Airspeed Response and Rate-of-Change
There is no adjustment on the Mini for the filtering of the airspeed. This filtering could be responsible for the difference in response time of the airspeed you have observed. If there were significant restrictions or possibly water trapped in your pitot/static connections, this could also cause an effect like this.
The filtering we use on the airspeed is the same we have used for the last 10 years on all of our EFIS products. The filtering was chosen as a compromise between response time and smoothness. We have never had any complaints or issues regarding response time of our airspeed, so if it is significantly slow, I would take a look to make sure the pitot line is not kinked or somehow restricted.
The smoothness of our airspeed allows the rotating digits to clearly show the rate-of-change of airspeed, which I find as important as the airspeed itself.
The observation about the landings being better with an EFIS are probably true. I bought an airplane with a competitors EFIS, and I found the airspeed responded quickly, but was so noisy that the rotating digits did not convey any rate-of-change of airspeed, as they were just moving erratically. I had not realized how my brain was picking that data up unconsciously from our EFIS, and how without rate-of-change of airspeed it was harder to know how my airspeed was changing. I had to compensate by re-checking my airspeed more often on approach, and I did find it harder to control my airspeed as precisely.
Greg Toman
Grand Rapids Technologies, Inc.
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Linear Mode
