After purchasing a pair of the G1000's for flying the 172 and the Kodiak 100, the setup was very straight forward, and had them up and running in short order. As Mark said on SimHanger Channel, "They just work". It was from his reviews that sold me on this product.
Upon first use, I did run into a couple issues. When activating FLC, you could not adjust the Nose UP and Nose DN buttons. They did nothing. After sending off to support a message about this, Stan in short order sent me out 2 new cfg files for the PFD and MFD that fixed the problem.
A few flights later while trying to arm the VNV button, it would not activate vpath. After doing some reading and countless emails to Stan for a resolution I could just not get it to work. So, Stan suggested I try using MobiFlight, a free app to map buttons from one device to act on another. Within 10 minutes I had the problem solved. It’s a great opensource app that can do many things. There was NO way I could send these panels back because of one button not functioning. Since neither of them functioned on both G1000’s I knew it had to be a software issue with MSFS.
You really can’t describe how much more you feel a part of the aircraft. When you don’t have to mess around with a mouse pointer trying to turn a dial, push a small button you can’t see, or accidentally hit the wrong button and putting the plane into a situation is just so gratifying. You have more time to yourself to enjoy the flight and the learning experience that comes along with a calm environment.
Entering a flight plan is so fast and easy using the physical dials. When I wanted to change an approach or arrival before getting the panels, it was a pain to use the mouse to change it all. Now I don’t hesitate with a physical piece of hardware. The panic factor has disappeared. LOL
I have been flying the Cessna Citation Longitude with the G5000, and I have now used MobiFlight and configured the buttons and dials that did not correlate on the G1000 to the G5000 panels. Most of the buttons did work just fine. I use MSFS Pop Out Manager to get all the screens onto the G1000 panels and push the 2 smaller FMS touch screens to a touchscreen laptop I have. It’s true immersion that brings the sim to life. I could not imagine ever going back. I rarely use the mouse now.
The cost of 2 G1000’s and 2 Panel mounts is expensive, but being retired, I have a lot of time to devote to flying, so the investment for me was well worth it. You can also use the monitors for anything you like as well. You could put Navigraph into one of them if you like, or your email, or watch MSFS videos from YouTube on them while you are learning to fly.
Bottom line, what I would like to emphasize the most is the support you get from the team at FlightSimBuilder. Stan was always helpful, and many companies I have dealt with don’t support you like they do here. Made the whole experience a win, win for me.
Take the plunge and try them. Get one for now as you can configure it as a PFD or MFD. Trust me, you will be buying another.:)