MTOsport - N498AG - Texas - trees

You are correct to recognize that our infrastructure is at risk. Electrically, we are way too interconnected, IMHO.
I'm sure that some Californians can provide some first-hand experiences regarding what happens when the electricity isn't there !
Taking down the GPS constellation might be a tad more difficult. I got too close to the edge of a Presidential TFR once and watched as my GPS went haywire. Of course, I had a very good idea where I was, kept aviating, and didn't panic.
During a hostile nation/terrorist attack, I think a safe, precautionary landing is low on the 'worry list'. ;)
Brian
 
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I think it's smart always to carry a paper chart. There will come a day when the GPS constellation goes "down" and some folks will find themselves in a world of trouble. My biggest fear of terrorist (or hostile nation) attack is for our electric/electronic infrastructure.
In most of the apps on an iPhone or iPad such as iFly, one will not lose the map if one loses the GPS or if one does not have phone service, the map is already uploaded into your phone's memory and will be visible even without GPS. One will still have a moveable sectional map just like paper, except that it does not require folding or flipping to move from one area to the next. One simply moves the map with your finger, and also one can zoom in and out simply with finger gestures. As long as the phone turns on you have a sectional. I always travel with my phone and iPad plugged in to USB to remain charged, and on longer trips carry a backup battery. But sure, carrying a paper map as just one more backup is fine as well. Never tooo many backups.
If you want to test this just download the iFly trial to your phone or iPad and try it indoors where you can't get GPS.
 
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Next, no matter what you are using for navigation, you should know your position at all times. To do otherwise is foolhardy at best. If you do know where you are, finding your position on a pre-folded chart once a display fails should be a pretty trivial task (after all, both the e-display and the chart are depicting the same landscape). In the time between failure of the device and checking the chart, you won't have gone very far at gyroplane speeds.

I agree. I learned to fly just before moving map GPS became common, and relied on paper maps.
After planning my flight, I always kept aware of wind direction and my general location.
"I'm 6 miles east of Wherever, and should be crossing river X in 15 minutes", etc.
I continued this practice with GPS.

I would still use paper maps and my E-6B whiz wheel in my Cessna 140.
My Garmin 496 was the backup. It actually failed on me when the internal backup battery died and it was taking forever to initialize it's position.

Map, stopwatch, and compass for the win. 😉
 
FLIGHT ADVISORY - GPS Interference Testing YUMA PROVING GROUNDS ARIZONA (YPG_AZ) 19-08

04 – 16 November 2019

I use paper as my primary navigation.
 
I had my iPad go out while flying over unfamiliar territory in upstate NY due to he 12VDC plug vibrating out slightly where it didn’t make contact, and had to use paper sectional as back up in open cockpit. It’s not easy to pick up on a sectional if following on GPS. I was able to pick out some mountains as land marks which made it easier. Always have backup iPhone now if flying long cross counties.
Dave
 
I had my iPad go out while flying over unfamiliar territory in upstate NY due to he 12VDC plug vibrating out slightly where it didn’t make contact, and had to use paper sectional as back up in open cockpit. It’s not easy to pick up on a sectional if following on GPS. I was able to pick out some mountains as land marks which made it easier. Always have backup iPhone now if flying long cross counties.
Dave
Part of my preflight is checking that all of my devices are fully charged, so that I am not reliant on the charging plugs. For me doing my flight planning at home in my armchair with my iPad has made the process even more fun. But then I am a bit of an app nerd. My process is to start with my radar and weather apps starting days ahead with My Radar and Windfinder or Windy. I presently plan mostly with iFly but may switch more to Foreflight in the future. For Android only there is Naviator. With any of these flight plans can be transferred to your back up devices before flight, and of course I can file, activate and close flight plans with these devices. Recently I've become a huge fan of NavMonster. It's incredibly simple to use - type in the waypoints of your route, or pull up an old route you've entered before, and in real time it gives me the info on if part or all of the route are VFR, graphic review of weather along the route and forecasts, METARS, TFR's TAF's, Winds Aloft, NOTAMS, Airport info and alternates with notification of whether they are VFR or IFR, Prog Charts and Radar Images. If I do happen to have phone service which I mostly do flying low in Central Florida, Nav Monster continues to update in flight so that any changes to VFR or IFR conditions at destination or alternate continue to update in real time. Just in the last few weeks it's been incredibly useful with our scattered cloudy and shower weather when I flew from Deland to Sebring and back. Many months of the year scud running is inevitable in Florida. These apps with ADS-B radar etc, really help keep me out of trouble. Can't recommend this free app enough, download it and play with it. The other aspect to these flight apps is post-flight analysis, where your flight track is recorded and even uploadable to satellites etc in real time , and even into an electronic logbook to replace the paper one which I started 2 years ago. Flight planning for me is much more fun than it ever was. Highly recommend just playing with all these apps at home in your chair, even if you still decide to use a paper chart in the cockpit. We've always said that a good pilot is always learning, you'll be amazed at how much you can learn with these apps.
 
What about the take off performance calculations. How is that trained and what technique was used? Will be interesting if the NTSB look into those elements.
 
What about the take off performance calculations. How is that trained and what technique was used? Will be interesting if the NTSB look into those elements.

FAR61.87 The FAA requires a before solo knowledge test that includes an understanding of the flight characteristics and operational limitations for the make and model to be flown. The flight instructor is supposed to go over all missed answers with the applicant for solo privileges before endorsing him to solo.

Reading and interpreting performance charts and weather information is part of the knowledge test for all levels of certificate from the FAA.

70% correct answers are required to pass.

After the knowledge and before recommending the applicant for his practical test the flight instructor is supposed to go over all the wrong answers on the applicants knowledge test to make certain the applicant understands the correct answers and the concepts.

During the oral portion of the practical test a designated pilot examiner is supposed to focus on the missed items of the knowledge test.
 
In most of the apps on an iPhone or iPad such as iFly, one will not lose the map if one loses the GPS or if one does not have phone service, the map is already uploaded into your phone's memory and will be visible even without GPS. One will still have a moveable sectional map just like paper, except that it does not require folding or flipping to move from one area to the next. One simply moves the map with your finger, and also one can zoom in and out simply with finger gestures. As long as the phone turns on you have a sectional. I always travel with my phone and iPad plugged in to USB to remain charged, and on longer trips carry a backup battery. But sure, carrying a paper map as just one more backup is fine as well. Never tooo many backups.
If you want to test this just download the iFly trial to your phone or iPad and try it indoors where you can't get GPS.

Yes except then the pilot needs to know at least pilotage and dead reckoning. You know how many Sport Pilot Gyroplanes know that in recent years? One can draw their own conclusions from this. I do not understand how these guys pass the practical and oral for SP license.
 
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Thanks for that detail Vance. Sincerely asked question. Do you think the instructor/ examiner process is robust in the US?? In the UK in this regard I think it is poor actually.
 
Thanks for that detail Vance. Sincerely asked question. Do you think the instructor/ examiner process is robust in the US?? In the UK in this regard I think it is poor actually.
With 1/2 of the US Cavalon fleet tipping over and evaluating why. It clear we have a problem that insurance carriers are quitting and or raising rates because of poor training!!
Many only had 10 hours of training or less. Some did not fly for over 90 days and may have been proficient when check-out but rusty and needed a CFI refresher at least to assure they hadn't forgotten to keep the nose wheel up until it has stopped forward movement.
 
Thanks for that detail Vance. Sincerely asked question. Do you think the instructor/ examiner process is robust in the US?? In the UK in this regard I think it is poor actually.

In my opinion the designated pilot examiners do a good consistent job and are closely regulated.

I feel the knowledge test does a good job of identifying weaknesses in aircraft performance assessment and the instructor is required to go over all the wrong answers before recommending the applicant for his practical test.

I feel there is a challenge with the add on ratings because there is no knowledge test required and they may have forgotten what they learned from their other ratings or it may not be directly applicable.

Because the proficiency check ride may be given by any CFI the testing may be less through and gaps in aeronautical knowledge may not be revealed as a CFI is not so closely regulated as a designate pilot examiner.

I feel the biggest challenge here is to teach aviation decision making and have it stick.

Many of the pilots I have given a flight review are weak on how ground obstructions affect wind and weather in general.

I know very few pilots who check runway length and expected density altitude as part of their flight planning.
 
I believe the Cavalon is a poor design. It the landing gear needs to be 8" wider and set 6" forward aft. This is the cause of landing issues.
 
Yep thats interesting colour. In the UK - specifically on the navigation, flight planning and aircraft performance - my personal opinion is that we are weak and doing ourselves a disservice. Worse actually is the fact that this has been raised over multiple years with senior individuals and nothing has been done to change, which tells its own story especially since during the same period there was motivation to introduce a night and commercial rating.

Practical flight navigation is not part of the final flight examination and so whilst the student will have landed away at an airfield other than his home one at some point in the training process it is impossible to really know if a GPS device was used rather than a paper chart because of the very many different devices available plus the regulators insistence that a GPS device be used where possible.

Indeed to get it examined would prove a challenge to the examiner in many cases as I know some here can't use a whizz wheel properly.

Flight planning and performance is again effectively un-examined simply because the data in the POH is so utterly shambolic. If I fly (for instance) an AutoGyro MT-Sport off a tarmac runway having pre-rotated to 220rrpm with a weight of 400kgs at SL on an ISA day who knows how long that will take to get airborne. What about pre-rotation to 200rrpm at 450kgs??having chosen an "initial" power setting of 4500rpm until wheel balance etc, etc, etc.
 
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