Always Learning

When I began commercial pilot training, flight schools largely offered the Piper Arrow or Cessna 172RG Cutlass in which to train, since the airplane used during the commercial checkride had to be complex—defined as having retractable landing gear, flaps, and a controllable pitch propeller.

In 2018, the FAA added an alternative to complex aircraft for commercial pilot training: a technically advanced airplane (TAA). The TAA must have a glass panel—including a primary flight display, a GPS moving map, and an autopilot—but can have fixed landing gear and a fixed-pitch propeller. A few examples of TAAs used for commercial training include the Cessna 172S G1000, Piper 100, and Van’s Aircraft RV–12.

The FAA’s acceptance of technically advanced airplanes for commercial training acknowledged two significant shifts in aviation. Avionics have become the most complex system on many airplanes and must be mastered by pilots—particularly when flying for compensation or hire. And, TAAs have become more available and typically cost less to rent than complex airplanes, reducing training time and expense.

So which option should you choose? If you’ve been flying airplanes with analog gauges, switching to a TAA will feel like upgrading from a rotary dial telephone to an iPhone when the round gauges in the instrument panel disappear in favor of a glass cockpit. Although intimidating at first, learning to fly with a PFD will quickly become natural. And, the increase in situational awareness and reliability—the primary reason most modern aircraft use glass cockpits—will make you feel more comfortable while flying in instrument conditions after you’re a commercial pilot.

Additionally, autopilots in TAAs are far superior to those in most legacy complex aircraft. Beyond reducing pilot workload, modern autopilot/avionics systems increasingly offer flight envelope protection that prevents the pilot from unintentionally putting the airplane in an extreme nose-high, nose-low, or banked attitude.

If your primary or instrument training was behind a glass cockpit, you might seek out a complex airplane with analog gauges to expand your knowledge base. And although the instrumentation may be simpler, it wouldn’t be accurate to say that the other systems are not complex.

Granted, the landing gear control has only two positions—up and down—but there is much to learn about the appropriate time and airspeeds at which to raise and lower the gear. What’s more, emergency gear extension procedures are not intuitive and require explanation and practice.

Constant-speed propellers similarly require pilots understand their function far more than simply memorizing a few manifold pressure and rpm settings. Proper preflight checks, combinations of manifold pressure and rpm settings that minimize fuel flow—or maximize cruise speed—at various altitudes, and strategies to avoid shock cooling or overspeeding the engine are all important considerations for the commercial pilot in training.

Complex or technically advanced? I recommend a combination of both during commercial training. In a few hours in an expensive complex airplane, you can learn the nuances of controllable propellers and moving gear—and earn a complex endorsement. The majority of the time may be spent in a relatively less expensive, and often more modern, technically advanced airplane. Either way, your eyes should be looking outside the cockpit while learning chandelles, Lazy Eights, and power-off one-eighties—maneuvers that will prove your mastery of flying the aircraft regardless of its complex or advanced status.