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  #1  
Old 02-23-2009, 08:57 PM
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Ironflight Ironflight is offline
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Default A peek at GRT?s new Flight Director (software)

Last week I wrote about the Derived Angle of Attack indicator that Grand Rapids may be adding to a future release of their EFIS software. I have now flown quite a few approaches with it running and have yet to fool it in any way. (Mostly it is proving to me that I am flying my approaches much faster than I need to ? I should go out and fly some short field landings using the AOA, and will surprise myself at just how little runway it takes to put an RV on the ground!)

This last weekend I began playing with another new feature that they have written and are testing ? a Flight Director. I have flown several approaches with it, and yesterday I had it enabled for the long trip from Houston to Minneapolis ? it gave me something to play with while the hours and miles passed by. My first impressions are very positive ? it does just what a Flight Director should do; is smooth, responsive, and accurate; and its colors and representation are right up there with the best that I have used.

For those who haven?t flown with a Flight Director system, it is basically a display that shows you exactly what the autopilot is commanding the airplane to do. If the autopilot is engaged, then the actual airplane attitude should match the Flight Director commands. If the autopilot is not engaged (or you don?t have one), then the pilot?s job is to match the airplane attitude to the commands ? in effect, the pilot is nothing more than a ?meat servo? to do the job of the electro-mechanical servos. Most Flight Director?s include a set of command bars that look like an inverted ?V?. The attitude symbol representing the airplane is also shown as an inverted ?V?, but is a little smaller. You pull, push, or roll to nest the airplane?s symbol inside the command bars, and the plane is ?on guidance?. The GRT system is represented with purple command bars, and a yellowish attitude symbol ? both are well designed and very readable.

The Flight Director is enabled with a button push when selecting altitude or altitude rate. I have rarely used the altitude or rate pre-select because I have a simple AlTrak that doesn?t couple altitude to the EFIS, but now that I see that it can drive the Flight Director, this might very well change. You can command a vertical rate and it will provide pitch guidance to hold that rate ? of course with a complex autopilot, it will do that for you, but for a simple system, just match the bars and you get what you ask for. In addition to altitude and pitch commands, the Flight Director will give you bank commands to match guidance for enroute or approach functions. I have used it for both, and it is very precise. If I had a complex autopilot, I think I would like having this insight into what the EFIS is asking the autopilot to do ? it?s kind of a look inside the brains before things actually happen.

Now at this point, I must admit that I am sort of neutral on Flight Directors in general. To me, they are almost a generation old when it comes to giving the pilot useful information. Flight Directors tell you ?you should be here now? (in an attitude sense). You fly the airplane to that point, and chase the point around as it changes. You can be relatively sure that if you keep the airplane in the command bars that you will end up where you want to go (or where you have told the system that you want to go?). This is a vast improvement over flying raw ILS or VOR data that has to be interpreted in your head, but it is a step behind such display concepts as the Highway in the Sky (HITS) that shows you where you are in relation to a 3-D model of the surroundings or the ILS. While the Flight Director promises to get you to where you asked to go if you follow it exactly, the HITS gives you information to understand the multiple potential ways of getting to where you want to go. I have flown HITS displays enough that I am quite comfortable with what they are telling me, and feel that they give far better situational awareness. I know (and respect) pilots who have tried HITS and prefer a Flight Director. My experience has been that you need to fly the HITS a few times to really grasp it?s full capability, and once you do, the Flight Director will seem like looking at the world through a knot-hole. But this may be edging closer and closer to a Nose wheel/Tail dragger debate, and I don?t want to go there!

From the standpoint of Flight Directors, I am really excited by what I have seen so far in the upcoming GRT software. I know that several of the EFIS manufacturers are doing the same thing, and it never hurts to offer the option (unless it drags the overall systems performance down due to processor load ? not the case with the systems I have seen) for those that love to use it. I must admit, the display looks DANG cool set up for an ILS with the Flight Director and HITS enabled along with standard ILS bars along the edges, GPS-derived height-above ground, the AOA coming on?..in fact, if you?re the type that can suffer from information overload, you might want to turn a few of those things off to get started. We don?t want anyone?s brain to explode inside the outer marker?.

I don?t know GRT?s plan for releasing the AOA and Flight Director software, but I know they tend to be conservative about letting stuff out into the wild until they are happy with it. I?m happy with that philosophy personally ? never promise what you aren?t ready to deliver!

Pictures to come when I get a chance?.

Paul
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Paul F. Dye
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RV-8 - N188PD - "Valkyrie"
RV-6 (By Marriage) - N164MS - "Mikey"
RV-3B - N13PL - "Tsamsiyu"
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  #2  
Old 02-23-2009, 09:55 PM
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mannanj mannanj is offline
 
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Default GRT

Paul:

I find the HITS on the GRT to be much more intuitive than the bars on the ILS/GS needles. All this will be distilled down eventually into something a 20 hour student pilot can comprehend.

For an old fxxt like me, this is mind boggling! Just wishing the GRT HITS system (suppposedly 3 degree glideslope) didn't keep my wheels from chipping the paint off the church steeple a quarter mille from the touch down zone at my local airport.

I fly at the top of the HITS box when I play with the system.

If I had to bet my life on getting my wheels on the runway with the GRT, I think it could be done. HOWEVER! I will never bet my life on it. At 68 years old, there.s too many bucket list items left to check off!
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  #3  
Old 02-24-2009, 09:57 AM
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rvmills rvmills is offline
 
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Default FD/HITS ILS look and feel

Paul,

Sounds like a really nice FD presentation. Couple Qs on the combo of FD/HITS presentations during an ILS:

When you flew that ILS, did tucking the aircraft symbol into the V-bars put (or move) the Flight Path Marker into the middle of the HITS boxes?

As the approach progressed, was it an intuitive feel, and did it feel like both displays were telling you the same thing?

Also just wondering, did you find yourself flying the V-bars and cross-referencing the FPM, or vice-versa?

I don't have HITS, but fly what sounds like a very similar FD at work, and this sounds like a very powerful combo. Thanks for the PIREP...very interesting stuff!

Cheers,
Bob
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  #4  
Old 02-24-2009, 05:08 PM
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Default

Bob - good questions! Since the V-bars are really an attitude command system, and the HITS is showing you positional data, it is more correct to say that if you have the aircraft tucked in to the V-bar, then you HEADING towards a centered HITS. Once you get there, then they will coincide. The hing about the HITS is that you know exactly how far off you are from the center of the corridor, but with the V-bars, you just know you are heading in the right direction. If you are following a course with the V-bars, and then punch in a new course 90 (or more) degrees off, you will get a turn command, but not really know how much farther you have to go once you are tucked in. With the HITS, positional error is much more intuitive.

In other words, the Flight Director is saying "Trust me, I'll get you there", while the HITS is showing you whee it's taking you. I guess the HITS is more comfortable for me because of that difference. The Flight Director is an excellent source of "follow me" guidance, and sometimes when I get thrown into a new simulator, I find myself following the FD without question because I am behind the airplane, and it is the easiest way to stay on target (with standard cockpit equipment).

In the limited testing I have done so far, i find myself following the V-Bars when I am testing the FD, but really keeping track of the FPM because I know what it is telling me.

Yes, having both of them available is pretty cool, and if you like one so much you don't want the other....then you can turn either of them off!

Mannan - I know what you mean about the HITS not necessarily giving you protected airspace - I agree, which is why I only fly the HITS on a real ILS, and use it as reference only for non-precision approaches.

Paul
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Paul F. Dye
Editor at Large - KITPLANES Magazine
RV-8 - N188PD - "Valkyrie"
RV-6 (By Marriage) - N164MS - "Mikey"
RV-3B - N13PL - "Tsamsiyu"
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http://Ironflight.com
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  #5  
Old 02-24-2009, 05:21 PM
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Sticky1 Sticky1 is offline
 
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Default

Hummmmmm,

1st of all I need to finish wiring....

2nd of all is to have some fun......

Can't wait to see the up grades especially AOA.....

Last edited by Sticky1 : 02-25-2009 at 04:56 PM.
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  #6  
Old 02-24-2009, 06:19 PM
jeff122670 jeff122670 is offline
 
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Default

any pics???? my mouth is watering....lol!!!!!!

Jeff Ray
RV-9A, H-6, GRT twin screen
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  #7  
Old 02-24-2009, 07:56 PM
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Default best of both worlds

Paul, it sounds like the GRT has the best of both worlds. I too fly a FD in my C-425. I usually set the V Bars at 10^ up for takeoff and pitch to that at rotation. For flying around in the soup on assigned headings w/o AP on, it is great as well. I have only seen the HITS on a GRT for real, once and I loved it for an approach. Just ordered my finish kit today, so I don't have to make a decision on what to put in the panel just yet, but with reports like yours, my job will be easier. Keep up the good work.
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  #8  
Old 02-24-2009, 09:33 PM
flydoc flydoc is offline
 
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Default FD + HITS

Maybe it is obvious to everyone but me, but I have always thought that both the FD and the HITS displayed together would be the perfect EFIS for IFR approaches. The only one I've found that has done this (until now!) was the Garmin G900. It seems that using the HITS boxes for general alignment with the FD for precision would make approaches a no-brainer.
Mark
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  #9  
Old 02-25-2009, 01:28 AM
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rvmills rvmills is offline
 
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Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Ironflight View Post

snip...Since the V-bars are really an attitude command system, and the HITS is showing you positional data, it is more correct to say that if you have the aircraft tucked in to the V-bar, then you HEADING towards a centered HITS. Once you get there, then they will coincide. The thing about the HITS is that you know exactly how far off you are from the center of the corridor, but with the V-bars, you just know you are heading in the right direction...snip

snip...In other words, the Flight Director is saying "Trust me, I'll get you there", while the HITS is showing you whee it's taking you...snip

snip...The Flight Director is an excellent source of "follow me" guidance...snip

In the limited testing I have done so far, i find myself following the V-Bars when I am testing the FD, but really keeping track of the FPM because I know what it is telling me.

Yes, having both of them available is pretty cool...snip
Paul
Paul,

Thanks, really makes sense (and hope I didn't over-snip the quote!). That really sounds like the cat's meow. "Follow-me", plus rapid feedback on results...somewhat instant gratification...a good thing when you're flying an approach to mins!

Put it all on top of Synthetic Vision and a moving map with weather, and what a great Situational Awareness tool you have indeed!

Purty neat!!

Cheers,
Bob
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  #10  
Old 03-04-2009, 08:07 PM
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Ironflight Ironflight is offline
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Default All the Bells and Whistles! (Video)

Several people asked for pictures of the new Flight Director, and others asked how it looks in combination with the HITS, so this morning I went out and flew the ILS into Brazoria County Airport (KLBX) with ?All the Bells and Whistles? enabled. That meant arming the Synthetic Approach for the HITS, tuning in the ILS, enabling the Flight Director, and making sure that Synthetic Vision was turned on (although the terrain is so flat, you really can?t tell?). In addition to all these features, ?recording? was also enabled, as was AOA (although you won?t see it because I never got that slow). The processor seemed to handle all of this with ease.

I joined up on the ILS from level fight at 1800?, a couple miles outside the FAF (FREEP).Following the Flight Director, I overshot the centerline a bit ? if I had just been flying HITS, I would have increased the bank angle without thinking about it to stay in the corridor. Once on the Localizer, and outside the FAF, I was holding altitude based on the 1800? I had set for the Flight Director ? once the glide slope was captured just outside FREEP, the Flight Director guided me down through the HITS. I stayed a little under the GS to keep a little space between the attitude chevron and the command bars so they wouldn?t merge in the low-resolution world of internet videos.

Another feature in the Beta test world is the addition of runways to the Synthetic Vision, and you can see how this looks as I come up on the airport ? tis should really help with height perception in the dark in terrain with more relief. You will also notice the ?height above touchdown that floats near the flight path indicator ? this is derived from GPS data, and keeps you from having to do math in public ? or on a dark and stormy night?.

Anyway ? here?s the video ? enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uu1Pqa1409Y

Paul
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Editor at Large - KITPLANES Magazine
RV-8 - N188PD - "Valkyrie"
RV-6 (By Marriage) - N164MS - "Mikey"
RV-3B - N13PL - "Tsamsiyu"
A&P, EAA Tech Counselor/Flight Advisor
Dayton Valley Airpark (A34)
http://Ironflight.com
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