When everything clicks (and a rapid introduction to the Avidyne IFD GPS)

Had to make a run out to Chino, and then over to a meeting in Redlands. The SR20 I’ve been renting was booked with lessons, but an SR22 G2 was available, so I booked that instead. I have about 75 hours in an SR22 G2, but haven’t flown it in about 10 months (I’ve flown the SR20 more recently). I have never flown this specific SR22 before, however.

It has the Avidyne Entegra glass cockpit, as does the other SR22 I’ve flown, but this one’s been upgraded from the venerable and ubiquitous Garmin 400-series GPS units, to an all-Avidyne stack: AMX240 audio panel, IFD540 controlling an AXP322 remote transponder; IFD440; and DFC90 autopilot.

I've logged some time behind an IFD540 in a Cessna 340, but always with someone who knew the interface a lot better than I did.

Downloaded the iPad simulator the night before, watched some of the Avidyne training videos, read through the pilot guides. Totally ready for a day of forecast CAVU VFR flying. (You probably know where this is going...)

Get to Chino and as I’m abeam the numbers right traffic for 26R, tower turns me inside an Aerostar and switches me to 26L. I somehow manage to execute a perfect short approach and plant it on the numbers. Exit Papa facing a Cherokee holding short for 26R. Tower has me taxi down 26R behind the Aerostar to exit Kilo. Felt weird. (Airport diagram.)

It hit me, how much has changed for me from when I was flogging Cherokee 140s around the pattern here; now I’m fortunate enough to be able to pilot a high performance glass cockpit beast in, handle somewhat tricky tower instructions without even thinking about it, and even get around the airport without asking for progressive taxi instructions! (On my checkride, the examiner had me do a no-flap landing on 26L and I ended up exiting at Lima; getting back to parking involved navigating three of the airport’s four “hot spots.” Already nervous and in an unfamiliar situation, I asked for step-by-step instructions...)

KCNO to KREI was a non-event. Very productive meeting.

Redlands to Torrance, saw some clouds forming inland. KTOA was clear, but shot an approach in anyway just to familiarize myself with the stack a bit more. Did what I had to do at Zamperini and departed again, VFR.

That thing climbs like a really fast climby thing with just me and fuel at tabs. Went direct VPLSR and was at 4500' (required for the SFRA) before crossing. Helluva machine. HHR was reporting sky clear below 12,000. LAX was 1300 scattered, Santa Monica was 1200 SCT. Visual flight rules, at least on paper.

As I approached KSMO, though, it was looking soupier and soupier. IFR current and with the confidence imbued by having just shot an approach with this plane, I call up SoCal TRACON for a pop-up IFR clearance.

SCT vectors me over to join the LPV and, yeah, was definitely a loggable approach, clouds were solid from 1200' to about 4500' (but only over parts of the basin, the Valley was crystal clear - gotta love LA microclimates).

Not a bad 2.4 Hobbs, in a plane I've never flown before, my first time IFR single pilot with nothin’ but IFDs (had an iPad and an iPhone, didn't need to touch them).

I'm still not 100% sold on the IFDs, I find the screens are very busy compared to the GNS430W I usually fly behind, and was inundated with traffic alerts, especially when I was on the ground (when, infuriatingly, the MFD kept switching to a traffic page, interrupting my pre-flight checklists - which are displayed in a different page on the MFD).

All in all it was a great flight. I’m amazingly fortunate to have access to the kinds of planes I do, and though I’ve been an instrument rated pilot for almost 5 years at this point, it’s still incredibly cool to punch through a layer to find the runway right ahead, just where it should be.