4
Rant: My instructor at the academy said to always trust the built-in test on the Garmin G1000, but that cost me a whole day on a King Air last week.
The BIT said the AHRS was fine, but after chasing my tail, I found a corroded pin in the back connector that the test doesn't even check, so what other systems have blind spots like that?
3 comments
Log in to join the discussion
Log In3 Comments
andrew_kelly2mo ago
Look at any old plane without a glass cockpit. They fly just fine without a built in test telling them every little thing. A bad pin is a pain, but you found it. The system did its main job. People get too used to the computer doing all the thinking. Sometimes you just have to pull out the book and check the wires yourself.
4
jade_grant952mo ago
Ever check the standby attitude indicator after a BIT pass? I've seen the G1000 say all good while the backup gyro was slowly tumbling. The system test doesn't watch that needle.
2
My buddy had a Cessna 172 with a backup attitude indicator that was 12 degrees off level and the G1000 never blinked once during its test. He only caught it because he noticed the horizon line looked a little off during a turn. I get that BIT is convenient but people act like its the gospel truth every time it passes. A quick cross check with the turn coordinator or even just looking outside is still the real test if you ask me. It's like trusting a credit card reader that says approved without checking if the money actually left your account.
8