Magic and Mirrors

Synthetic Vision has to be done by magic. Gotta be magic.

Still learning SV capabilities and have been exploring use of synthetic Vision, the flight path marker and highway-in-the-sky. These tools provide an intriuging look at perhaps a whole different way of flying on instruments. Could this be the future for instrument approaches?

2.4 miles out and getting established on the glide slope, and in the boxes.


1.4 miles out and pointing the pipper at RWY 20 with the stick. It’s like aiming a gun. Autopilot is off.


0.6 mile final and flying the pipper to the threshold


0.1 mile and pointing to a touchdown; I believe you could fly the pipper right down to the flair. In fact, I know you can. If you do this, fly it with a safety pilot.


Yep, it’s magic…

Wow, great screenshots, thanks for sharing Tony!!

About as cool as it gets!

Yup - I've been doing it that way for a dozen years ( or more) with various EFIS's HiTS technology and a velocity vector make this this stuff easy - or at least much easier than in the old days.

Ironflight said:

Yup - I've been doing it that way for a dozen years ( or more) with various EFIS's HiTS technology and a velocity vector make this this stuff easy - or at least much easier than in the old days.

Click to expand...

Hey Paul, how does this stuff compare with the imstrumentation in the early models of the shuttle?

BigJohn said:

Hey Paul, how does this stuff compare with the imstrumentation in the early models of the shuttle?

Click to expand...

Light years ahead of the early (or late) shuttle!

Great stuff!

I agree, it's awesome. And with the VNAV function, it sure makes the "when should I start my descent" question easy to solve, visually at that.

Although not yet legal for substituting for visual ability outside the cockpit, I find SV to be a game changer for situational awareness when doing approaches and have used it many, many times since getting it a couple years back.

There's nothing like being in IMC down to a 200' VV and looking for the REIL's; it's almost like cheating and sure takes a lot of the uncertainty out of it.

Magical indeed. (or GPS signals...)

Tony_T said:

Synthetic Vision has to be done by magic. Gotta be magic.

Still learning SV capabilities and have been exploring use of synthetic Vision, the flight path marker and highway-in-the-sky. These tools provide an intriuging look at perhaps a whole different way of flying on instruments. Could this be the future for instrument approaches?

Click to expand...

People still hand-fly approaches???

IMHO, the hardest approach yet, is a well flown visual, without electronic guidance and neither VASI or PAPI.