Come on people.....RT#M!

[Brantel]

I am just gonna say it since over the past few months there seems to be a huge increase in people that apparently have little regard for their personal safety.

Most of the manufacturers of our avionics and autopilot systems go thru great effort to make sure that their manuals for installation, configuration, ground and flight testing of their products is complete, accurate and ensure that a margin of safety is maintained.

Seeing post where manuals were not consulted, proper configuration was not done, ground testing was not completed or was haphazardly skimmed over etc. makes my skin crawl.

Failure to properly read, understand and follow ALL of the recommendations provided with your avionics and autopilot systems can cause personal injury and possibly kill you and your passengers. Also don't trust that a third party took care of all of this for you! Download the installation manuals and verify that the recommendations/ground checks have been followed.

I know for most of us this sounds like common sense.....however the postings that keep showing up on here and and other user groups prove otherwise.

Don't be in the next smoking hole or the next unscheduled rapid disassembly!

Add: To be clear I am not referring to the folks that try but struggle and need help or the impossible to follow recommendations in the manuals and the like. I am referring to those that don't even try or think they can skip the most basic of checks that are intended to catch most issues before they are a safety of flight issue. These products are not plug and play!

 

[Walt]

Why would anyone bother to read a manual when they can call someone or post all their questions on the internet? (sarcasm).
Actual reading is a lost art, searching the internet or YouTube for answers is what the majority of folks do now unfortunately.
Part of the reason I love Garmin is their commitment to old school documentation, I grew up on manuals and they know how important they are.
(I can't imagine being on the G3X help desk, you gotta be a saint to do that job).

 

[uk_figs]

I will agree that the manuals provide the core information required to wire, interconnect, configure, and operate what are pretty complex systems. I think it is also fair to point out that manuals can be incorrect, use confusing language, and miss key information. As much of the tech support responses are derived from reading the manual this can cause significant confusion and this forum is a wealth of information from people who have been down that rabbit hole and figured out the answers hence the questions. The Garmin manuals are good but they also have errors.
Figs

 

[rocketman1988]

I will agree that the manuals provide the core information required to wire, interconnect, configure, and operate what are pretty complex systems. I think it is also fair to point out that manuals can be incorrect, use confusing language, and miss key information. As much of the tech support responses are derived from reading the manual this can cause significant confusion and this forum is a wealth of information from people who have been down that rabbit hole and figured out the answers hence the questions. The Garmin manuals are good but they also have errors.
Figs

Yeah, and you cannot always follow the manual. For example, if you were to follow every specification for mounting your magnetometer that is in the manual, it would be located about ten feet off the wingtip, flying in close formation with the airframe…

 

[Rick_A]

Before I retired from working on large scale computer systems, I felt like the main reason I had a job was because customers didn’t want to take the time to read the manuals. So I read the manuals, the customers thought I was a great computer whiz and I got paid well enough to build my plane.

 

[Mike S]

Reading the manuals doesnt mean you understand and can use what is in them.

Some folks can process tech stuff, some have a great struggle with it.

 

[Jerry Fischer]

I think some are missing the point Brian is making here. Our Middle daughter, God love her, eschews reading directions and has to noodle through the solution which takes longer had she read the instructions. She sports a Bachelors and a masters degree in library science...go figure. If the directions are confusing as I agree sometimes are...re-read them and ask for help from the originator. Usually saves your bacon somewhere down the road...just my $.02.

 

[ChiefPilot]

Let the purse swinging continue, I guess.

 

[Brantel]

I will agree that the manuals provide the core information required to wire, interconnect, configure, and operate what are pretty complex systems. I think it is also fair to point out that manuals can be incorrect, use confusing language, and miss key information. As much of the tech support responses are derived from reading the manual this can cause significant confusion and this forum is a wealth of information from people who have been down that rabbit hole and figured out the answers hence the questions. The Garmin manuals are good but they also have errors.
Figs

Reading the manuals doesnt mean you understand and can use what is in them.

Some folks can process tech stuff, some have a great struggle with it.

Yeah, and you cannot always follow the manual. For example, if you were to follow every specification for mounting your magnetometer that is in the manual, it would be located about ten feet off the wingtip, flying in close formation with the airframe…

This is true but the vast majority of these post I am referring to reveal the sad truth once the details come out. To be clear I am not referring to the folks that try but struggle and need help or the impossible to follow recommendations in the manuals and the like. I am referring to those that don't even try or think they can skip the most basic of checks that are intended to catch most issues before they are a safety of flight issue.

 

[bjdecker]

Yeah, and you cannot always follow the manual. For example, if you were to follow every specification for mounting your magnetometer that is in the manual, it would be located about ten feet off the wingtip, flying in close formation with the airframe…

…Attached to a bamboo pole…

 

[bjdecker]

I am just gonna say it since over the past few months there seems to be a huge increase in people that apparently have little regard for their personal safety.

Most of the manufacturers of our avionics and autopilot systems go thru great effort to make sure that their manuals for installation, configuration, ground and flight testing of their products is complete, accurate and ensure that a margin of safety is maintained.

Seeing post where manuals were not consulted, proper configuration was not done, ground testing was not completed or was haphazardly skimmed over etc. makes my skin crawl.

Failure to properly read, understand and follow ALL of the recommendations provided with your avionics and autopilot systems can cause personal injury and possibly kill you and your passengers. Also don't trust that a third party took care of all of this for you! Download the installation manuals and verify that the recommendations/ground checks have been followed.

I know for most of us this sounds like common sense.....however the postings that keep showing up on here and and other user groups prove otherwise.

Don't be in the next smoking hole or the next unscheduled rapid disassembly!

Add: To be clear I am not referring to the folks that try but struggle and need help or the impossible to follow recommendations in the manuals and the like. I am referring to those that don't even try or think they can skip the most basic of checks that are intended to catch most issues before they are a safety of flight issue. These products are not plug and play!

^^ This ^^, +1, 5 ️…

 

[rv8ch]

I know for most of us this sounds like common sense.....however the postings that keep showing up on here and and other user groups prove otherwise.

Just curious, have you ever met a human?

I'm old school as well, and typically read a manual from cover to cover before even removing the item from the box. Drives my girls crazy, but lately, there simply is no manual. There is a link to a YT video which can be helpful, or a waste of time.

Sadly, since fewer and fewer people will read a manual, companies are opting to not produce one. Those that still do produce one seem to be spending less and less time making sure they are right and they make sense. I agree with the sentiment, and I think the reality is that the days of good manuals explaining things clearly are behind us, and we'll need to adapt to the communications methods of the younger generations.

The point that people need to deeply understand their systems is of course completely spot on. It's a big challenge for systems that have "light" documentation.

 

[Auburntsts]

Sadly RV-10 builder Dan Lloyd was the poster child for this and he paid the ultimate price for his hubris. Be careful out there.

 

[chaskuss]

It seems to me, that our current society's motto is:

When all else fails, read the d*** manual! [maybe]

 

[543TB]

The whole original point of homebuilding is that it is an intensive and educational experience. You WILL make mistakes, the question is how big/recoverable that mistake may be. But given enough time, work, and patience the summit can be reached and you are rewarded with an airworthy craft. That being said, the days of the straight simple VFR six-pack are largely in the past. Wiring your own Garmin system is a choose your own adventure romp through what when last I checked is a nearly 1000 page manual that sometimes requires you to make some intuitive leaps.

It is very easy to make a mistake, that's why Stein has such a strong business, and why Garmin has a help team.

But the prevailing attitude I see on social media (and been told to my face) is that "lesser idiots have done this" and it ought to be speedy and easy. I have spent many hours using this site to supplement and puzzle out the manuals, but relying on crowd-sourcing your info when you're too lazy to do the research is a recipe for disaster. Unfortunately, we have arrived at the point where it feels like the shortcut is the preferred way.

 

[RV7A Flyer]

It's not just here, and it's not just "kids these days". I have a classic car, and there are several fora for the particular model and years. Who owns classic cars? Yep...old guys. And *despite* the ready availability of complete Shop Manuals, parts lists and illustrated diagrams, electrical/trim/sealant manuals, carburetor maintenance and overhaul manuals, distributor manuals, and on and on and on, I'd say about 1/2 of the posts are from guys who *never even bothered to get the manuals*, let alone read them. And the 50s illustrated parts manuals with their exploded views of everything on the car are flat-out works of art, making finding the part numbers dirt simple.

It's a pet peeve of mine here, on the Dynon forums, on the car forums, everywhere. RTFM before you waste everyone's time, for your sake and ours.

 

[Richard Connell]

The sad thing is that it drives people that would be otherwise inclined to help away.
I don’t mind helping out with some obscure config or install issue, but when I see
“I engaged my AP at 500’ on the second flight in phase 1 and it tried to fly into the ground” it’s hard to be helpful.

 

[moosepileit]

Depends on your age, experience and generation with "manuals". Folks come to flying at all ages and technically advanced instruments at all experience levels.

I see a tech manual, as an age 50 plus Gen X flying since gliders at 14- where you memorized the manual and assembled/disassembled the glider at times, not just pre/post flighted... Anywho, I see a reference book for polishing up or troubleshooting once I've learned the basics in some form of school. Like the early DOS and Windows manuals.

Reference more than instruction, so take a class if not the self-taught-from-books type.

But- I'm also a retired mil heavies and part 121 pilot. It's my full time gig being standard and proficient enough to teach initial.

Learn from the manual? Heck, I could barely install anything from the manuals the first time.

We have a whole departments for creating and instructing standardizing the application of all the manuals.

Back to GA- No one posts a succesful full system check out test on the ground. They post mostly fully functional, well edited to a smooth flowing, pretty video.

Might be a good folder set/ thread/sticky when folks find good instruction on the entire process, not just the outcome.

There are several folks here that know this stuff cold and post very well about issues, like Bob Turner.

 

[Desert Rat]

Seems like this thread has veered from the original "read the manual for safety sake" to "read the manual because even though I know the answer off the top of my head, I've decided that you should be able to look it up."

I fully agree that people who strap on an airplane without having a clear understanding of how systems work, haven't done ops checks or configurations etc. can get themselves in a world of hurt. But to be fair, at least with Garmin, the G3X installation manual is now 1,011 pages long and pretty easy to miss stuff.

As for the rest of you guys, yeah, most things have a manual, and most of the time it's not that difficult to find. But you have to know what you're looking for first, and a lot of people are coming from a pretty small knowledge base in this particular area. If you were at the gas station and somebody from out of town asked you for directions, would you just tell them that you know exactly where they're going and could easily help them, but have decided not to because they should be able to look it up?

I've asked plenty of stupid questions in my life, and appreciate people who are willing to educate me.