navigation

[Guest micgrace]

Hi guys, a question?

 

Does anyone practice old style navigation anymore? (pre GPS)

 

Micgrace

 

 

[Wilfred]

if they dont they should not be in command of an aircraft

 

 

[Guest babs1aus]

Yes I have to. the Gps is just far too complicated compared to the

 

ruler map compass watch daisy wheel and eyesight which work without

 

power well sorry the watch uses a battery.

 

Sorry seems there is a growing trend in all aviation sectors to use the

 

goto command. I only took up flying so I could see the scenery Id have

 

stuck with Flight sim if I liked buttons screens. It also ensures that

 

I always keep myself safely flying with visible terrain(you know the ground with all those little features that relate to those maps you carry).

 

I have to say there is so more to navigation than just knowing where

 

you are going. There is your time personal safety audit fuel weather

 

terrain airspace frequency changes contingencies. I know some of the

 

available units have alot of information however flight planning is

 

exactly that a plan with a set of checks and balances to help you. I

 

have to be honest I dont go cross country as much nowdays I still enjoy

 

getting out the gear when I do and doing a plan.

 

Must be great to go somewhere on a gps get there ontop only to find a

 

2500 foot layer of cloud down to 50 agl feet seperates you from a nice

 

cold beer family and freinds .????

 

Guess its a worst case scenario however it happens.

 

 

[Guest sypkens]

I have recently completed my cross country endorsement and have only recently bought a GPS (that is already giving me hassles and I have not used it on a cross country yet).

 

I enjoy the old way of navigating for exactly the reasons that is

 

mentioned above - checks and balances. Even if I can get my GPS working

 

eventually I still will do the old style navigating and fly with the

 

map as I see the GPS being a complimentory to navigation (making sure you don't get off your planned track too much).

 

Jan

 

 

[Ultralights]

i always use the old fashioned method, my GPS isnt really capable of

 

aviation navigation, though it does come in handy to get your ground

 

speed. which is pretty much all i use it for.

 

 

 

[greggf]

Really important! Make sure you can navigate by first principles - ie

 

compass, clock and prayer wheel. Then use GPS to make life easier. But

 

when GPS fails, you can fall back on your first principles knowledge.

 

A

 

bit like autopilot, really. If you have one, it would be silly to do a

 

long flight manually. But it's important to be able to fly manually.

 

Problem is, the modern attitude seems to be (in all sorts of things)

 

I don't have to know how... the machine will do it for me. Great while

 

the machine is working. Not so good when the wheels fall off.

 

 

[Student Pilot]

I have covered most of this country with clock, map and compass

 

including remote area flying. A GPS takes some worry out of cross

 

country flying, the flying with a GPS is a lot more enjoyable. I still

 

do a plan and carry the relevent maps and paperwork but will admit to

 

using the GOTO button a fair bit. The main trouble with GPS use is

 

finger trouble, used as an aid with all the rest of the standard nav

 

gear I can see no problem in using one.

 

 

[Guest Prometheus]

Agreed... key word there is that GPS is an 'aid'.

 

Plan manually, Navigate manually; Clock-to-Map-to-Ground. VFR is just

 

that, navigating on what you see, not what some gizmo is telling you

 

you should see.

 

This topic reminds me of the 757 that went into the mountains just

 

outside of Cali Columbia. The Captain attempted to find the next

 

waypoint using the flight computer (which should bring up the nearest at the top of the list) needless to say the GPS didn't do what it was supposed to do and they flew the 757 CFiT (Controlled Flight into Terrain).

 

Just shows you what can happen when 1) you rely on the aircraft to do the flying & 2) you put the aircraft into a situation your brain hasn't been five minutes beforehand.

 

Dave.