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Dito. . . tru-trak 2 1/4 ADI with heading. . .
another Great instrument, with airspeed warning, and battery
backup.
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Wednesday, October 10, 2007 9:02
AM
Subject: [LML] TruTrak ADI
I think you are guys all making a mountain out of a
molehill...
"Misinterpretation" is possible with ANY kind of
instrument, even the tried and true gyroscopic attitude indicator That's why
we are all taught NOT to rely on any one instrument in IMC to understand what
the aircraft is doing.
Assume you are flying straight and level and
wish to climb. You set an appropriate nose-up attitude on your attitude
indicator, but forget to make a power adjustment. As the speed bleeds off you
continue to hold the nose up, but the aircraft stops climbing. Now you have a
nose-high attitude which should result in a climb (that's what you expect
anyway), but the altimeter and VSI don't corroborate, and may, in fact, even
be showing a descent. Would you pull back farther -- and possibly cause a
stall -- or simply look at the airspeed indicator and engine instruments and
realize you are flying too slow with too little power to climb?
The way
I learned instruments the attitude indicator was NEVER the primary control
instrument for pitch -- it was airspeed.
I submit knowing the actual
attitude (pitch, yaw, roll) of the aircraft isn't as important as
understanding the SITUATION (attitude, airspeed, VSI, weather,
etc.).
Letting a situation go far enough that you don't know exactly
what the aircraft is doing might ALWAYS result in disorientation and
ham-handed, knee-jerk reactions. In the example cited by others to condemn the
TruTrak ADI -- nose high in a descent with the ADI indicating nose low -- a
good scan would instantly orient the pilot.
Additionally, TruTrak has
already considered the above situation and accounted for it. Should the pilot
allow the aircraft to slow enough such that pitch indications might not
match the actual attitude of the aircraft, the TruTrak ADI will has a
programmable warning indicator that tells the pilot to check the
airspeed.
For myself, I find the TruTrak ADI a fine alternative to more
expensive mechanical gyroscopic instruments.
Mark
Sletten
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