to be top notch compared to Glass Cockpit panels giving you all the information in one place.

This is why I recommend training in a “steam gauge” airplane, and renting and owning “glass cockpit” airplanes.  Your scanning skills will be much more honed in when training in the older style airplanes, plus they typically are a little less expensive to rent and to buy if you plan on owning your own.

In this Lesson….

We’ll cover how to properly scan both types of panels in the simplest terms possible, as well as what the insides look like on each set up!  See ya in the TOPICS!

We’re On Our Way!

We’ve departed Venice VFR and you’re now flying to KVPS (Fort Walton Beach Florida), your first stop on this X/C with your flight instructor.  In this LESSON, you’ll learn techniques not just for flying IFR, but for flying over the open water on a nice weather day where the blue sky blends right into the blue water (very disorienting if you are not looking at your instruments).  Also, note we can make this flight from KVNC direct to KVPS crossing the ADIZ because we are on an IFR flight plan (something you couldn’t do before with basic VFR).  Crossing the ADIZ, you’ll need to be either on an IFR flight plan or DVFR flight plan.