In this tutorial we’ll quickly go over the basics of interacting with the G1000, entering a small IFR flight plan, and filing with ATC after departing from an uncontrolled airport.
Interacting with the G1000
For flight planning purposes, all interactions with the G1000 are done via the FMS knob at the bottom right of the Navigation Display. In “Legacy” mode, clicking the top of the knob pushes it in to turn the cursor on and off. In “Lock” mode, highlight the inner knob, press and hold the button assigned to "Cockpit Interaction -Primary Action " (default Left Mouse Button for PC) to lock onto the knob, then press the button assigned to "Cockpit Interaction - Secondary Action " (default Right Mouse Button for PC) to push it in. The larger/outer knob moves the cursor between fields. The smaller/inner knob is used to enter/change the data in the selected field.
Alright, let’s begin; Make sure Co-Pilot Assist is turned off or they’ll start making VFR radio calls the moment you turn on the battery, then things get messy with the ATC portion later.
- At the bottom right of the display click the “FPL” (Flight Plan) button to open the Active Flight Plan page
- Push in the inner knob to activate the cursor, you should currently see a blinking blue bar at the top of the flight plan page.
- Now we’re going to enter our departure airfield, in this example I will be using Toronto Buttonville CYKZ. First turn the inner knob clockwise until the letter “C” is displayed (if using an airfield/waypoint higher in the alphabet, you can turn the knob counter clockwise for faster entry)
Once the correct letter is set, turn the outer knob clockwise to move the cursor to the right. Repeat this process until the full ICAO identifier is entered.
Press the “ENT” (Enter) key to confirm your entry.
- Repeat Step 3 in sequence for each desired waypoint and your destination airfield. For this example our flight plan will be CYKZ → OO → YCF → LANRK → CYOW. This example flight plan also gives you examples of entering an airfield, NDB, VOR, and waypoint respectively. We’ll look at the PROC button and SIDs/STARs another time.
Press the FPL button to remove the Flight Plan Screen from the display
- (optional) Turn the Range knob to zoom out the map and verify your flight plan
- In this example we’re using an uncontrolled airfield, make your normal traffic radio calls for taxi/takeoff, after takeoff and clear of the airfield tune your local departure frequency (in this example 133.4). Select the option “Request IFR Clearance for Instrument FP”
7 Receive your clearance and enjoy your flight.
