Garmin G1000 NXi flight planning and VNAV explained, more or less, in YouTube video

[Aptosflier]

Hi, all.

 

I haven't frequented this forum for awhile, because I've been over at "Discord" -- an app (not a website) mainly dedicated to gaming. (My 12-year-old grandson knew all about it well before I did.) There's a lively chat group on Discord devoted to all things Working Title, and within that group, a discussion thread entirely devoted to the G1000 NXi. Many of the participants are pilots in real life (IRL), and some are flight instructors. At least one of them is affiliated with Working Title. The people over there are happy to answer G1000 NXi newcomers' simplest questions, and I've learned some stuff (including how much more I have to learn) about the NXi from them.

 

While skimming through discussion threads here recently, I sensed some hesitancy about switching to the NXi (a free download in the marketplace), as opposed to sticking with the default, or "stock," G1000. It's a good idea to start learning how to use the NXi now because, as I also learned over at Discord, while the NXi is still in "early-access" release, it will eventually become the default Garmin in all the MSFS planes that presently use the stock G1000. In other words, the G1000 is going away.

 

But there's another reason to start learning about and using the NXi (or vice versa) now: You can do more with it because it enables VNAV landing approaches, including a category of VNAV approaches that will guide you all the way down to runways at out-of-the-way, non-towered airports like KWVI at Watsonville, Calif., which is our local IRL airport.

 

I've watched numerous YouTube videos about the NXi. The most useful videos I've found are made a fellow named Kip. (I think he calls his channel "Kip on the Ground." Kip is also active in the NXi discussion on Discord.) As helpful as Kip's videos are, he runs through things pretty fast, and I have to watch his videos more than once to clearly see and understand what he's doing. So I thought it would be fun to make a slower-paced video about the NXi for folks, like you and me, who are much later coming to the NXi than Kip, an early-adopter and beta tester.

 

So here's a

to it.

 

This video is about 45 minutes long, in two parts. In the first, I show how to enter a flight plan into the NXi without going through the World Map, and in the second, I fly RNAV from San Jose to Watsonville, where I use VNAV to land a G36 on RWY 2 -- in a final approach that brings me down to the runway just as if untowered KWVI had its own ILS. It took longer to produce this video than I expected, because I had to do it four times before I got everything right.

 

I hope it'll be helpful to you, and maybe even somewhat entertaining.

 

Good day.

[Cavulife]

Hi Aptos, nice job on the video and the explanations.

[Aptosflier]

Thanks for watching. After all initial the difficulty I've had understanding and replicating what I've watched in videos produced by more accomplished simmers (and IRL pilots), I thought folks on this forum could find a simpler, slower-paced explanation useful.

[punder]

Have you ever watched P Gatcomb’s videos? He obviously understands what he’s doing but apparently doesn’t care if you do. “Okay, Hit that and that and that and this thing here (cursor flies furiously across the overhead panel) aaaand we’re ready to go.”

 

Sim hanger is more my speed. Good stuff. I’ll check out your video.

[Aptosflier]

P. Gatcomb? Never of him before. I Goolged him. It looks like he hasn’t done a video on his he NXi.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[stusue]

P Gatcomb is smart but way too fast for me. Kip on the Ground , 2020 fser's, and Flight Sim School are great.

[Patinthedesert]

Good video. I watched it to where you landed it at Watsonville. Well explained and documented. You have to get a lot of info to get all the waypoints, procedures, Stars and all.

I am usually flying in less busy airspaces and have not learned all the higher functions that are available. But I now do have a better understanding of the G1000 NXi and how to enter the flightplan into it and then get the NAV engaged properly.

One tip I appreciated - how to enter the airport codes from the keyboard instead of the mouse turning the knob on the instrument panel. Much easier.

 

Pat

[Aptosflier]

P Gatcomb is smart but way too fast for me. Kip on the Ground , 2020 fser's, and Flight Sim School are great.

Kip's videos are excellent, except he also whips through a lot of stuff so quickly that I have to watch them several times before I understand it, sort of.

[Aptosflier]

Good video.

Pat

Thanks.