User Guide

70
71
A COCKPIT TOUR
Let’s settle into the left seat and take a look around. You’ll
notice right away that just about everything is grouped on the left
or pilot’s side of the panel; unless the airplane has a lot of option-
al equipment installed, the copilot’s side is mostly blank.
Directly in front of the pilot, at the top of the panel, are the
six primary flight instruments, arranged in two rows of three. These
are sometimes called “the sacred six,” and we’ll examine them in
more detail in just a moment. They’re mounted on a separate sec-
tion of the panel, which is shock-mounted - i.e. it “floats” in rub-
ber mounts - primarily to protect the delicate gyro instruments
from vibration.
To the left of the flight instrument panel, a cluster of four
smaller gauges monitors the health of the engine and aircraft sys-
tems; the single one above them is a digital clock. Just below the
bottom right of the six primary instruments is another full-size
gauge; this is the tachometer, and in this airplane, it’s the primary
reference instrument for setting power.
To the right of the main flight instrument panel, three full-size
instruments in a vertical row display navigational information. To
the right of these, stacked vertically, are the airplane’s communica-
tion and navigation radios.
There’s some important stuff along the bottom of the panel,
too. At the lower left are the ignition key - we won’t get very far with-
out that one - and switches for the airplane’s electrical system and
accessories such as internal and external lights. At bottom center are
the plunger-style throttle and fuel mixture controls; to the right of
them, the appropriately flap-shaped handle for the wing flaps.
Finally, the vertical part of the panel, going down to the floor,
has some important controls of its own. At its left, you’ll see a
large, vertically mounted knurled wheel. This is the airplane’s trim
control, and you’ll find yourself using it often. Below that is a red
fuel shutoff knob, which would normally be pulled only in case of
fire or fuel leak. Further down, just above the floor, is the fuel
selector which governs whether fuel will be drawn from the left
wing, the right wing...or both at once, the position in which it’s
usually kept.
Flight Instruction
Flight Instruction
Digital Clock and Timer
Airspeed Indicator
Attitude Gyro (Artificial Horizon)
Altimeter
CDI (NAV1, NAV2)
Fuel Flow/EGT
Fuel Quantity
Oil Temp/Oil Press
VAC/AMPS
Magnetos
Alt/BAT Switches
Directional
Gyro
Fuel Beacon Landing Taxi NAV Strobe Pitot
Pump Light Light Light Light Light Heat
Master Avionics Switch
Turn Coordinator
Flaps
Mixture
Throttle
Alt Static Air
Vertical Speed Indicator
ELT (Emergency Locator Transmitter)
Tachometer
ADF
Cessna 172R Cockpit
Audio Panel GPS Panel NAVCOMM1 NAVCOMM2 Auto Direction Finder Transponder Auto Pilot