Attitude Indicator

Attitude Indicator

Now we'll take a detailed look at the information in the attitude indicator section of the screen.

Attitude indicator – There are two modes for the attitude indicator, 'Synthetic Vision' and 'Standard.' In Standard mode, an artificial horizon is shown as a white line, with blue for the sky and brown for the ground. In Synthetic Vision mode, you'll see blue for the sky, but will see a representation of terrain on the ground including mountains, rivers and lakes. Terrain at or above your altitude is shown in red. What you see is a simulated view “out the front window.”

Indicated airspeed in knots is shown as a moving tape on the left side of the attitude box. The current digital airspeed is found in the box in the middle of the tape. Colored arcs are depicted on the tape as well as Vx and Vy speeds for reference.

True Air Speed as calculated using the current outside air temperature is shown at the top of the screen.

Ground Speed is displayed at the bottom of the screen, as calculated using the GPS

A magenta airspeed trend line appears to the right of the airspeed tape, showing you where your airspeed will be in 10 seconds if the current rate of change remains constant. This really helps nail those approaches.

Magnetic Heading is displayed in the box at the top center of the display. The heading is determined by a sensitive magnetometer and flies like a gyro. No drift, no lag, and it doesn't need resetting.

Altimeter – On the right side of the AI, an altitude tape displays the current altitude calibrated up to 30,000’. A ‘foot’ is shown in brown to indicate the ground level at your current position. This is derived from the terrain database. Your altitude AGL is also shown at the bottom of the display.

The current altimeter setting is shown at the top of the screen, and can be shown in Mb, MSL, or In. Hg. The setting is changed in the settings screen.

An Altitude 'bug' can be shown on the altitude tape to help you remember an assigned altitude, decision height, or whatever.

Vertical speed indicator – A black bar to the left of the altimeter shows your climb or descent rate along with the digital value to the nearest 100 feet/minute.

A magenta trend line will also show you where your altitude will be in 10 seconds if the current rate is maintained. It it much more sensitive than the VSI.

Turn Coordinator – Two yellow tic marks at the top of the AI indicate the bank angle required for a standard rate turn at the current airspeed. They spread out when you speed up and move closer together when you slow down. When the bottom black triangle is aligned with a yellow mark, you're in a standard rate turn.

Slip/Skid indicator – A traditional “ball in the tube of kerosene” is displayed at the bottom of the attitude indicator, as calculated from the internal sensors.

G-Meter - Its always nice to know how many Gs you're pulling, so we show you. Min and Max Gs are shown in the settings screen.

Current Autopilot source - The source used to drive the autopilot is displayed in the upper left corner of the screen. When the autopilot is engaged, the word Autopilot appears just above the source. The source can be GPS, Virtual VOR, Heading bug, Course Bug, and External glideslope.