2008 Woodie Awards
New Aviation Technology Entices Students to Enroll in UCM Program
Wayne Dean: for the Muleskinner
Issue date: 2/7/08 Section: News
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This semester the department has a new, all-digital display known as the G1000 installed into a Cessna Skyhawk single-engine plane.
The new digital display, manufactured by Garmin Inc., is referred to as an "all-glass cockpit." Its two high-definition screens allow the pilot to easily access information such as flight instruments, navigation and weather.
"A glass cockpit has all the instruments that would be scattered throughout a cockpit, putting them into two easy-to-access screens," said Keith House, senior aviation technology major. House, who became a certified flight instructor last fall, is a big fan of the new technology.
"Out of our entire fleet, people have to request to use the plane with the G1000," he said. "I was able to fly it when the University rented one last year. It made everything much easier and it takes a lot of stress off the pilot."
The G1000 takes the many analog instrument displays the pilot must monitor and organizes them into a clean digital display that the pilot has full control over. Instead of moving their eyes all around the cockpit, pilots are able to look at the screen in order to refer to and translate all the data they need.
The G1000 can give the pilot everything from engine data and weather reports via XM Satellite Weather, to air traffic reports from Traffic Information Systems. The system simplifies everything for the pilot.
Nathan Weter, a junior aviation technology major, likes the access to the new technology because it gives him a head start for when he graduates.
"UCM wants to provide us with a competitive advantage. The G1000 is where all the planes are headed and I'll be well-versed in the system."
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