1st Flight in a G-1000 182

Just got my first flight in a G-1000 equipped 182 yesterday. After spending 1.5
hours on the ground a few days earlier, going through the avionics modes, I
went for a 1.4hr flight yesterday. The capabilities of the G-1000 are very
impressive, but there is a lot to learn.

The weirdest things for me were the vertical tape displays for airspeed and
altitude (airspeed seemed to be displayed backwards from what I would expect,
but I'm not sure why I had that impression). Also, it would be nice if multiple
navaids could be displayed on the HSI simultaneously.

The integrated MFD with the map, weather, terrain, and traffic is really nicely
done. It's interesting to think that the 182 now probably has a more capable
cockpit than an 80s vintage 757 or 767. Next step is to do a final lesson with
several different instrument approaches.

It was also interesting to note the wind vector which happened to be 73kts out
of the West at 8500 feet over NW Ohio yesterday. We got to hover at zero ground
speed for a while, and then turned around and set a personal speed record of
238kts going Eastbound.

Anyone have any experience on how long it took to become fully fluent with the
G-1000 for IFR operations. I already feel comfortable in VFR, but currently I
wouldn't want to be in the soup and have to hit control-alt-delete and start
over...

Eric Bartsch