Previous Bravo Blog...

It sure looks cool, until you turn onto final approach. I'm talking about the glass cockpit, and the one thing you never want to do while landing with it. Hold that thought, and the nose off, for just a second.

But first, even if you like the so-called steam gauges, sooner or later you're going to have to - and want to - learn to fly with the G1000 or similar system.

Don't get me wrong. It's a beautiful thing. Two brilliantly-colored monitors packed with more information than most pilots will ever need or use, ready to guide you through the toughest airspace and weather conditions, all right in front of you.

Of course it will take about 10 hours in the plane to get comfortable with it, but there's one thing that's generally not taught when making the transition, and it rears its ugly head in the first few lessons. It goes something like this:

All is well during the flight. You're ready to descend into the pattern. You pull the power, watch the digital airspeed tape decrease, drop in some flaps, and turn base. More flaps, slower airspeed, turn final.

You're looking at the runway numbers, centering them in the windscreen. Then you check your airspeed. 70 knots. 65 knots. 58 knots. Back to 67 knots. Whoa. It's jumping all around.

Quick glance back at the runway. Then back to the airspeed. 62 knots. 55 knots. Here comes the flare. Stall horn. 48 knots. 43 kno... Thump! Again, thump!

Another lap around the pattern probably won't fix the problem. And just when you thought you knew how to land a Cessna Skyhawk, your confidence is shot. So what went wrong?

I was convinced Cessna has changed the aerodynamics of its plane and made it harder to land until a wise instructor intervened.

"When landing with a glass cockpit, don't lock in on the airspeed tape. It's way more sensitive than the round dials and so you'll find yourself chasing 65 knots on short final and before you know it, you've forgotten about the landing." Thump.

Here's what I had failed to realize: your airspeed is always fluctuating by several knots on final approach, but the old airspeed needle just isn't as sensitive, so you're not as tempted to hone in on it.

And sure enough, on my next attempt, I found the runway numbers and stabilized the approach at 70 knots. The tape was still showing plus or minus 5 knots on short final, but I ignored the fluctuations and concentrated on the runway.

Roundout. Flare. Kiss. It was possible, after all, for the glass to yield those glassy landings.

Article by Chris Archer; Send him an email