Flight 5 of 5 · Approximately 1–1.5 hours

Dusk at Jabara

A late-afternoon-into-dusk currency run to a towered field. This is the most advanced avionics drill of the five — G3X night setup, 3D audio, busy ADS-B traffic, and a coupled approach. Fly it last.

B
Brenda· Pilot in Command
C
Chris· Right seat · Radios & avionics
What's in this playbook
  1. Before you go — aircraft, house rules, safety
  2. Phase 1 · Night-before brief
  3. Phase 2 · Cold cockpit & preflight
  4. Phase 3 · Avionics power-up & setup
  5. Phase 4 · Taxi & run-up
  6. Phase 5 · Departure
  7. Phase 6 · Practice area & traffic
  8. Phase 7 · Into Jabara, the coupled approach
  9. Phase 8 · Touch-and-goes
  10. Phase 9 · GMA 350c 3D audio
  11. Phase 10 · Return at dusk & shutdown
  12. Debrief checklist
  13. Quick reference card
Route
1K1→ Practice area→ KAAO→ 1K1
Distance
~1.0–1.5 hours
Time
Late-afternoon VFR into early dusk
Conditions
Beautiful Kansas light; rising traffic
Builds
G3X night/dimming setup, GMA 350c 3D audio, busy-time ADS-B traffic, coupled approach on GFC 500 NAV mode
Crew note
Great high-pressure mid-week evening flight. This is the most advanced avionics drill of the five — fly it last, after Flights 1–4 are comfortable.

Before you goBrief the airplane

Repeated on every flight page so you can brief one sortie standalone.

Verify everything · this is a study aid
Verify all frequencies, airspace, and fuel against current charts, NOTAMs, and ForeFlight. These are study/briefing aids, not flight plans. Fly with your CFI — Chris is a student pilot.
Aircraft
N199RF — 1979 Cessna 182Q · Continental O-470 (carbureted) · constant-speed prop
Base
1K1 Stearman Field, Benton KS · field elev 1,364 ft · KICT Class C just to the west
Panel
G3X Touch (PFD + EIS) · GTN 750Xi (GPS / NAV1 / COM1) · GTR 205 (COM2) · GFC 500 AP w/ GMC 507 · GI 275 standby · GMA 350c audio · GTX 345R (ADS-B In/Out) · CIES fuel senders
COM1 is not COM2
COM1 and COM2 are independent radios tuned at different physical locations. COM1 lives on the GTN 750Xi. COM2 is the separate GTR 205 box. Tuning COM2 means reaching for a different unit — and you pick which one you transmit on at the GMA 350c audio panel. This was the recurring point of confusion. Always know which radio is hot before you key the mic.
House rules · every flight
1Phase 1
Night-before brief
The evening before · Both of you
Night-adjacent, not night
Be done around dusk unless you are night-current and legal. The point of this flight is the avionics workload in fading light, not logging night time — keep yourself comfortably inside legal daylight/dusk.
2Phase 2
Cold cockpit & preflight
~15 minutes · sun's going down
  1. Standard 182Q preflight. Nothing skipped — the sun's going down on this one, so give yourself margin.
  2. Check EVERY light: landing, taxi, nav, beacon, strobes, and panel/instrument lighting. If any of them are weak, you want to know now, on the ground.
  3. Fuel to a known quantity and enter fuel-on-board into the GTN so the fuel-at-destination page is meaningful.
3Phase 3
Avionics power-up & setup
~5 minutes
  1. Boot the G3X and GTN fully. Confirm GPS position and that ADS-B traffic is painting.
  2. Set up the G3X night/dimming NOW — display brightness and auto-dim, the way you want it, on the ground, in daylight. Don't fumble for it when it gets dim in the air.
  3. Stage KAAO: tune VerifyKAAO ATIS___.___ and VerifyKAAO Tower___.___, and have the RNAV approach ready to load on the GTN.
Why the blanks?
Look every frequency up on the current chart and on the GTN, and write it in. Only 121.5 (guard) is safe to memorize.
4Phase 4
Taxi & run-up
~8 minutes
  1. Standard run-up. Cycle the prop and confirm the RPM drop and recovery.
  2. Brief the touch-and-go sequence out loud: carb heat OFF → flaps 20° → full throttle. Say it now so it's automatic in the pattern.
5Phase 5
Departure
~5 minutes
  1. Self-announce on CTAF (COM1):
Brenda · COM1 · Stearman CTAF
"Stearman traffic, Skylane Nine-Niner-Romeo-Foxtrot departing runway [XX], westbound, Stearman."
  1. Depart toward the practice area west.
  2. Climb out: pitch for speed, power for altitude — set the attitude, then trim off the pressure.
6Phase 6
Practice area & traffic
Eyes outside
  1. Late afternoon = the busiest ADS-B you'll see. Make the traffic scan deliberate.
  2. Cross-check the G3X traffic against eyes-out — the display points you, your eyes confirm it.
  3. Optional air-work: a few items in the practice area before heading to Jabara.
Don't let it bite
This is the day complacency would bite — a familiar airplane, beautiful light, and the busiest traffic of the five all at once. Keep the scan honest.
7Phase 7
Into Jabara, the coupled approach
The advanced drill
  1. Talk to Jabara Tower VerifyKAAO Tower___.___ inbound:
Brenda · Jabara Tower
"Jabara Tower, Skylane Nine-Niner-Romeo-Foxtrot, [position], inbound, with [ATIS letter]."
Coupled approach drill — once set up and cleared for the practice approach
  1. Load the RNAV (GPS) RWY 18 or 36 in the GTN; activate the approach.
  2. Set up the GFC 500: arm NAV to track the GPS course; the autopilot intercepts and tracks the final approach course.
  3. Manage altitude per the approach; stay ahead of it — hand near the yoke, the A/P DISC ready.
  4. Disconnect by minimums / well before the runway and hand-fly the landing — the autopilot flies the approach, you fly the touchdown.
8Phase 8
Touch-and-goes
Repeat the sequence
  1. Wheels down, the sequence in order: carb heat OFF → flaps 20° → full throttle → rotate ~55–60 → milk flaps up in the climb while watching airspeed.
  2. Prop stays full forward for the touch-and-go — it's already forward from the approach, so just confirm it.
  3. Fly the pattern, repeat. Tower will sequence you.
9Phase 9
GMA 350c 3D audio
A nice-to-have
  1. On a quieter circuit, try the GMA 350c 3D audio feature on the tower frequency.
  2. It spatially separates voices — genuinely useful when frequencies get busy. Get familiar with toggling it on and off.
10Phase 10
Return at dusk & shutdown
Home before dark
  1. Wrap up while you're still comfortably in legal daylight/dusk unless night-current.
  2. Direct-To 1K1, self-announce inbound to Stearman:
Brenda · COM1 · Stearman CTAF
"Stearman traffic, Skylane Nine-Niner-Romeo-Foxtrot, [distance/direction] miles, inbound for full stop runway [XX], Stearman."
  1. Land with the lights on, taxi in, shut down.

After you landDebrief checklist

Answer these out loud to each other while it's fresh. Best flown twice — fly it, debrief, then swap seats.

ReferenceQuick reference card

Look every frequency up on the current chart and the GTN — that's the drill. Write them in.

Frequencies

N199RF V-speeds (verify POH)

Airport quick reference

You've finished the progression
That's all five. You've flown the full Garmin progression — Flint Hills, Class C, Beaumont, Hutchinson, and the night-adjacent run at Jabara. Log it in the N199RF course app and start running your favorites solo (with your CFI's blessing).