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7 Answers

Hard Objects on the Glare Shield

Asked by: 5273 views Flight Instructor, General Aviation

I frequently get into other people's airplanes for flight instruction and see headsets, kneeboards, clipboards, keys or other hard and metalic objects on the glare shield.  Frequently, that same plane has permanent scratches on the inside of the windscreen from these items being slid against the soft plexiglass. Am I the only one who teaches students not to place these offenders where they do permanent damage?

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7 Answers



  1. Tommy D Eldridge on Sep 03, 2011

    No, the first flight school I flew with was the very same way. I am as you are very supprised that more owners are not the same. I must say that NOT ONE other school however has had this requirement.  Good call Earl. Make good habits in your students early
     

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  2. JamesCFI on Sep 04, 2011

     This is why I love flying ith people who own thier own aircraft, they tend to have a natural feel for not doing stuff like that, maybe it comes with having to pay out during the annual 😉

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  3. JamesCFI on Sep 04, 2011

    *with

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  4. Brian on Sep 04, 2011

    I teach it with the exception of the key. I personally always put the key on the top middle/front of the glare shield (never near the glass) so that it is clearly in sight of both myself and any line service who may fuel the airplane. This originally stemmed from flying aerobatics though. It is quite frustrating to get fully strapped in, parachute, 5 point belt, safety belt, and then you get to “start the engine” on your checklist and you have that bad boy securely under 85 belts in your pocket. 🙁 …10 minutes and much cussing later… *engine starting noise*

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  5. Tommy D Eldridge on Sep 05, 2011

    LOL, Thats funny Brian. I have never had a problem, that I can remember anyway, with the key in my pocket but I have jumped in the Super Hawk, adjusted the seat and belt only to find the check list on the back seat that I can now not reach. Sounds like yours was a little harder to get to however. 

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  6. Bob Watson on Sep 06, 2011

    I think the key isn’t so much to prohibit putting stuff on the glareshield but to teach where this stuff should go so the glareshield doesn’t appear so attractive. I don’t have all the answers (and I put a lot of stuff on the glareshield…carefully, of course) but I’d be happy to learn from others who have better habits.
    Some of what I see the glareshield attract include:
    Headphones
    Lap boards
    Knee boards
    Charts (e.g. sectionals)
    portable GPS antennas
     
    So finding places for these things to keep them off the glareshield and out of the way of other things (like passengers and getting in/out of the plane) could benefit everyone.
    For me, the most common offenders are headphones and lap desk/knee board. The planes I fly were apparently invented before headphones were common, but a hook in the middle of the ceiling or door (depending on the plane and ingress/egress paths) would seem like an amazing step forward. The lap desk I grew up with seems increasingly annoying as the planes shink (or I grow, I’m not sure which 🙂 ) so suggestions for that function would help me (and others, I’m sure).
    But, just saying “no stuff on the glareshield” when there’s so much stuff to put somewhere, doesn’t seem practical.

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  7. Earl Kessler on Sep 06, 2011

    I usually fly Cessnas as trainers.  I place the headset either on the center of the yoke or hang it on the throttle quadrant.  I place the kneeboard against the fuel pedestal standing up, the keys go on top of the fuel valve (another way to check the position of the valve), checklist goes in the pocket beside my knee together with the yoke lock and the GPS antenna usually has a suction cup that holds it onto the glareshield so it doesn’t move against the glass.  Bob, with a little creative planning, and better cockpit organization, none of the clutter you mention needs to be in a position to shift against the soft plexiglass.

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