Mini wish list
Posted: Fri May 22, 2015 5:07 am
I've recently got my mini-x working in serial with a Garmin 296. I've got it configured where the Garmin 296 is GPS2 and the Mini internal is GPS1.
I flew 5 legs with it yesterday its awesome! Like anything this complicated and capable there are going to be things that users would like to change. Of course you guys will do what you think is best, but hopefully you'll consider the following:
1) More significant selected target altitude symbol:
Right now the small magenta altitude target that slides up and down the altitude tape is hard to see and forces the user to waste valuable scan time to compare numbers to judge altitude compliance. I suggest making the altitude target a large checkerboard matching "puzzle piece" all the user has to do is think of the black altitude block as an airplane nose and fly it up or down into the checkerboard. Push the black airplane nose down onto the target or pull the black airplane nose up into the checkerboard target, easy to do and requires no number reading. A quick glance at the screen will instantly show if high or low from target altitude.
You'll also see that I changed the VSI display to a simple arrow that grows as needed up or down from the aircraft reference altitude line. It doesn't have to be exact since the exact number is shown numerically in a black box that the arrow points towards
2) Enroute HITS for External Flight Plan waypoints also:
When I have the mini using GPS2, the waypoints will sequence off the Garmin 296's flight plan as each one is passed, and the next one will become active just fine. The only problem I've discovered is that on the PFD display the magenta line in the sky is hard to see on the screen. If I am going direct to a fix using the mini's internal GPS1, the available Highway In The Sky (HITS) is far superior, especially when the boxes are white.
The problem right now is that HITS is only available when using the INTERNAL mini flight plan, not the external one off the Garmin. So right now I have to go to the FLIGHT PLAN, copy the external Garmin 296 active waypoint to the mini internal plan, and then go back to the PFD and switch to using GPS1 then the HITS starts working.
Then as my flight progresses, I have to repeat that process for each waypoint leg. I've tried copying the entire multiple leg flight plan from the garmin to the mini, but it only copies the active waypoint from the external gps.
Logic would lead me to hope that if the magenta line can be drawn in the sky from the external flight plan, then maybe the enroute HITS can too?
3) Quick Re-Direct
When using the Mini's own internal GPS flight plan navigation, some sort of main menu single button push to recalculate present position direct to the current active waypoint would be useful for VFR flying. How many times a day do we drift off course to look at something, avoid a cloud or traffic and then wish to proceed direct from there towards destination? Some sort on instant re-direct button would be a great addition. This of course would not apply if navigating off an external GPS source like in #2 above, where the waypoint redirect would be initiated on the external gps unit.
4) SAP enhancements:
The Synthetic AP approach (SAP) HITS is great for situational awareness. However, the green and red Height Above Touchdown (HAT) numbers are hard to see in the ground clutter, so I suggest putting them in a gray box a with a label.
Another feature I would like to see would be the ability to set a non-standard (steeper) glidepath angle to the runway. I can understand the reluctance to do this for safety purposes, but maybe it could be done with some sort of routine where it defaults to present settings, and has to be changed if desired on a case by case basis. Right now, I'm flying a slow high drag aircraft that on a normal glideslope is absolutely dragging it in at 3 degrees, so I just fly about 1.5 boxes above the boxes to the runway. Being able to chose 4 or 5 degrees would put it right where I operate normally to make the runway in case of engine failure.
Thanks for your consideration, and a great product!
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Original Screen
Suggested Changes
I flew 5 legs with it yesterday its awesome! Like anything this complicated and capable there are going to be things that users would like to change. Of course you guys will do what you think is best, but hopefully you'll consider the following:
1) More significant selected target altitude symbol:
Right now the small magenta altitude target that slides up and down the altitude tape is hard to see and forces the user to waste valuable scan time to compare numbers to judge altitude compliance. I suggest making the altitude target a large checkerboard matching "puzzle piece" all the user has to do is think of the black altitude block as an airplane nose and fly it up or down into the checkerboard. Push the black airplane nose down onto the target or pull the black airplane nose up into the checkerboard target, easy to do and requires no number reading. A quick glance at the screen will instantly show if high or low from target altitude.
You'll also see that I changed the VSI display to a simple arrow that grows as needed up or down from the aircraft reference altitude line. It doesn't have to be exact since the exact number is shown numerically in a black box that the arrow points towards
2) Enroute HITS for External Flight Plan waypoints also:
When I have the mini using GPS2, the waypoints will sequence off the Garmin 296's flight plan as each one is passed, and the next one will become active just fine. The only problem I've discovered is that on the PFD display the magenta line in the sky is hard to see on the screen. If I am going direct to a fix using the mini's internal GPS1, the available Highway In The Sky (HITS) is far superior, especially when the boxes are white.
The problem right now is that HITS is only available when using the INTERNAL mini flight plan, not the external one off the Garmin. So right now I have to go to the FLIGHT PLAN, copy the external Garmin 296 active waypoint to the mini internal plan, and then go back to the PFD and switch to using GPS1 then the HITS starts working.
Then as my flight progresses, I have to repeat that process for each waypoint leg. I've tried copying the entire multiple leg flight plan from the garmin to the mini, but it only copies the active waypoint from the external gps.
Logic would lead me to hope that if the magenta line can be drawn in the sky from the external flight plan, then maybe the enroute HITS can too?
3) Quick Re-Direct
When using the Mini's own internal GPS flight plan navigation, some sort of main menu single button push to recalculate present position direct to the current active waypoint would be useful for VFR flying. How many times a day do we drift off course to look at something, avoid a cloud or traffic and then wish to proceed direct from there towards destination? Some sort on instant re-direct button would be a great addition. This of course would not apply if navigating off an external GPS source like in #2 above, where the waypoint redirect would be initiated on the external gps unit.
4) SAP enhancements:
The Synthetic AP approach (SAP) HITS is great for situational awareness. However, the green and red Height Above Touchdown (HAT) numbers are hard to see in the ground clutter, so I suggest putting them in a gray box a with a label.
Another feature I would like to see would be the ability to set a non-standard (steeper) glidepath angle to the runway. I can understand the reluctance to do this for safety purposes, but maybe it could be done with some sort of routine where it defaults to present settings, and has to be changed if desired on a case by case basis. Right now, I'm flying a slow high drag aircraft that on a normal glideslope is absolutely dragging it in at 3 degrees, so I just fly about 1.5 boxes above the boxes to the runway. Being able to chose 4 or 5 degrees would put it right where I operate normally to make the runway in case of engine failure.
Thanks for your consideration, and a great product!
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Original Screen
Suggested Changes