Talk to me, baby

Ive come to believe that single-pilot IFR in a fully loaded, glass-cockpit-but without using an autopilot-can be the toughest IFR flying you can do. The past month has found me in the clouds with and without students in a couple different airframes that I hadnt recently flown. Thats important because I wasnt in the groove with known power settings and trim. Theres more load on the scan when the plane is less familiar and thats where glass shows its biggest weakness: Visual channel overload.

Key Takeaways:

• Single-pilot IFR in a glass cockpit without using an autopilot is identified as a uniquely challenging form of flying due to significant visual channel overload.
• While beneficial, modern glass cockpits exacerbate this overload by presenting much information visually, unlike legacy cockpits which relied more on auditory data delivery.
• The author advocates for integrating more auditory systems into cockpits to shift data from the eyes to the ears, thereby reducing visual strain, improving awareness, and enhancing safety.

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