Windshield Heat and the Compass
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I was in the updated TBM in 2024 over the weekend, and I noticed the compass was significantly off the heading it was previously, without me making any heading changes. I realized I had the windshield heat on as I was going through some light icing.
I had some fun flipping the heat on and off to see how it settled out, then looked closer at the compass card to see if the deflections matched up.
They don't, at all. For a heading of around 100, the card showed I should be steering around 103 or so, and the compass was indicating 123 or so. So I'm guessing the card is for normal conditions.
What, then, is the procedure for when the various electric heat is on? Pray you don't also need the standby compass?
I would assume this also applies to the Starship and the other aircraft when they get updated.
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I was in the updated TBM in 2024 over the weekend, and I noticed the compass was significantly off the heading it was previously, without me making any heading changes. I realized I had the windshield heat on as I was going through some light icing.
I had some fun flipping the heat on and off to see how it settled out, then looked closer at the compass card to see if the deflections matched up.
They don't, at all. For a heading of around 100, the card showed I should be steering around 103 or so, and the compass was indicating 123 or so. So I'm guessing the card is for normal conditions.
What, then, is the procedure for when the various electric heat is on? Pray you don't also need the standby compass?
I would assume this also applies to the Starship and the other aircraft when they get updated.
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Has there been any update with this? A heap of us were flying Dukes & Barons in freezing weather and the compass issue is still there.
@TreeTops Not quite sure what you mean, the standby compass deflection is normal and simulates real world behavior. There’s nothing to fix or change in regard to window heat compass deflection. If the use of the standby compass is necessary, the windshield heat will need to be turned off to get a more accurate reading.
