vincent p. norris wrote:

I began teaching what I call
"Primitive Panel" over 30 years ago with a loss of gyros, then taking
away the Turn/Slip, the VSI, and leaving the student with little to
work with. They can do fine if they use their heads.


A couple of years ago,a high-time pilot who, according to reports,
emphasized partial panel work, took off from TEB and soon killed
himself and family in a Bonanza. Apparently a gyro failure.

Have you any words of explanation to offer, or do you know what the
accident report said?

I practice partial panel regularly, but accidents like that worry me;
if that guy couldn't hack it, could I?

That is the main flaw with partial panel practice. You know the gyro
has failed. In a real failure, you may well not notice the failure
until it is too late. That is one reason why my Skylane had a low
vacuum light and a PF standby system.


Matt