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Heads up airspeed display on the windshield?


GravityKnight

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Not really necessary, it's pretty easy/quick to glance at the dynon.... but I like gadgets and I come from the car world (when I own my own plane- probably a kitfox or similar, I will probably install a wideband for example). And when you are really fighting a nasty crosswind, or coming in over obstacles for a short field where you want just enough airspeed or some other high workload time it seems to be it would be nice!

 

I searched around a little but didn't find anything, has anyone ever seen anything like this?

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Most regulations forbid this (edit for clarification: regs forbid anything that shines off of the windshield). They want the pilot to have absolute clarity and not be distracted. This is why all panels have a black top. The military doesn't even do this,

 

Having a HUD device is a better option.

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The iPhone has multiple apps for this but they'd all be ground speed instead of airspeed. Many people use this instead of buying an expensive HUD. Just search HUD in the app store, download and then place your phone on the dash board with Velcro. It'll reflect up on the windscreen showing you groundspeed. Great for cars, probably dangerous for airplanes...

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If your head is inside the cockpit so much you need IAS then you are flying more dangerously than you should...Learn to 'feel' your airspeed and attitude, keep your head outside the cockpit 80% of the time.

 

Practice slow flight, give yourself the ability to fly by whats hitting your ass, not your eyes.

 

The instruments are backup, not primary. If you find yourself referring to them a lot, then you are getting panel-bound. Practice pattern flying and reducing your speed by 'sound' and you will be surprised how quickly you no longer need the instrument reference.

 

I don't look at my panel but a glance here and there double check airspeed. And obviously during low workload times I'm watching temps etc. But the approach to my home strip comes in over power lines on one end, and a house on the other... and its a short field. Proper approach speed is important. But (obviously) it's not a time to be looking inside... hence my original question!

 

I'm probably more of a seat of the pants kind of person than I should be.... and because I don't want to spend any more time looking inside than needed, I asked my original question. In my opinion, it would make it safer, being able to see your airspeed without ever looking inside during those critical stick and rudder moments. If it's not legal, then that's the end of this conversation...

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HUDs are not illegal, but shining anything off the windshield is. You can have a helmet or a dashboard device though.

 

And CTLSi, one would argue that it is a good thing to have information as accessible and digestible as possible. I do agree though that the stick and rudder skills should not be ignored.

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The one I linked to above would just need output from an AHARS and a GPS (via Bluetooth or WiFi) to give full flight information as well as navigation data. You could get nav data as a deviation from a line like a HSI or as HITS (Highway In The Sky) boxes for you to fly through. I think when Google Glass, the Lumus products, and other wearable displays get more commonplace you will see aviation apps for them very fast.

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That's wild, I want one!

 

Here's a link to an Italian company that offers one that is suppose to be compatible with Dynon. It's about $5,000.

 

http://www.patavioni...p/overview.html

 

dang... that's a bit out of my price range. Neat piece of equipment though. Thanks for sharing this, doesn't hurt to dream I guess.

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A 3 x 5 flat screen device on top of the mushroom (very little, if any, obstruction of view) with just a simple IAS and AOA display would be all the info. you need from turn to base to turn off the runway. It would only need input from something that has this info. (like my D100) and could be a portable device.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Had another thought.... what about an add-on audio device that reads airspeed. Something you can switch on when you want it, reads out airspeed each time you change a knot up or down, or 2 knots etc. Again not necessary, but it would be "cool"... anything out there for the GA tinkerer?

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Missed this first time around.

 

HUDs are not illegal, but shining anything off the windshield is.

 

Is that a certification thing? Or is there a reg prohibiting it?

 

 

As an aside, are we getting a little gadget-crazy here?

 

At some point do they not detract from the simple joy of flight?

 

Honest questions, and I suspect we each have our own comfort levels with this stuff.

 

But just maybe consider that at least sometimes, less is more.

 

 

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Yes, especially considering we are flying VFR, daytime only. Just look out the window and fly the plane. As a matter of fact, some of you might enjoy making a flight with only pilotage and dead reckoning and leave the GPS off. Of course, I suspect some don't even own a sectional chart. As part of my SkyCatcher check-out, we turned the Garmin off and made a couple landings with no instruments at all, just seat-of-the-pants.

 

Consider "some". I fly my CTSW at night....especially at night in the summer.....

 

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When a primary student would start getting too fixated on the instruments, I would sometimes bring along a towel and we would do maneuvers with EVERYTHING covered up inside the plane.

 

1) It showed them it WAS possible, and,

 

2) Often their flying noticeably improved.

 

And this was when a basic "six pack" and maybe 1 VOR were the major distractors.

 

We now take moving maps for granted, but they are a very new addition to the cockpit.

 

I remember peering into a Decathalon and seeing one of the first panel-mounted moving maps I had ever seen.

 

When I looked more closely, the fellow had just cut out a picture of a moving map display and pasted it over an empty instrument hole!

 

Little did we suspect then how inexpensive and prevalent the technology would become!

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Before I'm accused of being a "Neo-Liddite", when I was at the hangar yesterday mounting my new fire extinguisher (more on that with a photo in the appropriate thread) I actually counted the number of batteries in my Sky Arrow.

 

It's not a small number.

 

I'll keep the suspense up for now, but will post the final count somewhere later today.

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