Aircraft
avionics, especially in
general aviation, are frustrating. On the one hand, digital computerized systems ('
glass cockpits') have become widely accepted as safer and more capable than old-style 'steam gauge' panels, especially for flying
IFR. On the other hand, due to the heavy hand of regulation in the form (in the US) of
FAA certification, these systems when found in aircraft use laughably old technology from a computing point of view, and cost way, way,
waaaay more than you would think they would. In addition, since some of the original entries into this market managed to set standards using early 1990s technology, the
Garmin G1000 system remains with us in untold numbers today. Since it wasn't really designed with user interface concerns in mind, it can be a frustratingly complex system to learn to use. To make things worse, the user will need to know how to use it instinctively, quickly and reliably under varying conditions, some of which can be
highly stressful and confusing.
Things are worse when it comes to just learning how to use the damn things. They're not really the kind of thing you can just 'try out' - they tend to reside inside very expensive aircraft. You can buy the units themselves, but as in everything aviation, for one thing they won't work outside the airplane unless they are wired to very expensive systems simulators, and for another they're...yeah, see expensive, above.
As home computer flight simulators have improved over the years, with the current standards for general aviation fun being MSFS 2020 and X-Plane, the G1000 has entered the software simulation world. Many aircraft in these simulators (or in the more 'serious' simulator Prepar3d, Lockheed's fork of MS FSX used for training) have simulated G1000 systems. But this breaks the illusion, as the G1000's many custom control inputs require mousing around and clicking on screen to use in many cases. While it's possible to configure most if not all of their functions to keys or joystick/throttle unit buttons, this doesn't do anything to train you to use the real thing.
There are several options for the serious simulation buff looking to uplevel their G1000 chops. The low-budget popular version involves simply putting a 'dead bezel' around a small monitor or ideally a touch screen tablet such as an iPad or Android unit - there are options to have these tablets act as displays and mice from the main flight sim computer, permitting a G1000 to exist and function there. It's still not ideal, since the real G1000 isn't a touchscreen and has those crazy buttons, but better than nothing and a step up from just having a small computer monitor pretending to be the nav system. If you want to take that next step, there are now a few options for physical G1000 simulation units that have physical controls designed to mimic the G1000 and which interface with modern sims. The RealSimGear G1000 unit is one such - it has a 10+" HDMI monitor embedded in a physical simulacrum of the G1000 with working controls. The controls interface with the flight sim via USB, and the monitor via HDMI. This is definitely an improvement, but it still requires the host machine to run multiple monitors.
The SIMiONIC solution goes a different path (finally, he gets to the point of the writeup). Invented by Chen Li, a Chinese aviation enthusiast and entrepreneur, these take a different approach. The SIMiONIC system relies on the fact that modern flight simulators have standard means of exporting live telemetry of the 'flight' as well as accepting input from a fully customizable set of interfaces. Simon Chen originally wrote a cheap iPad-based emulator for the G1000 for use as a training aid, mostly because Garmin hates Apple users and has never offered an Apple-based training aid. It can be purchased on the Apple app store at the time of this writeup for under $10 US. It provides a software emulation of the G1000 controls around the edge, and can provide some simple flight situations built-in. But wait, there's more! It can also, via a 'bridge' application and WiFi, accept realtime inputs from the flight sim of your choice on Mac or Windows! Thus, you can use your iPad (sorry, no Android version) as a virtual G1000 device.
Finally, if you want to go the whole hog, SIMiONIC will happily sell you a physical bezel which looks like a G1000 unit with no screen. Taking off the back panel, you can slide an appropriately-sized iPad into the thing, pop the bezel back on, and voila! The bezel 'talks' to the iPad via Bluetooth so all the controls work as expected. The iPad within the bezel will connect to the flight sim via WiFi, and presto - a hardware G1000 simulator on your desk. SIMiONIC will sell you two of the bezels, permitting you to use both their MFD and PFD apps, and they also make a physical GMA1347 audio panel unit that plugs into either of your main bezels with a data cable. With all three of these components, you can build a physical instrument panel that contains working physical duplicates of your favorite G1000-equipped aircraft!
One advantage of this approach - it's cheaper than the options. Since the iPads you supply are doing most of the work, the bezel itself is less than $1000 per unit (significantly) when competing units (e.g. those from Aviatek) can cost over $1500 for each GDU! In addition, since the heart of the unit is the iPad app, new functionality is easily added - and in fact, you can even play with the G1000 simulator on your regular, non-installed iPad to practice procedures anywhere you are.
Full disclosure: Yes, I have one of these things. Yes, I'm a nerd.
I will say that despite ordering this system over the internet from a site in mainland China during a brutal time for the Chinese nation as it dealt with lockdowns and the pandemic, my setup arrived at my door in the Eastern US within 5 days (!). It is incredibly securely packed with conformal foam to protect it in transit, and includes all needed hardware (and tools) to assemble the setup as well as a bare-bones metal stand/bracket setup. They also include large branded mousepads in each bezel box, which is handy because you have to sit the units on their face as you disassemble/reassemble them around your iPads.
The bezels themselves are nearly indistinguishable from the Garmin units in aircraft. Recently, SIMiONIC switched the buttons to a hard rubber (from plastic) which improved the veracity even further. They have SIMiONIC logos on them, and that's about the only way you can tell. I don't know if these units are the exact same size as the G1000; I haven't checked. One way they will differ from 'real' setups - in real aircraft, the PFD (Primary Flight Display) and MFD (Multi-Function Display)may vary between aircraft types in terms of what controls they offer around the edges. There were several versions of the GDU (Graphical Display Unit); some had autopilot function controls, others didn't; there were early installations that used one 'full control' GDU and one 'simpler' one for the MFD, etc. SIMiONIC (and other competitors) generally have one standard bezel build, with a full set of available controls. Some aircraft like the Cirrus SR22 have an 'expanded' G1000 setup - the Cirrus has a keyboard used for entering data, for example - which is not available as part of this suite, although other companies may offer their own modules.
Once I got the iPads into the bezels and wired up (the iPads are fully covered, so there is a provision to run a lightning cable from the iPad port to a USB pass-through port inside the unit which accepts power via a USB 3.0 port on the back of the bezel) they worked fine. I did, in fact, remember to configure them for Assistive Touch, because the Home button is also concealed, so although you can always four-finger swipe to get to the home screen, it's nicer to configure a 15% opacity 'virtual home button' you can move around the screen. The iPads will turn on as soon as you provide power to the external USB port; shutting them down requires you to use software controls, as you probably don't want them shutting down on a timer! The full screen is visible, so you can manage the 'corner swipes' needed to configure or manage the iPad. You can of course use them as regular iPads while they are in the bezel.
After installing them, I started the MFD and PFD apps, tapped the corner for settings, and selected 'Bezel'. They each immediately showed an 'SHB1000' option for connection; selecting it once synced each iPad with its parent unit. No pain, no problems. As soon as I did, the software 'bezel' vanished from the G1000 apps, and the screen expanded to meet the 'edge menus' and physical buttons perfectly. I selected 'WiFi' from the Simulation pane, and told them to search for compatible servers on the WiFi.
After struggling with the stand/bracket a bit (it's made of flat thin metal components that use small fiddly nuts and machine screws to construct it and secure the units) I got all three standing properly on my desk. I installed the SIMiONIC bridge applet into my X-Plane 12 plugins folder, and booted X-Plane on my Macbook Air M2. Despite being unhappy about how little RAM it had, it fired up with no issues. The G1000s had started in their default location, which shows your aircraft on the ground in Shenzen, China; but as soon as X-Plane initialized and I was sitting in a Cessna on the runway, the G1000s immediately switched to showing my aircraft status and location. No configuration needed. Boom. Done.
I flew a VFR flight between two of my real-world familiar airports, and despite struggling with the 'gamer-quality', spring-centered joystick and rudder pedals, I made it without hurting the airplane - cold start to cold shutdown. The G1000s showed my flight perfectly - speed, attitude, etc. on the PFD; nav map and airport data, with flight plan tracks on the MFD along with my engine monitoring information. There was no visible lag or deviation from expected values.
This system is pretty damn cool, and I heartily endorse it as a way to really uplevel your flight simulation experience. I plan to use it to learn IFR procedures as I study for my instrument rating, and to practice planned flights without having to spend the time and $ on actual aircraft.
There are a few things to add. Oh yes, nav data; Garmin nav data is somewhat proprietary. Fortunately, you don't need it; SIMiONIC provides regular nav data updates via the regular Apple App Store update function, so it just...works. On the other hand, their nav data is not of the same quality as Garmin; maps have less information, and some information (critically) needed for instrument flight may differ slightly or not be available - for example, on some procedures, at least in the past, altitudes for the FAF were not provided from nav data but 'guessed' by the software from other data, so they didn't generally match real-world procedure altitudes.
iPads - you have to provide your own. They don't need to be super powerful - I'm running one of my units on a 4+ year old iPad I got for $150 on the internet, e.g. They just need working WiFi. One thing to keep in mind - the bezels have specific models they can accept, and SIMiONIC gives very specific guidance on which models/versions are the right size to work in your bezel. Older bezels were built for 9" (9+ inches) iPads; newer ones are built for 11" (10+ inch) versions. They have spacers so they can take the thinner Airs or the thicker Pros, though.
SIMiONIC is showing a version of their app that emulates the newer version of the G1000, the G1000 NXi. This is the system currently being shipped with new aircraft; that means it's still relatively rare, but it's out there. I don't know if it differs in physical control layout.
One of the things I plan to do with mine is use PilotEdge - a service that plugs your modern flight sim into a virtual California, with Air Traffic Control and multiplayer, so you can practice actual IFR flying, with actual humans providing you with ATC. What an amazing modern world we live in. No goggles, but full on virtual reality at least from the aircraft point of view.
SIMiONIC also make smaller USB-enabled physical modules mimicking more of the panel instruments and controls of a modern Cessna 172. So tempted...