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Options: Good/Bad News

The good news is that our electronics give us options. The bad news is that it’s not always obvious which is the best option to use.

Gemini Sparkle

Key Takeaways:

  • Modern aircraft cockpits offer pilots three key display configuration choices: map orientation (north-up or track-up), attitude indicator roll pointers (fixed or sky), and flight director styles (cross-pointer or inverted-V).
  • For moving maps, the article suggests a contextual approach—using track-up for in-flight navigation and north-up for planning or specific tasks like holding patterns—with many systems allowing automatic transitions.
  • The choice between fixed and sky roll pointers, or cross-pointer and inverted-V flight directors, can be a matter of personal preference, but transitioning between different types can lead to confusion or negative learning transfer, as implicated in a fatal accident.
  • Pilots are encouraged to apply the "Laws of Instruction" (Primacy, Exercise, and Readiness) to adapt to these display options, emphasizing the lasting impact of early exposure, the benefits of practice, and the importance of experimenting with new configurations.
See a mistake? Contact us.

With the advent of GPS, moving maps, tablets with aviation apps, and glass panels driven by software, we now have more choices. Having choices in three displays typically results in heated debates among pilots in FBO lounges and hangars, and especially out in the blogosphere. Those, um, “discussions” focus on three display options.

Our moving maps give us the option to display the map with north up or with track up. (There is a third option: Heading-up, which we will not consider; we are more concerned about the course over the ground, i.e., the “track.” Plus, heading up is similar enough to track up that most of the same arguments apply.)

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