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Max Trescott’s GPS and WAAS Instrument Flying Handbook

Max Trescott recently did a survey of his readers and found out that more than half of them have difficulty at least some of the time getting a GPS to do what they want. Moreover, his experience as a CFI has told him that there aren’t many good reference materials that explain everything that one needs to know about the GPS – especially the latest GPS systems.

Hence, Max has recently written a handbook entitled Max Trescott’s GPS and WAAS Instrument Flying Handbook where he explains how to operate the latest GPS systems and he includes step-by-step instructions for the Bendix/King KLN 94, Garmin GNS 430, 430W, 480, 530, 530W and G900X, G1000 and Perspective glass cockpits. In addition, his handbook covers specific topics such as the differences between the Direct-to key and using a flight plan, entering flight plans, the right way to use load approaches,flying instrument approaches and about WAAS and other new capabilities. The book can be ordered online and costs US$39.95 plus shipping.

So if you are among the numerous pilots out there who are still fiddling with the GPS while trying to also fly the aircraft, Max’s book may go a long way to help you better understand how to properly use the latest GPS systems.

The informal rules of aviation

When it comes to flying, there are often “rules” that are not easy to verify or are simply not clear to everyone. Hence, Vincent has posted a great entry on Plastic Pilot entitled the the fuzzy rules of aviation. Among examples of “fuzzy rules” cited by Vincent are the “rules” governing distance from clouds and distance to clouds as it is often hard to determine where some types of clouds begin and end. Furthermore, Vincent also states that he knows many pilots who:

Would launch in terrible conditions, should the rule say “aircraft shall be operated in sufficient visibility and at an appropriate distance from clouds”. I also know of others who would call me “girly” for not flying under the same conditions…

However, he is quick to make the point that he will get weather reports from the airports located along the route he will fly and based upon these reports, make a decision. If he feels that the weather may not be what he is comfortable with, he simply plans to divert to where the weather is better. Definitely wise advice that every pilot should consider.

Hence, are there any set in stone so to speak “rules” that you as a pilot always follow or do you usually rely on gut instinct when flying or planning a flight?

What is monitoring and why bother?

If you are a professional airline pilot, then flying becomes almost like driving a car – in other words, it becomes almost a routine. However, flying is still much more complicated than driving and there is obviously more “monitoring” involved when flying a plane. However, what is really meant by “monitoring” and more importantly, how and what do you monitor as a pilot? Furthermore, why bother to “monitor”?

To answer these questions, two entries on Airline Command attempt to answer what is monitoring and why bother to do it. The writer begins the first entry by going back to the basics by using the ANCM (Aviate, Navigate, Communicate, Manage) acronym and P4 (Plane, Path, People, Parts) acronym as a framework to explain what monitoring is or what it should be. In the second entry, the writer explains that monitoring is an active skill and the primary task to be performed by the pilot and all of the crew.

Of course, these two entries are meant for professional airline pilots and crew flying planes that are much more complicated than the planes flown by private pilots. So to all private pilot who are reading this, what is your definition of monitoring and how do you do it?

Practicing solo spins

It is natural to be a little nervous about spin training or practicing solo spins but Roger Worden has written an account about his recent solo spin practice that should put other pilots at ease. Now this is not the first time Roger has blogged about spin practice or spin training (he previously blogged about doing spins with instructors back in 2005 and 2008 plus about doing a few solo spins in a PW5) and he candidly admits that while he was never nervous about spins when he had an instructor with him, he did find it scary when he practiced spins on his own.

This time around however, Roger had no problems with performing three solo spins in a Blanik. In fact, he states right after he describes his first spin that he was thinking: "’Wow – that was really easy.’ Period – not exclamation point. It was just… easy and natural.” After he describes his second and third spin, he states that he had a much better experience than when he performed his first solo spins back in April. Moreover, Roger states that being at home in the sky and comfortable with performing any maneuver are his goals as a pilot and he feels that he is much closer to achieving these goals after his latest solo spins.

Thus, if you are not yet at home in the sky and comfortable with spin maneuvers, Rogers posts about spins will certainly go along way to putting your mind at ease.

Lessons learned from a mixture control incident

As a pilot, one should always be prepared and ready for the unexpected to occur. With this in mind, Matt Hammer, a New Jersey based private pilot who is working on his commercial certificate and instrument rating, has written a guest post on Plastic Pilot about an in-flight incident involving the mixture control. Specifically (and during a recent cross country flight), Matt turned the mixture knob only to have the entire mixture knob along with a good 8 or so inches of cable came out of the panel and land on the airplane’s floor.

Without recounting the specific details of how he handled the incident (more of an annoyance than a serious emergency), Matt mentions three important lessons that every pilot should take note of and remember during any unexpected event or emergency while flying:

When something unexpected happens, the first step is *always* to fly the airplane.
Assess the situation. Is it an actual emergency? Are you in immediate danger? What’s the most logical thing to do to arrive on the ground in one piece?
After you’ve decided on the best way to handle the situation, COMMIT to your plan. Don’t second guess yourself unless it’s glaringly obvious that you’ve made a mistake.

Remembering these three simple pieces of advice will go along way toward keeping you safe the next time something unexpected happens while flying.

Lessons learned from the JFK Jr. crash

It was exactly ten years ago last week (July 16, 1999) that John F. Kennedy Jr. went missing in his Piper Saratoga near Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts. It was later determined by the NTSB that the crash was caused by "The pilot’s failure to maintain control of the airplane during a descent over water at night, which was a result of spatial disorientation." Moreover, the fact that the weather was officially listed as VFR and this allowed Kennedy to fly that night despite his lack of an IFR rating along with his relative inexperience as a pilot (he also had an injured foot and was under stress in his personal life) also contributed to the crash.

Given the recent anniversary, Thomas B. Haines has posted an entry on the AOPA Pilot Blog where he recalls the day after Kennedy disappeared and how he was contacted by the media relations person at Piper Aircraft who said the company needed help from the AOPA because the media was already pouncing on them. Ironically however, on the following day while flying from Maryland to Pennsylvania, Haines found himself nearly in the same situation that Kennedy faced:

It was technically VFR, but the haze was incredibly thick–even by our usual standards. Even in daylight, I was relying mostly on the instruments, happy to have a solid autopilot in the A36 Bonanza I was flying. By my late-morning return to Frederick, the conditions were even worse, but I had wised up enough to file IFR. I couldn’t imagine flying in such conditions at night and over water with no horizon–especially without an instrument rating. What was Junior thinking?

A very good question indeed. Haines makes the point of always having a plan B for when you think you might be heading into a situation that you may not be able to handle as a pilot and this Plan B may even include just staying at home. Good advice worth heeding.