Touchscreen avionics.... why must you be a thing....

Started by Starbird, April 16, 2018, 03:48:57 PM

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Starbird

Why must all of the new mainstream GA glass (PFDs, MFDs, GPS/NAV/COM, EFIS, etc.), except Aspen (which I almost equally dislike for other reasons) be touchscreen?  I personally cannot stand touchscreen avionics.  They are awful in turbulence, and have no tactile feel whatsoever.  Plus, fingerprints everywhere (yuck).  I'm mostly referring to Garmin's new TXi lineup, which doesn't even give you the option to use physical controls.  Many of the others are now "hybrid" giving you both options, but I suspect they will switch to full touch only soon.  Sorry, but I'd keep the GNS 530 and G5 displays, in the aircraft I take out for flight training, over any touchscreen display, ever.  I'll go as far to say that I'd take a well serviced "6-pack" instrument set, along with separate NAV/COMs and a tactile transponder, over touchscreen glass.

May we never see the day that Garmin comes out with a touchscreen "upgrade" to the current G1000.  That would be the bane of my existence, since I plan to get my CAP pilots quals after finishing up my PPL this upcoming summer.

Just a little rant, sorry.  I love glass, but I hate the fact that GA glass manufacturers seems to be jumping on the touchscreen bandwagon (Garmin, Avidyne, Bendix-King, I'm looking at you...)  Also, why must you take this a step further with standalone touch screen COMs coming available, as well as touch transponders... no thanks.

I'd be curious to see if anyone on here shares my sentiment, or if I'm the oddball out.  I'd also be curious to see what arguments touchscreen fans have in favor of touch enabled avionics and instruments.


C/2d Lt Starbird

Eclipse

Quote from: Starbird on April 16, 2018, 03:48:57 PM
May we never see the day that Garmin comes out with a touchscreen "upgrade" to the current G1000.

You almost certainly will at some point.

Physical buttons are expensive, they break, and cannot be as easily re-programmed as soft buttons and touch points.

Haptic feedback may help some of this.

"That Others May Zoom"

Live2Learn

Quote from: Eclipse on April 16, 2018, 04:10:44 PM
Quote from: Starbird on April 16, 2018, 03:48:57 PM
May we never see the day that Garmin comes out with a touchscreen "upgrade" to the current G1000.

You almost certainly will at some point.

Physical buttons are expensive, they break, and cannot be as easily re-programmed as soft buttons and touch points...

Software & glass are MUCH more expensive than vac systems, even if we disregard data updates and inevitable 'bugs' in the underlying software.  They're just not as capable nor as easy to use.  IMHO, it's tough to argue cost is the driver for replacing hard keys with softkeys.  It is less labor, I agree, to pop out the MFD or whatever replaceable unit than troubleshoot, diagnose, then R&R a more primitive avionics suite.  In any case, were moving to a (human) pilot not-required-equipment world quite rapidly in response to well publicized "pilot shortages". 

Briank

Quote from: Starbird on April 16, 2018, 03:48:57 PM
They are awful in turbulence

This is my big problem with them.  With a physical button you can look, get your finger just off the button and hold it there by feel in turbulence.  On the touch screen controls your finger slides around forcing you to look at exactly when you press the button (and often your vision is needed elsewhere at that moment).  Seems more like a feature for fair weather fliers than those that fly in the weather.

Blanding

Quote from: Starbird on April 16, 2018, 03:48:57 PM
May we never see the day that Garmin comes out with a touchscreen "upgrade" to the current G1000.  That would be the bane of my existence, since I plan to get my CAP pilots quals after finishing up my PPL this upcoming summer.


Do you fly with an iPad?

Cliff_Chambliss

And in my student pilot days:
"Why do I have to learn the VOR Stuff?  Just when I need to talk to someone I need to change my receiver from comm to nav.  What's wrong with the ADF?  Its been around forever and it works."
So from the days of a crystal tuned transmitter and a dialup receiver and VOR's were just starting to hit their stride (and our CAP Squadron Aircraft was an Aeronca L-16B)  Today  ADF's are for all intents and purposes gone.  VORs are on the way out.  LORAN has come and gone, VOR Relocators (RNAV) have basically disappeared (although every now and then I do see a King KLN-88).  Today, its glass and touchscreen, and who knows, maybe voice recognition will enter the cockpit and we will be able to just talk to our airplane.  just accept that the more things change the more they remain insane.
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NIN

LORAN?

Luxury!

We used to *dream* of flying with LORAN! It was pilotage and TACANs and the occasional PAR from the Air Force.

Look, we had 16 helicopters all equipped with IFR avionics, and not a GPS among them!

But you tell that to kids today and they won't believe you.
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TheSkyHornet

The one nice thing about having a twist knob is that, turbulence, you can hold your hand to it without depressing anything. You start bumping the touch screen, and you hit all kinds of stuff you didn't want to. Plus the fingerprints on the glass (AAHHH!).

That said, computers in the cockpit can be a distraction, yes. And you can get into a bad situation if you're left with no mechanical backups (including your inability to use them). But the computerization of aviation has made it overwhelmingly safer as well as more airplane-friendly (mechanically) in the long run.

If touch screens are the way of the future, so be it. I'll adjust and get used to it.

SarDragon

Quote from: NIN on April 18, 2018, 01:06:59 PM
LORAN?

Luxury!

We used to *dream* of flying with LORAN! It was pilotage and TACANs and the occasional PAR from the Air Force.

Look, we had 16 helicopters all equipped with IFR avionics, and not a GPS among them!

But you tell that to kids today and they won't believe you.

If you thought LORAN, an older system, was better than TACAN, you were delusional, and on some bad stuff.

The only advantage of LORAN was the greater distance operation, and flying offshore, in a helicopter, out of TACAN range was something I didn't care to do.
Dave Bowles
Maj, CAP
AT1, USN Retired
50 Year Member
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