Doc Holiday,
If your time in your bio is accurate, you haven't likely transitioned to complex aircraft types yet, or engaged in trainign which requires a type rating. When undertaking such a task, one has enough work cut out that memorizing things which are plainly visible on the instrument panel, such as instrument markings, is a waste of time and does not enhance transition to the new aircraft. You will one day find that after flying many types of aircraft, that information can get you in trouble...you'll always look to the gauge for that information anyway.
Aircraft limitations that should be learned are things which are NOT on the gauges. In the aircraft under discussion, for example, numbers are displayed on the airspeed indicator, not colored lines and illustrations of airspeed ranges. One must know the speeds for each flap setting, for the gear, for turbulent air, for best climb in various configurations, etc. One must know a number of things pertaining to the aircraft, but memorizing pressures and values that are plainly printed and depicted with red, yellow, and green lines or arcs is not benificial when trying to transition to the new type.
Knowing a landing weight limitation, or knowing how many knots must be added to reference speed when carrying ice or when performing a partial flap approach, is necessary. Knowing the emrgency poceedure for a pressure loss, smoke in the cockpit, aborting a takeoff, a thrust reverser deployment on takeoff, etc, is critical to one's health. Knowing the meanings of each annunciator light, and knowing it's application is also important. A good checklist familiarity is important. Knowing and understanding the aircraft systems is important. Memorizing the numbers printed on the gauges where the pilot can plainly see them is not nearly so important. Many values exist which are not printed or identified on the aircraft gauges, and knowing these valus is important.
Especially for an initial type, a lot of information is there to be swallowed. My last visit to simuflite put me in a class of eight or so, plus a no-show. Many there were obtaining their first type, and several, including some FAA personnel, stated they felt it was like drinking from the proverbial firehose. They found it challenging. Enough material and enough learning takes place that one really should concentrate on learning the essentials, rather than the trivia. Memorizing the number of buttons on a uniform tunic, or the numbers of rivets on the fuselage is entertaining for a cadet, but hardly the stuff of which pilots are made.
For the successful student, knowing what to study is more than half the battle. It's the whole enchilada.
