Exploring Useful Features of the G1000 Flight Deck
Throughout a number of my longer cross-country flights, I am guilty of scrolling through pages upon pages of the G1000 menu trying to find a feature or function I have yet to use. Granted, I haven’t used them all but you never know when you might need one of those uncommonly-used features, right? During one of my more recent flights, I had the opportunity to use a function, which during my many hours of browsing through the G1000 menu structure, I often wondered, “When will I ever use this?” My curiosity had paid off!
I was on a brief cross-country to visit some family during the 4th of July holiday. While on frequency with Chicago Center, the radio went quiet – uncomfortably quiet, especially since it was a holiday weekend. With the exception of my six-year-old daughter singing from the backseat, I realized it had been awhile since I heard another pilot or air traffic controller over frequency. So, to put my mind at ease I kindly checked-in to remind them I was still on and level at 8,000 feet. No response. I checked-in again – radio silence. So, my first instinct: dial in the previous frequency where I talked to ATC last and check-in with someone else.
Again, no response.
The good news: I had a plethora of information at my fingertips and although I was on an instrument flight plan, I was in visual flight conditions so it was time to start pulling out my bag of tricks. On the Primary Flight Display (PFD) of the G1000, I selected the ‘NRST’ or the nearest softkey. This displayed a small inset window with a number of airports, my distance from them, frequency and runway information. Because I wasn’t looking to divert to an airport anytime soon, I chose to display the nearest Air Route Traffic Control Center (ARTCC) frequencies, which house the special set of air traffic controllers I was speaking with prior to the radio going silent. I found the frequency closest to my position, gave them a call and was connected to a controller who I could reach. The culprit? A bad transmitter on the ground caused any and all transmissions on the particular frequencies I previously tried, to not go through as expected.
So, next time while you’re on a low-key cross-country, don’t be afraid to explore the menu structure of your avionics. You never know when the least frequently used features will help you out if you find yourself in a pinch!
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