Roy Smith?: GNS480 training

I was going to send this as an email to Roy, but then I realized there might be
value for everyone in the response, and maybe Roy wouldn't mind sharing with the
whole group.

Roy, If I'm not mistaken, you instruct in a club with a fleet of GNS480s. My
partners and I are about to install a GNS480 in our Mooney.

I wonder what instructional materials you have found to be useful for self-tuition?

Thanks,

Dave

Dave Butler wrote:
Roy, If I'm not mistaken, you instruct in a club with a fleet of GNS480s. My
partners and I are about to install a GNS480 in our Mooney.

I wonder what instructional materials you have found to be useful for
self-tuition?

I think you mean self-tutelage. Self-tuition would be paying yourself to
attend class :-)

In any case, Garmin has a load of good training material on their web site.
In addition to the user manual, there's a Windows (boo-hiss) based
simulator, and a video presentation. There's also a series of newsletters
(6 at last count) that discuss various gotchas.

I once made up a list of tasks that at the time (it's almost exactly a year
old) I thought were a pretty comprehensive list of things a proficient
CNX-80 driver should be able to do. It's attached below. It may be
helpful in guiding your own self-whatever. Looking the list over now, I
see there's a few things I would probably drop as useless trivia, and a few
things I might add, I present the list in its current form for whatever
it's worth. I think, specifically, the question about not crossing
directly over the FAF doesn't have the same answer on the GNS-480 as it did
on the CNX-80 software.

It's a great box, but it's got a learning curve, to be sure. I would
certainly recommend putting at least 10 hours on it VFR before you venture
out IFR with it. And take a safety pilot; even without a hood, you're
going to be much too heads-down in the box to be keeping a good lookout.

------------------------------------

CNX-80 Training Syllabus.

Please send comments, additions, and corrections
to Roy Smith
Last update: 22 June 2004

A pilot should be able to perform all the following tasks to be
considered proficient in the CNX-80. Tasks marked [IFR] are
primarially of interest to pilots conducting instrument operations.

Note: this only covers CNX-80 specific tasks; it is assumed that the
student is already familiar with use of a traditional nav/com/cdi
setup.

The CNX-80 is a complex unit. This syllabus only covers the basic
functions that most pilots need to know. There are many additional
functions which you might want to explore on your own (RTFM).

BASIC OPERATION:
Turn unit on.
Describe basic system architecture (major functional units,
interconnections, and possible failure modes).

COM FUNCTIONS:
Adjust volume.
Manually enter a com frequency.
Enter a frequency from the database.
Swap active and standby com frequencies (soft key & yoke button).
Explain difference in operation between yoke-mounted swap button and swap
key on radio.
Monitor a 2nd com frequency.
Quickly enter emergency frequency (121.5).
Explain meaning of "Tx" indicator.

NAV FUNCTIONS:
Adjust volume.
Manually enter a nav frequency.
Enter a frequency from the database.
Set CDI selector to the proper setting.
Listen to navaid audio.
Explain how "auto ident" function works.
Select To or From display mode.

TRANSPONDER FUNCTIONS (IF EQUIPPED WITH SLAVED TRANSPONDER):
Enter code (Mode-A) using soft keys.
Enter code using cursor/edit function.
Squawk ident.
Explain how automatic active/standby function works.
Turn Auto mode on and off.
Verify transponder has gone active.
Explain how auto mode might misfunction while practicing slow flight.
Manually stop altitude squawk.
Manually turn transponder off.
Quickly squawk VFR (1200).
Quickly squawk emergency (7700).
Explain emergency transponder turn-off procedure.

DATABASE FUNCTIONS.
Verify database currency [IFR].
Explain legal use of database info if the database is out of date [IFR].
Find nearest airport, intersection, or navaid.
Find nearest ATC or FSS com frequency.
Retrieve information about an airport.
Find the nearest airport with an instrument approach and fly it [IFR].

BASIC GPS FUNCTIONS.
Navigate direct to a waypoint.
Select waypoint from database.
Select waypoint from flight plan [IFR].
Explain the difference between "-D-/Direct" and "-D-/Dest" [IFR].

ADVANCED GPS FUNCTIONS.
Intercept a given course TO a waypoint [IFR].
Intercept a given course FROM a waypoint [IFR].
Select and track a course using OBS mode [IFR].
Describe what "station declination" is [IFR].
Describe how station declination affects CrsTo, CrsFr, and OBS modes [IFR].
Describe the SUSP function w/r/t CrsTo, CrsFr, and OBS modes [IFR].
Describe the differences between En-Route, Terminal, and Approach modes
[IFR].

HOLDING.
Create and fly a hold at a random waypoint [IFR].
Fly a charted hold [IFR].
Resume flight plan after holding [IFR].

FLIGHT PLAN FUNCTIONS.
Program a full Origin to Destination flight plan [IFR].
Program a departure procedure [IFR].
Program a departure approach [IFR].
Program an arrival procedure [IRF].
Program a destination approach [IFR].
Program an alternate [IFR].
Explain the difference between the "Save" and "Exec" functions [IFR].
Load and execute a saved flight plan [IFR].
Accept direct to a pre-loaded waypoint in flight [IFR].
Accept a full re-route in flight [IFR].
Hold at a waypoint [IFR].
Enter a GPS approach and fly it [IFR].
Fly a missed approach [IFR].
Explain what happens on a GPS approach if you don't cross directly over the
FAF [IFR].
Explain the difference between "fly over" and "fly by" waypoints [IFR].
Explain use of the GPS while flying an ILS approach [IFR].
Describe several situations where the unit will go into suspend mode [IFR].

MAP FUNCTIONS.
Activate map mode.
Explain how map page 1 differs from the other pages.
Demonstrate use of various declutter controls.
Adjust map scale.
Turn auto-scaling on and off.
Explain the difference between magenta and white course lines [IFR].
Explain the meaining of a dashed course line [IFR].

MESSAGES.
Explain what the "Messages available" indicator looks like.
Demonstrate how to retrieve current or old messages.
Explain the meaning and proper action for the following common messages:
* WARNING Communications lost with [Com Radio, Nav Radio, etc].
* WARNING Altitude Encoder Communications Failure.
* WARNING Fuel Data Communications Failure.
* Countdown timer 1/2 expired [IFR].
* Steep turn ahead [IFR].
* Hold Parallel/Teardrop/Direct [IFR].
* WARNING Loss of Integrity Cross-Check NAV.
* Integrity Restored Normal Ops.
* WARNING Loss of Navigation.
* CDI Selection should be set to (Localizer/ILS/VOR) [IFR].
* VOR Receiver Should Be Tuned to xxx.xx for (approach) [IFR].
* Database expired on (date) [IFR].
* Baro Correction xx.yy CRSR to Change ENTER to Accept [IFR].
* Warning Loss of Navigation LOI On Approach [IFR].
* TILT Game Over

TIMERS.
Set and run a count-down timer [IFR].
Configure a timer to display superimposed on the map [IFR].

Woohoo! Thanks for the tutelage, Roy! :-) Good stuff. Send me your bill. I love
this newsgroup.

Dave

Roy Smith wrote:
Dave Butler x@xx wrote:

Roy, If I'm not mistaken, you instruct in a club with a fleet of GNS480s. My
partners and I are about to install a GNS480 in our Mooney.

I wonder what instructional materials you have found to be useful for
self-tuition?


I think you mean self-tutelage. Self-tuition would be paying yourself to
attend class :-)

In any case, Garmin has a load of good training material on their web site.
In addition to the user manual, there's a Windows (boo-hiss) based
simulator, and a video presentation. There's also a series of newsletters
(6 at last count) that discuss various gotchas.

I once made up a list of tasks that at the time (it's almost exactly a year
old) I thought were a pretty comprehensive list of things a proficient
CNX-80 driver should be able to do. It's attached below. It may be
helpful in guiding your own self-whatever. Looking the list over now, I
see there's a few things I would probably drop as useless trivia, and a few
things I might add, I present the list in its current form for whatever
it's worth. I think, specifically, the question about not crossing
directly over the FAF doesn't have the same answer on the GNS-480 as it did
on the CNX-80 software.

It's a great box, but it's got a learning curve, to be sure. I would
certainly recommend putting at least 10 hours on it VFR before you venture
out IFR with it. And take a safety pilot; even without a hood, you're
going to be much too heads-down in the box to be keeping a good lookout.

------------------------------------

CNX-80 Training Syllabus.

Please send comments, additions, and corrections
to Roy Smith y@yy
Last update: 22 June 2004

A pilot should be able to perform all the following tasks to be
considered proficient in the CNX-80. Tasks marked [IFR] are
primarially of interest to pilots conducting instrument operations.

Note: this only covers CNX-80 specific tasks; it is assumed that the
student is already familiar with use of a traditional nav/com/cdi
setup.

The CNX-80 is a complex unit. This syllabus only covers the basic
functions that most pilots need to know. There are many additional
functions which you might want to explore on your own (RTFM).

BASIC OPERATION:
Turn unit on.
Describe basic system architecture (major functional units,
interconnections, and possible failure modes).

COM FUNCTIONS:
Adjust volume.
Manually enter a com frequency.
Enter a frequency from the database.
Swap active and standby com frequencies (soft key & yoke button).
Explain difference in operation between yoke-mounted swap button and swap
key on radio.
Monitor a 2nd com frequency.
Quickly enter emergency frequency (121.5).
Explain meaning of "Tx" indicator.

NAV FUNCTIONS:
Adjust volume.
Manually enter a nav frequency.
Enter a frequency from the database.
Set CDI selector to the proper setting.
Listen to navaid audio.
Explain how "auto ident" function works.
Select To or From display mode.

TRANSPONDER FUNCTIONS (IF EQUIPPED WITH SLAVED TRANSPONDER):
Enter code (Mode-A) using soft keys.
Enter code using cursor/edit function.
Squawk ident.
Explain how automatic active/standby function works.
Turn Auto mode on and off.
Verify transponder has gone active.
Explain how auto mode might misfunction while practicing slow flight.
Manually stop altitude squawk.
Manually turn transponder off.
Quickly squawk VFR (1200).
Quickly squawk emergency (7700).
Explain emergency transponder turn-off procedure.

DATABASE FUNCTIONS.
Verify database currency [IFR].
Explain legal use of database info if the database is out of date [IFR].
Find nearest airport, intersection, or navaid.
Find nearest ATC or FSS com frequency.
Retrieve information about an airport.
Find the nearest airport with an instrument approach and fly it [IFR].

BASIC GPS FUNCTIONS.
Navigate direct to a waypoint.
Select waypoint from database.
Select waypoint from flight plan [IFR].
Explain the difference between "-D-/Direct" and "-D-/Dest" [IFR].

ADVANCED GPS FUNCTIONS.
Intercept a given course TO a waypoint [IFR].
Intercept a given course FROM a waypoint [IFR].
Select and track a course using OBS mode [IFR].
Describe what "station declination" is [IFR].
Describe how station declination affects CrsTo, CrsFr, and OBS modes [IFR].
Describe the SUSP function w/r/t CrsTo, CrsFr, and OBS modes [IFR].
Describe the differences between En-Route, Terminal, and Approach modes
[IFR].

HOLDING.
Create and fly a hold at a random waypoint [IFR].
Fly a charted hold [IFR].
Resume flight plan after holding [IFR].

FLIGHT PLAN FUNCTIONS.
Program a full Origin to Destination flight plan [IFR].
Program a departure procedure [IFR].
Program a departure approach [IFR].
Program an arrival procedure [IRF].
Program a destination approach [IFR].
Program an alternate [IFR].
Explain the difference between the "Save" and "Exec" functions [IFR].
Load and execute a saved flight plan [IFR].
Accept direct to a pre-loaded waypoint in flight [IFR].
Accept a full re-route in flight [IFR].
Hold at a waypoint [IFR].
Enter a GPS approach and fly it [IFR].
Fly a missed approach [IFR].
Explain what happens on a GPS approach if you don't cross directly over the
FAF [IFR].
Explain the difference between "fly over" and "fly by" waypoints [IFR].
Explain use of the GPS while flying an ILS approach [IFR].
Describe several situations where the unit will go into suspend mode [IFR].

MAP FUNCTIONS.
Activate map mode.
Explain how map page 1 differs from the other pages.
Demonstrate use of various declutter controls.
Adjust map scale.
Turn auto-scaling on and off.
Explain the difference between magenta and white course lines [IFR].
Explain the meaining of a dashed course line [IFR].

MESSAGES.
Explain what the "Messages available" indicator looks like.
Demonstrate how to retrieve current or old messages.
Explain the meaning and proper action for the following common messages:
* WARNING Communications lost with [Com Radio, Nav Radio, etc].
* WARNING Altitude Encoder Communications Failure.
* WARNING Fuel Data Communications Failure.
* Countdown timer 1/2 expired [IFR].
* Steep turn ahead [IFR].
* Hold Parallel/Teardrop/Direct [IFR].
* WARNING Loss of Integrity Cross-Check NAV.
* Integrity Restored Normal Ops.
* WARNING Loss of Navigation.
* CDI Selection should be set to (Localizer/ILS/VOR) [IFR].
* VOR Receiver Should Be Tuned to xxx.xx for (approach) [IFR].
* Database expired on (date) [IFR].
* Baro Correction xx.yy CRSR to Change ENTER to Accept [IFR].
* Warning Loss of Navigation LOI On Approach [IFR].
* TILT Game Over

TIMERS.
Set and run a count-down timer [IFR].
Configure a timer to display superimposed on the map [IFR].