The landscape for almost everything has changed, including aviation. There had been only one type of trainer aircraft used for teaching pilots how to learn to fly but today, because of advancements in technology, there are now two types of trainer airplanes that you could choose from. Every student pilot and aspiring aviator should know what these two types are, because they will have to choose between the two when they start taking flight lessons.
These two trainer aircraft are the glass and steam panels. Each one of them have their own unique set of features that set them apart from each other. Of course, there are also advantages and disadvantages when you use one or the other. Knowing these things will be very helpful when you're making up your mind about which panel you should be using for your flight training.
A Steam Panel
A steam panel trainer aircraft relies solely on old school aircraft instruments that rely on steam systems and rely less on electronics that are otherwise the trademark of glass panel trainers. You find a lot more steam panel aircraft than glass panel aircraft used in flight lessons because they don't charge as much as glass panel aircraft do. There are less electronics to maintain and take care of so obviously it's not as expensive.
The biggest drawback to a steam panel, however, is that certain aspects of flight lessons have to be done manually like the use of an E6B flight computer and the use of paper maps to know the diagram of the destination airport. You could say learning to fly using a steam panel could be a bit daunting because of the amount of workload a student has to process.
A Glass Panel
On the other hand, working with a glass trainer is described as "smooth" and "easy going" by some student pilots and instructors alike. That is because the onboard computer - like in a G1000 trainer - greatly reduces and makes easier the workload during flight training. Imagine, you only need to punch up the information that you need and it will show up on your computer as long as the owner has kept the memory cards up to date. Everything you need is loaded and accessible with the computer, like weather systems along the way and layouts of the airport that you are heading to.
However, a glass panel trainer can be expensive to own or even to rent because of high maintenance costs aside from the rental and fuel fees. Aside from that, student pilots might end up relying more on the computer and learn less about the manual tools used in aviation like the flight computer.
These two trainer aircraft are the glass and steam panels. Each one of them have their own unique set of features that set them apart from each other. Of course, there are also advantages and disadvantages when you use one or the other. Knowing these things will be very helpful when you're making up your mind about which panel you should be using for your flight training.
A Steam Panel
A steam panel trainer aircraft relies solely on old school aircraft instruments that rely on steam systems and rely less on electronics that are otherwise the trademark of glass panel trainers. You find a lot more steam panel aircraft than glass panel aircraft used in flight lessons because they don't charge as much as glass panel aircraft do. There are less electronics to maintain and take care of so obviously it's not as expensive.
The biggest drawback to a steam panel, however, is that certain aspects of flight lessons have to be done manually like the use of an E6B flight computer and the use of paper maps to know the diagram of the destination airport. You could say learning to fly using a steam panel could be a bit daunting because of the amount of workload a student has to process.
A Glass Panel
On the other hand, working with a glass trainer is described as "smooth" and "easy going" by some student pilots and instructors alike. That is because the onboard computer - like in a G1000 trainer - greatly reduces and makes easier the workload during flight training. Imagine, you only need to punch up the information that you need and it will show up on your computer as long as the owner has kept the memory cards up to date. Everything you need is loaded and accessible with the computer, like weather systems along the way and layouts of the airport that you are heading to.
However, a glass panel trainer can be expensive to own or even to rent because of high maintenance costs aside from the rental and fuel fees. Aside from that, student pilots might end up relying more on the computer and learn less about the manual tools used in aviation like the flight computer.
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