What flight/engine instruments do we really need?

[Frank Giger]

This may sound pretty goofy, but the question comes from a series of conversations I've had with other pilots and builders, and the opinions vary widely.

Bear in mind I'm talking about strict VFR and no interaction with the ATC at all.

I've got in my little open cockpit Nieuport 11:

Altimeter
Air Speed Indicator
Compass
Turn and Bank (slip) Indicator
Tachometer
Oil Pressure Gauge
Oil Temperature Gauge
Fuel Gauge (sort of, it's like in a Champ, a stick on a bobber in the tank in front of the windscreen)

I put them all in because it's kind of expected for them to be there, but in honesty I only use three, and sometimes a fourth:

Slip indicator*
Oil Pressure
Oil Temperature
Compass

(I omitted the gas gauge as it's right in front of me bobbing around and pretty hard to miss)

I will look at the ASI or the Altimeter once in awhile, but since I'm a low and slow guy can tell you what they're indicating by the sing of the wires and how big the cows in the field are. I'll use the compass to plot the direct course back to the airfield if I'm not using landmarks.

The tach was useful in determining what it's turning at the start of flight testing, but now I can tell by sound and vibration. Again, it's a VW and isn't going to over speed with that big wooden prop in the front.

My ASI has been unreliable from the start, reading 10 MPH too fast. I'm going to pull it and test it, and have been given a lot of advice on where to move the static port to if it's okay. I'm not too hot to get it done, as I never really pay attention to it. My built-for-drag airplane isn't going to over speed, after all.

I mentioned either just omitting it or replacing it with a mechanical one that relies on some music wire and a paddle on a scale hooked to wing strut, only to be met with a look of dismay by a fellow pilot.

"You have to have an airspeed indicator," he insisted.

"Why?" I asked, and he shook his head and walked away, muttering, as if I was ignorant about something basic and true.

Your thoughts?

* With a free-flying rudder, the ball is actually the most important instrument on my panel. If the rudder is off to one side even just too much, one has a tendency to correct for the roll with the aileron in the opposite direction subconsciously. One can wind up pretty cross-controlled in level flight. The guys who fly this type of plane warned me about it, and damned if they weren't right - it's easy to do! So checking the ball regularly is something I do in flight.

[Marc Zeitlin]

This may sound pretty goofy, but the question comes from a series of conversations I've had with other pilots and builders, and the opinions vary widely.There can be no "opinions" on this, as CFR 14 Part 91.205(b) is very clear as to what instruments are "needed" for day VFR flight. See:

http://rgl.faa.gov/Regulatory_and_Guidance_Library/rgFar.nsf/FARSBySectLookup/91.205

for the 10 instruments required. It's not that they're "expected" to be there - they're required by law.

Now, if you want to have MORE than these, you're certainly welcome to do so, but you have no choice about those 10. For your plane, you won't need the MP gauge or gear retract indicator, nor (probably) the coolant temperature sender. So you've got 7 required instruments for YOUR plane. They're not negotiable.

[Floatsflyer]

There can be no "opinions" on this, as CFR 14 Part 91.205(b) is very clear as to what instruments are "needed" for day VFR flight. See:

http://rgl.faa.gov/Regulatory_and_Guidance_Library/rgFar.nsf/FARSBySectLookup/91.205

for the 10 instruments required. It's not that they're "expected" to be there - they're required by law.

Now, if you want to have MORE than these, you're certainly welcome to do so, but you have no choice about those 10..

Uh, do you think the owners of J3 Cub and similar aircraft from the 30's and 40's who have 4 instruments might be surprised by this?

[rwanttaja]

Uh, do you think the owners of J3 Cub and similar aircraft from the 30's and 40's who have 4 instruments might be surprised by this?
Which one(s) do they lack? I presume you're referring to J3 panels other than this:
http://www.lostinoscarhotel.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/fly_a_cub_Page_15.jpg
In this day-and-age, I feel little need for a compass. Airspeed gives me some reassurance, but I don't use it very much. Altimeter, where I'm based, is vital due to overhead Class B airspace.

Ron Wanttaja

[Bill Greenwood]

Just as the illustration by Ron shows, an original Piper J3 Cub has 6 panel instruments, that is 5 dials with the last one being a 2 in one. Reading from left to right, Tachometer, Airspeed indicator, Magnetic compass, Altimeter, and 2 in one with oil pressure on the top half and oil temp on the bottom half. So 6 instruments, plus one more, not really an instrument or gauge but the very important fuel quantity indicator which is a wire sticking up out of the fuel tank cap just in front of the windscreen. It has a cork float that floats on top of the fuel and is accurate in calm conditions. A Cub holds only 12 gal of fuel burns about 3 1/2 gph, Lots of people have butchered up cub panels so there are often non original ones, often a ball slip/skid is added under the compass and is handy. I sure would want a compass if I flew a plane very far.. Even a Jenny has a compass and they are cheap. Cubs have and do go cross country , just takes awhile or about 3 hours max range ( 2s better) for about 200 mile per leg.By the way if you have never flown a Cub do so as soon as you can, and get a real one not the modern replicas. Best early morning, or nice evening long as its calm, Did you know a Cub has the same wing area as a Mu2? The lowest number on the airspeed indicator is 40 mph and doing a stall with just a touch of power will be below the 40 about 38mph. And they spin and loop nicely just like a real airplane. If you cant get a real Cub a Champ is pretty good, but who needs to fly from the front seat? You can approach at 45 mph and land really short without reliying on brakes which are none too powerful. Tower once asked me to make short approach and with a headwind I landed on the numbers and also stopped on the numbers. Great first time trainer, head and shoulders over Cessnas. makes much better pilots.

[Dana]

There can be no "opinions" on this, as CFR 14 Part 91.205(b) is very clear as to what instruments are "needed" for day VFR flight. See:

http://rgl.faa.gov/Regulatory_and_Guidance_Library/rgFar.nsf/FARSBySectLookup/91.205

for the 10 instruments required. It's not that they're "expected" to be there - they're required by law.


91.205 only applies to aircraft with standard category airworthiness certificates, not experimentals.

[rwanttaja]

....I sure would want a compass if I flew a plane very far.. Even a Jenny has a compass and they are cheap. Cubs have and do go cross country , just takes awhile or about 3 hours max range ( 2s better) for about 200 mile per leg.
I'm afraid we're going to end up merging this thread with the "Old-Technology-No-One-Uses-Anymore-But-Young-Pilots-Still-Should, Dad-Gum-It" one. Navigation with map and compass is a laudable skill, but I'm not sure how relevant it is today.

Back when I was a young 'un, I took lessons in a CAP Citabria. It didn't have a DG (did have a turn and bank), so for the "Hood" portion of the flight test, I had to learn all the intricacies of the whiskey compass...leading when turning in one direction, lagging when turning the other, offsets when climbing or diving, etc. Must have worked, since I passed. Don't remember any of it, now, just how many times Dead Men Can Vote.

But even on cross-countries (in North Dakota), the compass actually rarely got a look. I'd align the course line on the chart with the aircraft, and turn until the section lines matched up with the lat/long lines. But I bet it's mostly ignored these days.

Today, in Western Washington state, I use three primary methods of navigation...none of which involve compasses.

1. IFR, as in "I Follow Roads". Big highways to most major destinations, and, more importantly, through passes in the mountains. If a 40-HP VW Bug can make it over the pass, so can a 65-HP Cub.

2. GPS. I bought a Garmin hiking GPS from REI. Cost $120, which is actually less than a new whiskey compass.
http://www.bowersflybaby.com/tech/GPS1.jpg
3. RNAV...which, in this case, means "Real-Time Navigation Around Volcanoes." They're all pretty distinctive in appearance, so they give a good bit of feedback as to position. Don't help that much flying away from home, but coming back from the North and West, all I have to do is point the nose at Mt. Rainier.

Ron Wanttaja

[Marc Zeitlin]

91.205 only applies to aircraft with standard category airworthiness certificates, not experimentals.Ugghhh. A previous long response disappeared into the 7th dimension....

Suffice it to say that yes - you're correct. The OL's for EAB aircraft do not expressly require compliance with 91.205(b), and my bad for forgetting that point in response to the OP. I should have been softer in the response and used 91.205(b) as a reference, not a requirement.

To summarize my original response to THIS post, however, I'll argue that even if not legally required, it will be difficult to get a FSDO or DAR signoff without the (b) section instruments installed, and any ramp check of an aircraft without any of the (b) instruments would result in a 91.13 violation. IMO.

I would be interested to hear from anyone who's either attempted or succeeded in getting an AC from a FSDO or DAR with missing 91.205(b) instruments, and during the attempt, what the response was to pointing out that 8130.2<x> doesn't anywhere explicitly require 91.205(b) compliance.

Sorry for the dogmatism...

[Bill Greenwood]

There can be no "opinions" on this,
Ugghhh
In my opinion when someone writes that "there can be no "opinions" on this, it strikes me as unusually narrow minded, especially on a forum where other experiences , knowledge and yes opinions are part of the discussion. Its possible that the writer really is more knowledgeable than everyone else and that his opinion that no one else should have an opinion reflect the actual case,as if Neil Armstrong said what the moon feels like.However I dont recognize the name as the same as the most experienced pilots or designers or builders around. Can anyone help me if I am overlooking this?
. P S, Out of curiosity I looked up the specs on Cozy planes. Years ago a friend built one the first canard design fiberglass Rutan lookalike planes, cant recall for sure think it was a pusher. It would not get off the ground at our 8000 ft alt and he never flew it. The Cozy specs, as claimed are good, 1200 fpm climb, 185 mph cruise for 1k., Its looks are , in my opinion . different, like most Rutan similar designs

[Floatsflyer]

Ron's diagram of a Cub panel shows 5 instruments, 6 if you include the combo oil pressure and oil temp. The primer and the cabin heat are not instruments. Neither is a fuel gauge, either a float/wire thingy on the nose tank or a glass gauge positioned on the left side wing root on much later models. Even if you add a turn and bank ball to make 7, you still don't have the 10 Marc demands to be required.

[Floatsflyer]

Ugghhh
In my opinion when someone writes that "there can be no "opinions" on this, it strikes me as unusually narrow minded, especially on a forum where other experiences , knowledge and yes opinions are part of the discussion.

+1. Also authoritarian, fascist and pedantic. Of course there are numerous appellate courts that would strongly disagree with this "no opinions" notion.

[DaleB]

Fascist??? That must just be the new buzzword for people who say things we don't agree with. I think I've heard it used more in the past few months than in the twenty years prior combined.

Of the ten instruments listed in the reg referenced earlier in this thread, a few simply are not applicable to most new experimental planes. Specifically manifold pressure, landing gear indicator, and either water or oil temp. I found it interesting that even a slip indicator isn't required. So what you're left with is:

Airspeed indicator.
Altimeter.
Magnetic direction indicator.
Tachometer.
Oil pressure gauge.
Temperature gauge (either oil or coolant)
Fuel gauge for each tank.

[Sam Buchanan]

To summarize my original response to THIS post, however, I'll argue that even if not legally required, it will be difficult to get a FSDO or DAR signoff without the (b) section instruments installed, and any ramp check of an aircraft without any of the (b) instruments would result in a 91.13 violation. IMO.

I would be interested to hear from anyone who's either attempted or succeeded in getting an AC from a FSDO or DAR with missing 91.205(b) instruments, and during the attempt, what the response was to pointing out that 8130.2<x> doesn't anywhere explicitly require 91.205(b) compliance.

Sorry for the dogmatism...

Naaawwww.....you shouldn't have any difficulty with a DAR because they are very familiar with the Operating Limitations since they have to type the things up so you can include them in your aircraft docs. I've received Experimental Airworthiness Certificates from DAR's for three aircraft over the past twenty years, each aircraft lacking the full complement of "official" instruments. The last one, a Fokker D.VII replica had a really sparse panel when the inspection occurred. In each case, the DAR had no issues with the panel since the op lims clearly stated the aircraft was only to be operated daytime VFR unless equipped per 91.205. It is the responsibility of the pilot to make sure the aircraft is properly equipped for any particular flight, not the DAR.

[martymayes]

To summarize my original response to THIS post, however, I'll argue that even if not legally required, it will be difficult to get a FSDO or DAR signoff without the (b) section instruments installed, and any ramp check of an aircraft without any of the (b) instruments would result in a 91.13 violation. IMO.

Opinion noted. Doesn't seem to be an avalanche of 91.13 violations in FAA enforcement action records. When it gets down the the gritty, can't enforce something that doesn't exist.


I would be interested to hear from anyone who's either attempted or succeeded in getting an AC from a FSDO or DAR with missing 91.205(b) instruments, and during the attempt, what the response was to pointing out that 8130.2<x> doesn't anywhere explicitly require 91.205(b) compliance.
Over the years, I've seen a number of homebuilts that didn't have a magnetic direction indicator. Zip, Nada. Don't know if they were originally equipped without or removed later.

[rwanttaja]

Ron's diagram of a Cub panel shows 5 instruments, 6 if you include the combo oil pressure and oil temp. The primer and the cabin heat are not instruments. Neither is a fuel gauge, either a float/wire thingy on the nose tank or a glass gauge positioned on the left side wing root on much later models. Even if you add a turn and bank ball to make 7, you still don't have the 10 Marc demands to be required.
Marc referenced 91.205, which makes clear several instruments are of the "if applicable" sort. Oil pressure gauges if using an engine with a pressurized oil system (e.g., two-strokes are off the hook), temperature gauges for liquid-cooled engines, landing gear position indicator if the plane has retractable gear, etc. A glider will thus require only three (assuming the gear doesn't retract), and most engines can't escape two or three of the remaining.

Hmmm, steam powerplant probably could.

Anyway, as was rightly pointed out, 91.205 is specifically applicable only to standard-category aircraft, but as stated, the chance of a DAR giving you your ticket if you LACK one of the "required" instruments might be a bit low.

Two lovely loopholes in the reg. The first deals with the altimeter; one is required for VFR but a SENSITIVE one is required for IFR. The single-arm Cub types are OK for VFR, and, if I remember right, they don't even have to be adjustable for local pressure.

The other factor is the lack of a compliance specification. We have to have an airspeed...and...altimeter...and tachometer, but all they have to do is provide the aircraft speed, altitude, and engine RPM, respectively. The spring & vane type olde fashioned airspeed indicator is legal. GPS altitude readout would probably be legal for VFR, though a thousand or so fathoms of lead line might be a scary option. And lots of guys, including myself, use stuff like Tiny Tachs.

Ron Wanttaja

[Floatsflyer]

Fascist??? That must just be the new buzzword for people who say things we don't agree with. I think I've heard it used more in the past few months than in the twenty years prior combined.

Gee, I wonder why?😏

Hardly a new buzzword, goes back 100 years. It's not used to describe people who say things we don't agree with. It's used to describe or label political regimes or individuals who engage in totalitarian practices that will not tolerate anyone or anything with differing opinions and opposing viewpoints. Full disclosure: I was a Poli Sci Major.

[Marc Zeitlin]

I've received Experimental Airworthiness Certificates from DAR's for three aircraft over the past twenty years, each aircraft lacking the full complement of "official" instruments.I stand corrected - thank you for the information.

And thanks to all the folks that felt the need to respond with insults to a comment that I had already retracted due to another comment that reminded me of the particular applicability (or lack thereof) of the regs. I was wrong and I said so prior to your comments - how often do most folks do that on these fora?

[Bill Berson]

I think fascism is an economic system defined by central state control of business. Central control tends to allow a dictatorship takeover. An economic system made up of individual and freely trading private businesses cannot be centrally controlled by dictators.

[Bill Greenwood]

Floats and Bill B, maybe right bark, but up the wrong tree. This topic is about flight instruments, not fascism.

[Bill Berson]

Yeah.
I built a motorglider powered by two Tecumseh engines. The FAA inspector told me he could not issue an airworthiness certificate without an oil pressure guage. The engines didn't have an oil pump.
Cant argue with the authority.

[martymayes]

Yeah.
I built a motorglider powered by two Tecumseh engines. The FAA inspector told me he could not issue an airworthiness certificate without an oil pressure guage. The engines didn't have an oil pump.
Cant argue with the authority.

lol, so you install a gauge and it would have to be appropriately marked with the operating range; a green radial arc on the dial at zero pressure!!

[JoesPiper]

Read the REGS. Nothing more to say. Sheesh!

[Mike M]

...align the course line on the chart with the aircraft, and turn until the section lines matched up with the lat/long lines... "Real-Time Navigation Around Volcanoes." Ron Wanttaja

Me, too.

I remember flying from Neb to SoDak once, three section lines east after takeoff, turn left, don't cross another section line until turning base leg after 185 miles. And in AZ, flying a tour back to KSEZ from the Grand Canyon, a customer couldn't find the Jetranger's compass and asked me where it was. Took me a bit to remember. Asked me how I was navigating (we had no GPS in the helo yet) if not by compass or chart. "We just pass a tad to the left of that mountain and follow the canyon down to the airport." As Bob Hope used to sing, "thanks for the memories."

6667

[Mike M]

I'm taking your question as "what do we really need to safely fly an aircraft?" as stated in the title. Not "what is legally required?" because that's easy to answer with research, not thought.


...Bear in mind I'm talking about strict VFR and no interaction with the ATC at all.....

Assuming fixed-wing engine-powered simple aircraft?

Tachometer
Oil Pressure idiot light (if a pressure system)
Oil Temperature idiot light (and/or coolant temp idiot light if liquid cooled)


I omitted the gas gauge because you can dipstick the tank and knowing the burn rate get on glide path to a safe landing before it runs out.

This basic an aircraft will likely have so much drag you can't overspeed it or stall it without a plentitude of aerodynamic and vibratory clues, but if not, then add an ASI. A spring and vane would be fine if the speed range is right.

The tach helps to tell if it's developing adequate power for takeoff before running out of runway. After that you know if you have enough power because it doesn't descend with full throttle and the nose at climb attitude.

I agree a slip/skid indicator is valuable, but not essential.

Compass is for navigation not flying and there are other ways to navigate.

YMMV :)

[Frank Giger]

Marc; sorry for the abuse. As was pointed out, lots of DAR's and FAA inspectors don't fuss over instruments on the panel in Experimentals. My own FAA inspector looked at my panel, snorted, and said it was nice to see but overkill...and then remarked that he wasn't going to ask if it worked. ;)

We all are pretty certain about things we know, right up until we're shown they're not quite correct.

Mike, you read correctly.

I'll agree that if an aircraft has a vertical stabilizer, the slip indicator becomes somewhat secondary - one can feel the slip. Without one, though, it becomes important.

I'd hazard to say that a tach is important if one is running magnetos and carb heat, as it's pretty much a given that knowing the RPM's during a run up is the right way to do it. As I have single ignition and "automatic" carb heat, I don't have a run-up. I have a control check.

I have a hatred of idiot lights, btw, unless they also come with a gauge. "Something's wrong and now you're screwed" they seem to say to me unless there's some context to them.

[Mike M]

I have a hatred of idiot lights, btw, unless they also come with a gauge. "Something's wrong and now you're screwed" they seem to say to me unless there's some context to them.

Noted. Valid. Switches fail, bulbs burn out.

Background. I have high oil temp and low oil pressure switches installed in my Lyc powered aircraft in addition to the gauges for temp and pressure. The switches are both wired to the same light (yeah, i was experimenting) so when the light comes on I check both gauges. Sort of a mini-master caution light, if there is such a thing. I've discovered over the years that when the light comes on I get real antsy about landing no matter what either gauge says. Then I figure out what was wrong. Thus I postulate that neither gauge is absolutely necessary for my safe flight nor are two separate idiot lightbulbs. RED light, LAND.

P.S. the switch failures I've had (3 in 15 years) have so far turned the lightbulb on. No bulb failure yet. Maybe two bulbs wired in parallel in case one fails?

[rwanttaja]

This basic an aircraft will likely have so much drag you can't overspeed it or stall it without a plentitude of aerodynamic and vibratory clues, but if not, then add an ASI.
I tend to agree, but: Until one's ears and senses are attuned to the aircraft, it's nice to have an ASI for reference.

After 20+ years of flying the same aircraft, I don't really need the airspeed any more. But, certainly, the first year or so it was necessary in order to calibrate my seat, pants, aviation Mk V.

I'd also include an altimeter in the list, just for courtesy's sake. You'd like to fly the same pattern altitude as everyone else, just to increase the chances of them seeing you.

Personally, too, I'd have a fuel gauge. I know it's stepping into the "doomsday" scenarios I laughed at a few days back, but there are times when what's actually in the tank may not be what you think it should be. The seat 'o the pants can't measure fuel quantity. If you're going to dipstick the tank before takeoff anyway, put a cork on a wire and give yourself an in-flight reading as well.
http://www.bowersflybaby.com/stories/cork1.jpg
Just re-shellac'ed and repainted mine....

Ron Wanttaja

[rwanttaja]

I have a hatred of idiot lights, btw, unless they also come with a gauge. "Something's wrong and now you're screwed" they seem to say to me unless there's some context to them.

The big advantage of engine gauges is that they give you some warning. I've noted gradually decreasing oil pressure and thus headed for home, and of course a temp gauge can warn you to lower the nose and get some more air flowing past the engine. As the quote goes, it'll tell you she's hurtin' before she keens.

"But it ain't all buttons and charts, little albatross. You know what the final rule of flying' is? Love. You can learn all the math in the 'verse, but you take a boat in the air that you don't love, she'll shake you off just as sure as the turning of worlds. Love keeps her in the air when she ought to fall down. Tells you she's hurting before she keens. "
- Captain Mal Reynolds

Ron "leaf on the wind" Wanttaja

[lnuss]

Me, too.

I remember flying from Neb to SoDak once, three section lines east after takeoff, turn left, don't cross another section line until turning base leg after 185 miles. And in AZ, flying a tour back to KSEZ from the Grand Canyon, a customer couldn't find the Jetranger's compass and asked me where it was. Took me a bit to remember. Asked me how I was navigating (we had no GPS in the helo yet) if not by compass or chart. "We just pass a tad to the left of that mountain and follow the canyon down to the airport." As Bob Hope used to sing, "thanks for the memories."

...


Flying around New Mexico and Colorado, a large part of the time is just as you describe, using the orientation and shapes of the mountains and valleys. Of course the first time you hit these areas, you want something else, a sectional or something, but it doesn't take long to get comfortable with mountains. For example, ABQ to GUP:
Go west, hang just to the left of Mt. Taylor. After passing Mt. Taylor keep just a tad south of the red sandstone ridges (cliffs) and (depending on speed) half an or so after Mt. Taylor it'll be on your left.


Of course that sort of thing doesn't work well in Illinois and Indiana, to name a couple. But there you do often have section lines.

[Mayhemxpc]

Noted. Valid. Switches fail, bulbs burn out.

. No bulb failure yet. Maybe two bulbs wired in parallel in case one fails?

Just have the green landing light bulb burn out on you. That will get your attention fast. I have had it happen twice -- once on my return from OSH this year. It is, however, the only important interior bulb that has failed on me.

[Frank Giger]

Funny story about idiot lights:

One of my EAA brothers put a fancy computer thingie in his KR2, which was a very good thing and a sorta-not-so-good thing.

Good in that when his original engine, a long time one that was billed as "good running" turned out to be the opposite of it, and when the oil pressure plummeted he made for the runway and had it crap out when he was in good position for a safe landing.

Bad in that in re-programming it with the newly rebuilt engine one of the parameters wasn't programmed correctly, blinking red at him when something hit the bottom of one of the operating ranges (I can't remember which one). So it was yelling at him that everything was working okay. He was about to start saying many bad words back on the ground when he decided to check the computer stuff and then started laughing when he spotted the issue and corrected it.

Um, I'll bite, May, what's a green landing light?

[rwanttaja]

Um, I'll bite, May, what's a green landing light?
I suspect it's one of the green lights that come on when a landing gear leg is safely down and locked.

Ron "Gear down and welded" Wanttaja

[Frank Giger]

Thanks, Ron.

I sometimes forget people own aircraft with stuff like retracting gear, doors, and roofs.

Frank "Your plane gets so dirty you put a vacuum pump on the engine?" Giger

[Mayhemxpc]

Thanks, Ron.

I sometimes forget people own aircraft with stuff like retracting gear, doors, and roofs.

Frank "Your plane gets so dirty you put a vacuum pump on the engine?" Giger

I like that. One thing my plane doesn't have is a vacuum pump. Actually only one light for the landing gear. I suppose the theory was that your gear is either safe or unsafe, and if unsafe it really doesn't matter which one.

The more I fly/operate complex planes the more I wish I had never sold my Warrior.

[mmarien]

Some are easy to add. For instance this one


(10) Landing gear position indicator, if the aircraft has a retractable landing gear.

In my fixed gear I just added a note on the panel that says "Gear is always down". Difficult to make an error that way. ;)

The required seven instruments (more if you have more) do make sense. What you need legally and what you use are two different things.

[Bob Dingley]

Just have the green landing light bulb burn out on you. That will get your attention fast. I have had it happen twice -- once on my return from OSH this year. It is, however, the only important interior bulb that has failed on me.
Been there. The SIC grabbed the checklist and said that we needed to use the blow down bottle. I looked around for a paper bag for him to breath into, then unscrewed one of the lit bulbs to swap out for the unlit one. Developed the habit of testing the torque of the bulbs on the gear indicator on A/C new to me.

[rwanttaja]

Frank "Your plane gets so dirty you put a vacuum pump on the engine?" Giger
Zen thought of the day:

If you clean a vacuum cleaner, you BECOME a vacuum cleaner.

Ron "Ooommmmm" Wanttaja

[Bob Dingley]

I like that. One thing my plane doesn't have is a vacuum pump. Actually only one light for the landing gear. I suppose the theory was that your gear is either safe or unsafe, and if unsafe it really doesn't matter which one.

The more I fly/operate complex planes the more I wish I had never sold my Warrior.
Only one light? I guess thats the reason the USAF made everybody aboard wear a chute and hard hat.

[Frank Giger]

I had a conversation about this topic with a pilot friend of mine and it went a different direction - when do you actually need instruments.

For example, he pointed out that we (he's a low and slow kind of guy, too) only use our altimeters to help establish pattern altitude when approaching an airfield, but we do use them for that. And at that time there's not really a good substitute.

[FlyingRon]

The day, five weeks after 9/11, that they finally let me get my plane out of VKX I lost the static system shortly after takeoff. Actually, the only thing I was particularly concerned about upon reaching my destination was being slower than the Navion's rather low gear speed.

[Dana]

Years ago when I had my T-Craft the airspeed indicator failed. Just a broken hose in the pitot line, but I flew it for several weeks that way before I got around to fixing it.

[Frank Giger]

Okay, time to eat a little crow.

Well, sort of. While the conversation on flight instrumentation is still open, I learned the value of engine instrumentation.

Turns out my Diehl alternator is overcharging my battery, enough to where I smoked the last one. No way I would have known for sure what did it if I didn't have a voltmeter on the panel.

:)