Click on each instrument for detailed description.

Always consult a qualified flight instructor for proper use & reading of these instruments. Please note that this is a typical cockpit layout of a Cessna 172 and does not necessarily represent the exact equipment installed in MEA rental aircraft.

Lower panel - Left to Right

IGNITION SWITCH [up] MASTER SWITCH This is actually 2 switches side by side, one for the battery and one for the alternator [up] TOGGLE SWITCHES For landing & navigational lights & other accessories. [up] CIRCUIT BREAKERS (white round buttons) For all electrical equipment. [up] AVIONICS MASTER SWITCH Powers on the radio stack [up] PANEL LIGHT DIMMERS (black knobs with silver center) Adjusts lighting intensity of the panel and radio lighting. [up] THROTTLE (Large black knob) Adjusts aircraft engine power(thrust). [up] MIXTURE CONTROL (Large Red Knob) Adjusts fuel mixture. [up] ALTERNATE STATIC AIR (Small red knob) Used in case of static port clog or static system failure. [up] FLAPS LEVER (White lever) Use to extend and adjust degrees of flaps. [up] CABIN HEAT / CABIN AIR Opens vents to allow fresh out side air or heated air from engine. [up]

AIRSPEED INDICATOR
This instrument shows the current airspeed of the aircraft in nautical miles per hour. The green arc is the normal operating range. The bottom of the green arc is the stalling speed with flaps up. The bottom of the white arc is the stall speed with flaps fully extended and the top of the white arc is the maximum speed with full flaps. The yellow arc is the safe range only when in smooth air. The red mark is the speed that should never be exceeded. Note that airspeed is the speed of the air hitting the aircraft and is usually different from ground speed.[Full cockpit view]

ATTITUDE INDICATOR
This instrument shows the current relationship(pitch and bank) of the aircraft to the horizon. The orange lines represent the aircraft wings. The blue area represents the sky and the brown is the earth. In this example the aircraft is flying level(neither climbing nor descending) but is banking to the left. The AI is powered by the vacuum system and gets it's readings from a built-in gyroscope. [Full cockpit view]

ALTIMETER
This instrument shows the current aircraft altitude or height above sea level. It gets it's reading from the static system and must be adjusted to the current air pressure setting for accuracy. If the pressure setting is unknown it may be set to the airport elevation before takeoff. [Full cockpit view]

TURN COORDINTATOR
This instrument shows the rate and quality of a turn. The rudder pedals are used to adjust the yaw of the airplane and maintain coordinated flight which is indicated by the black ball being centered as shown here.[Full cockpit view]

HEADING INDICATOR
This instrument shows the direction of the nose of the airplane and is much easier to read than the magnetic compass. It is powered by the vacuum system and must be set to the magnetic compass before takeoff and periodically during level flight to maintain accuracy. The orange tab is a heading bug that may be coupled with an autopilot if the aircraft is so equipped.[Full cockpit view]

VERTICAL SPEED INDICATOR

This instrument shows the rate of climb or decent in hundreds of feet per minute. It gets it's information from the static system. The needle shown here on the zero means the aircraft is neither climbing nor descending.[Full cockpit view]

TACHOMETER
This instrument shows the revolutions per minute of the aircraft engine just as in an automobile, however the tachometer is much more important in flying. Many aspects of aircraft performance may be predicted at given RPM settings. [Full cockpit view]

MAGNETIC COMPASS
This instrument is simply a wet magnetic compass. It has no external power source so it could be used in case of other instrument failure. It is susceptible to turning and acceleration/deceleration errors while the aircraft is moving.and therefore is not generally used in the real time navigation of the aircraft but as a reference to set the heading indicator. [Full cockpit view]

VOR RECEIVER w/ GLIDESLOPE

This is a navigational instrument that can be tuned to ground-based electronic beacons called VORs(Very High Frequency Omnidirectional Range) or to an ILS(Instrument Landing System) which allows a precision approach to a runway. The precision approach involves lining up both the vertical needle(localizer)and horizontal needle(glideslope) on final approach to guide the aircraft down to the runway on the proper angle. The typical configuration in an aircraft includes two of these instruments, one with glideslope and one without. [Full cockpit view]

VOR RECEIVER
This is a navigational instrument that can be tuned to ground-based electronic beacons called VORs(Very High Frequency Omnidirectional Range). It can also be tuned to an ILS(Instrument Landing System) however this unit shows no glideslope information and therefore can be used for a "localizer only" approach. The typical configuration in an aircraft includes two VOR instruments, one with glideslope and one without. [Full cockpit view]

AUTOMATIC DIRECTION FINDER

The ADF is a navigational instrument that can be tuned to ground-based electronic beacons called NonDirectional Beacons(NDB). Most NDBs are on or near airports. When tuned to a specific beacon, the ADF needle always points toward that beacon. [Full cockpit view]

VACUUM GUAGE / AMMETER

The vacuum gauge show the pressure created by the vacuum pump which is needed to operate the Attitude Indicator and Heading Indicator. The Ammeter indicates the quality of the alternator/charging system..Note that these two items are often displayed with separate gauges depending on the model/year of the aircraft. [Full cockpit view]

FUEL QUANTITY
Most small aircraft have two fuel tanks, one in each wing. This gauge indicates the level of fuel in each tank. Unlike an automobile, these gauges are used only as a cross-check. Pilots are trained to calculate their exact fuel consumption before a flight and leave a reserve of at least 30 minutes for daytime and 45 minutes at night.[Full cockpit view]

EXHAUST GAS TEMPERATURE / FUEL FLOW

To get proper performance from an aircraft, the fuel flow must be "leaned" at altitude to compensate for the decrease in air density.This gauge helps the pilot lean the fuel for best efficiency. Note that some aircraft do not have this gauge and must be leaned by watching the Tachometer while slowly adjusting the mixture control. [Full cockpit view]

OIL TEMPERATURE / PRESSURE GUAGE

This instrument monitors the temperature and pressure of circulating oil in the aircraft engine. [Full cockpit view]

AUDIO CONTROL PANEL This unit selects which

radios you are transmitting and/or receiving on. This unit shown also incorporates marker beacon lights(OMI) - Some do not.[Full cockpit view]

GPS or LORAN Some aircraft are equipped with a

GPS(Global Positioning System) or LORAN(Long Range Navigation System). GPS uses satellites and LORAN uses ground based transmitters to calculate and display the aircraft's exact position. [Full cockpit view]

NAV/COMM RADIO Actually two radios in one. The left

side is for voice communications with Air Traffic Control, other aircraft and listening to weather and airport information. The right side is for tuning in VORs & ILSs to be displayed on the VOR instruments. This model has the flip-flop feature you dial in a frequency in standby, the press then white<> button to activate that frequency. [Full cockpit view]

ADF (Automatic Direction Finder) Tunes in the NDB

frequency displayed on the ADF instrument. [Full cockpit view]

TRANSPONDER This unit sends a signal to the Air

Traffic Control radar which displays your position and altitude. Aircraft that have not been assigned a 4 digit"squawk" code by ATC should use 1200. [Full cockpit view]

DME (Distance Measuring Equipment) Some aircraft are

equipped with DME which displays the distance to a specified VOR/DME beacon. [Full cockpit view]

HOBBS METER This is basically a timer which runs

when the aircraft engine is running. It is the equivalent of an odometer on an automobile. The Hobbs meter is how aircraft rental charges are calculated and maintenance schedules are kept. [Full cockpit view]

CLOCK/THERMOMETER Clock / Timer / Inside &

outside temperature. [Full cockpit view]