Garmin Pilot disappointment

[Hank]

1 hour ago, Jackk said:

It’s also interesting in many of the avionics upgrades I’ve seen with this type of equipment, they don’t end up getting a TOGA button put in

What good would a TOGA button do without auto-throttle? It would just raise flaps and set rudder trim?

[N201MKTurbo]

2 hours ago, Jackk said:

 It’s also interesting in many of the avionics upgrades I’ve seen with this type of equipment, they don’t end up getting a TOGA button put in

My Avidyne knows if I don’t land and starts flying the missed. I don’t know what else a TOGA button would do for you.

[LANCECASPER]

29 minutes ago, Hank said:

What good would a TOGA button do without auto-throttle? It would just raise flaps and set rudder trim?

The TOGA Switch for the G1000 Mooney with the GFC700, when pressed, provides a wings-level, 7 degree pitch-up attitude and disconnects the autopilot. The switch is near the throttle so when you push the throttle in, it's convenient to hit the GA.

[exM20K]

14 minutes ago, LANCECASPER said:

The TOGA Switch for the G1000 Mooney with the GFC700, when pressed, provides a wings-level, 7 degree pitch-up attitude and disconnects the autopilot. The switch is near the throttle so when you push the throttle in, it's convenient to hit the GA.

It is also very useful along with the heading bug for low IFR and night takeoffs.

-dan

[kortopates]

As the name implies TOGA Take Off and Go Around - it’s good practice to use on every IFR takeoff and helps to put the aircraft in a safe pitch angle to engage the AP in an IFR climb, till you later use IAS to climb.
Available on all the Garmin AP’s.

We’ve seen a number of pilots not transition to instruments in nighttime and IFR departures and succumb to somatogravic illusion killing all aboard within just seconds of departure. Using the TOGA and pitching to the flight director is a simple defense till on AP properly configured safely above the ground.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[N201MKTurbo]

Yea, I just have a CIiB autopilot. I did the bulk of my IFR flying with just a PC system.

When I got my ATP, we marked the autopilot INOP. I just hand flew the check ride. I know how to do that.

[PT20J]

3 hours ago, Jackk said:

It’s also interesting in many of the avionics upgrades I’ve seen with this type of equipment, they don’t end up getting a TOGA button put in

That’s because TOGA is an FD/AP function and legacy GA autopilots lacked it, so you cannot just add it with an avionics upgrade unless you change the autopilot.

As noted above, the modern Garmin autopilots have it and the button is required by the STC.

[Jackk]

2 hours ago, Hank said:

What good would a TOGA button do without auto-throttle? It would just raise flaps and set rudder trim?

A lot, say you are told to go missed on short final, it will sequence the missed, set a pitch up, etc 

 

 also setting TOGA, HDG and arming LNAV on departure is standard prior to takeoff 

 

 I don’t know of any aircraft that auto raise the flaps outside of over speed load relief

 

 ATs are great but are a separate thing from TOGA, where o scratch my head is when it’s FADEC w/o ATs

Edited December 27, 2025 by Jackk

[Jackk]

1 hour ago, LANCECASPER said:

The TOGA Switch for the G1000 Mooney with the GFC700, when pressed, provides a wings-level, 7 degree pitch-up attitude and disconnects the autopilot. The switch is near the throttle so when you push the throttle in, it's convenient to hit the GA.

wouldn’t  it put it into ROL PIT?

[Jackk]

1 hour ago, PT20J said:

That’s because TOGA is an FD/AP function and legacy GA autopilots lacked it, so you cannot just add it with an avionics upgrade unless you change the autopilot.

As noted above, the modern Garmin autopilots have it and the button is required by the STC.

 TOGA works with the GNS series too

[PT20J]

30 minutes ago, Jackk said:

 TOGA works with the GNS series too

TOGA is an autopilot function, not a navigator function. The GNS series are navigators. Maybe I’m not understanding you. Can you describe what you mean when you say TOGA works with a GNS? 

[midlifeflyer]

5 hours ago, Hank said:

What good would a TOGA button do without auto-throttle? It would just raise flaps and set rudder trim?

TOGA is a function of modern Garmin autopilots (GFC 500, 600, 700). Its purpose isn’t to fly the airplane for you. What it does is create a wings-level climb on the AI’s flight director (assuming you have one) for the pilot (or autopilot) to follow. Basically, a magenta chevron on the AI to follow. It also unsuspends the navigator and sequences it to the missed approach. The pitch attitude varies by airframe, but in most GA aircraft it’s in the 7° nose up range. 

(If you’ve never flown with a flight director, chances are you won’t miss it. Pilots transitioning  to an airplane with one often have trouble getting used to it. Once they do, it becomes a valuable tool in maintaining the proper attitude in all phases of flight)

What varies a little is what else TOGA does. In the 500 and 600, the autopilot remains coupled (assuming you used the AP for the approach). In the 700, whether it disengages the AP or keeps it on depends on how the airframe manufacturer wants it set up. As mentioned, in the Mooney G1000, TOGA disengages the AP. In either case, the pilot is responsible for power, flaps, and gear.

At its most basic, it requires an AP which has it, an AI with the ability to have a flight director  

 

[N201MKTurbo]

4 minutes ago, midlifeflyer said:

TOGA is a function of modern Garmin autopilots (GFC 500, 600, 700). Its purpose isn’t to fly the airplane for you. What it does is create a wings-level climb on the AI’s flight director (assuming you have one) for the pilot (or autopilot) to follow. Basically, a magenta chevron on the AI to follow. It also unsuspends the navigator and sequences it to the missed approach. The pitch attitude varies by airframe, but in most GA aircraft it’s in the 7° nose up range. 

(If you’ve never flown with a flight director, chances are you won’t miss it. Pilots transitioning  to an airplane with one often have trouble getting used to it. Once they do, it becomes a valuable tool in maintaining the proper attitude in all phases of flight)

What varies a little is what else TOGA does. In the 500 and 600, the autopilot remains coupled (assuming you used the AP for the approach). In the 700, whether it disengages the AP or keeps it on depends on how the airframe manufacturer wants it set up. As mentioned, in the Mooney G1000, TOGA disengages the AP. In either case, the pilot is responsible for power, flaps, and gear.

 

I would not press that button until I had the plane configured for climb and all trimmed out. That thing would scare me.

[N201MKTurbo]

I hate to say it, but I think some of these avionics packages should require a type rating.

[midlifeflyer]

1 minute ago, N201MKTurbo said:

I would not press that button until I had the plane configured for climb and all trimmed out. That thing would scare me.

It’s a learned response. The typical sequence is to press it when you add climb power. In G1000 integrated setups with a non-vernier throttle quadrant, the button is actually on the throttle. I think the 7° selection is a compromise to give you a pitch attitude that will result in a safe climb whether you or the AP follow it. If you don’t have one, chances are that it’s what you are doing anyway. 

One of the sad realities is that, like go-arounds, we don’t do missed approaches enough. . Every missed begins with a straight ahead climb. It “should” be simple. But that’s exactly where the errors are incurring, TOGA displaying the proper attitude is just another of the attempts to have tech fix that by displaying a magenta chevron for the pilot to follow.

Your fear is not unreasonable. When I do transition training with a GFC 500 “system”, where the AP remains coupled, one of the demos is to fly a coupled approach all the way into the missed hold with the pilot controlling only power flaps, gear, and autopilot modes. Even then, it can take a while for the disbelief to go away. 

[Jackk]

1 hour ago, PT20J said:

TOGA is an autopilot function, not a navigator function. The GNS series are navigators. Maybe I’m not understanding you. Can you describe what you mean when you say TOGA works with a GNS? 

 TOGA can switch to go around on the navigator 

[midlifeflyer]

22 minutes ago, N201MKTurbo said:

I hate to say it, but I think some of these avionics packages should require a type rating.

Maybe not that extreme, but when I see a thread by a pilot who is asking questions as part of an obvious attempt to teach themselves, I cringe. OTOH, when asked, many of them say they can’t find a CFI who understands what they have enough to teach it. Love him or hate him, I have to applaud Gary Reeves for focusing on “avionics mastery” as a career. It’s probably 80% of what I do with owners - for some strange reason it all makes sense to me - but I’m too old for a new career  

[N201MKTurbo]

6 minutes ago, midlifeflyer said:

It’s a learned response. The typical sequence is to press it when you add climb power. In G1000 integrated setups with a non-vernier throttle quadrant, the button is actually on the throttle. I think the 7° selection is a compromise to give you a pitch attitude that will result in a safe climb whether you or the AP follow it. If you don’t have one, chances are that it’s what you are doing anyway. 

One of the sad realities is that, like go-arounds, we don’t do missed approaches enough. . Every missed begins with a straight ahead climb. It “should” be simple. But that’s exactly where the errors are incurring, TOGA displaying the proper attitude is just another of the attempts to have tech fix that by displaying a magenta chevron for the pilot to follow.

Your fear is not unreasonable. When I do transition training with a GFC 500 “system”, where the AP remains coupled, one of the demos is to fly a coupled approach all the way into the missed hold with the pilot controlling only power flaps, gear, and autopilot modes. Even then, it can take a while for the disbelief to go away. 

It is not disbelief, it is just a lot to learn. I already know how to fly a missed approach, now I need to learn how the autopilot works and make sure it does what I expect it to do. That sounds like a lot more work than just doing what I’ve been doing for the last 40 years.

[N201MKTurbo]

2 minutes ago, midlifeflyer said:

Maybe not that extreme, but when I see a thread by a pilot who is asking questions as part of an obvious attempt to teach themselves, I cringe. OTOH, when asked, many of them say they can’t find a CFI who understands what they have enough to teach it. Love him or hate him, I have to applaud Gary Reeves for focusing on “avionics mastery” as a career. It’s probably 80% of what I do with owners - for some strange reason it all makes sense to me - but I’m too old for a new career  

I have been to two of his Avidyne classes. I asked him once about a situation I ran into and all he said was “don’t do that” not very helpful….

[midlifeflyer]

Just now, N201MKTurbo said:

It is not disbelief, it is just a lot to learn. I already know how to fly a missed approach, now I need to learn how the autopilot works and make sure it does what I expect it to do. That sounds like a lot more work than just doing what I’ve been doing for the last 40 years.

I definitely come across people who feel that way with even less than 40 years under their belt. The nice thing about tools is that we can choose to not use them.  I have a client with a G36. I think he’d say that the single most useful thing I taught him was that he can turn the FD off when he’s hand flying. 

[N201MKTurbo]

The FD isn’t an issue, I can ignore that. If I like hat it is suggesting, I will couple it up.

[midlifeflyer]

3 minutes ago, N201MKTurbo said:

I have been to two of his Avidyne classes. I asked him once about a situation I ran into and all he said was “don’t do that” not very helpful….

That’s too bad. He definitely has his moments. And people disagree with some of his teachings. First time I ever saw or heard of him was live at SNF some years ago. I almost walked out but the horror was so fascinating. 

[McMooney]

bah,  TOGA omg hehe, let me ask brittain to add that 8).

actually, i've never bothered to use the autopilot while IFR, what is this TOGA of which you speak???

after trying to reread this whole thread, it amazes me how something that started with a CSV has gone so far left

[midlifeflyer]

1 minute ago, N201MKTurbo said:

The FD isn’t an issue, I can ignore that. If I like hat it is suggesting, I will couple it up.

It might or might not apply to you, but remember the advice to carry post-it notes to cover the AI in case of a vacuum failure so you won’t get distracted or confused by it tipping and accidentally follow it into a spiral dive? Switching off the FD when you are not following it has a similar purpose.

[PT20J]

10 minutes ago, Jackk said:

 TOGA can switch to go around on the navigator 

No, it cannot. A GNS series navigator cannot accept an input from a TOGA button. That was added to the GTN series. Pressing TOGA on a properly configured GTN series navigator doesn't execute a "go around" it just unsuspends the navigator (if the MAP has been passed) and begins sequencing the  missed approach waypoint sequence in the flight plan.