G1000 SoftKeys

[Yellow Son]

If only the Garmin documentation was as good as the kit . . . .

Throughout the various reference manuals I find lots of reference to the OBS/SUSP softkey and (more or less) what to do with it. What isn't so clear is how to make it appear in the first place! 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?

Incidentally, despite (or perhaps because of) all the hundreds of pages of reference material Garmin kindly make available FOC, there is another topic which I don't find covered at all well - VNav. The manuals are fine on loading a plan/arrival/approach, but a bit (well, quite a lot) vague about what really happens in the air. How much does the autopilot/Flight Director do without prompting? I am mildly reluctant to experiment in the air, and I don't find Garmin's own PC-based software is stable enough (on my PC, anyhow) to give me confidence that it is fully representative.

Perhaps there is a market for a 'this is how you do it' product to supplement the very detailed but not very readable Garmin manuals? Or perhaps I'm just being dim?

[englishal]

They are called softkeys because they activate at different times. For example the SUSP (if memory serves me right) appears when flying an IAP, and when you go missed approach the MAProcedure is suspended until you press the softkey. Pressing the softkey enables the MAP.

VNAV appears when flying a GPS approach and vertical guidance is available but not LPV. If LPV is available then that will appear instead.

The best thing you could do is experiment either in the air or in a proper sim.

[Yellow Son]

Thanks for taking the trouble to answer, englishal.

Yes, I know the principle of Softkeys - they were on my TV and mobile phone long before Garmin introduced the G1000! My specific problem with the SUSP/OBS Softkey is that the very comprehensive notes don't make it clear (not to me, anyhow) under what circumstances they become visible/available; and in particular whether I can call them up at will. Yes, I've noticed that the OBS Softkey can (but doesn't always) appear when using GPS, but it 'started life' as the Omni-Bearing Selector related to nav beacons long before Satnav was around, so surely it should be available when using just radio aids?

On reflection I think I really have 2 separate questions. The one about how to control when the OBS/SUSP key appears is a specific one for which I can't find an answer in the literature.

The other is more general. Garmin produce shedloads of reference material which they make available free; so far, so good. But it isn't really high-quality teaching (or self-teaching) material. I take your point about trying a simulator, but the one available to me at the club costs a lot. On my home PC I run Garmin's own '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 using G1000 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.

[soay]

The OBS softkey is enabled when a flight plan is active. If you turn OBS on, the next waypoint is treated like a VOR, and the CDI course pointer sets the course to that waypoint. One handy trick is to switch the autopilot to heading mode, when the airport is the next waypoint, then press OBS and rotate the CDI knob to the runway heading. Then you've got an extended centreline to aim at for your base join. OBS works as you'd expect with VORs.

The SUSP key is used in conjunction with instrument landings. It is shown at the missed approach point. Press it after you've executed the missed approach instructions, to receive guidance to the next waypoint.

I've found Max Trescott's G1000 Glass Cockpit Handbook (http://g1000book.com/) to be very useful - perhaps because it's not free! ;)

[Yellow Son]

The OBS softkey is enabled when a flight plan is active.

Sounds so simple when you say it! Perhaps that piece of advice is in the documents somewhere, but it certainly passed me by - many, many thanks for the insight.

The book you mention doesn't seem to be easily available in UK so I'll wait until I am next in the US. Meanwhile, I'm continuing to find stacks of stuff on YouTube, though it's taking a while to carry out a wheat/chaff sort. I wonder if the fact that there is so much there supports my impression that Garmin's own extensive documentation is not clear enough? I do feel a bit mean about criticising it, because it is certainly detailed and - mostly - comprehensive; perhaps it's my own fault for expecting it to be something it wasn't designed to be.

But my main message is - thanks again, Soay!

[pstamp]

Have you seen John Dittmer's book Garmin G1000W - a Pilot Friendly Manual published by ZD Publishing in Wichita. I bought it and find it useful.