Trying to find the best resources for my Cross Country Endorsement

[Guest Brett Campany]

G'day guys, well I've got 3 days of flying lined up this weekend and would love to know where I can get a good heads up for my cross country training. So far I've found this link

 

Flight planning contents

 

as well as the RAAus Syllabus for Nav and Met.

 

Is there anything else, either online (preferable) or book that would help along the way?

 

Also, what do the exams consist of?

 

Cheer in advance!

 

 

[Simonflyer]

I cant go past the Bob Tait PPL book.Easy enough to understand, and plenty of workable problems.

 

Also the "Flightplan" app for your iphone is a really good thing to use to back up the info you gleam from your flight computer..Getting used to working out the various uses for it and then double checking via that app.

 

Get a really good system going for the in flight phase so that you can manage the workload well.Once you have something really clear and concise going on it makes it much easier to manage particularly when diversion are thrown in, or you find yourself off track and need to do a correction.

 

Just sit with your maps, and get really good at defining what is what, and imagine what things will look like from the air as you make each track change.In particular what landmarks etc will you be looking for to make sure your on track.

 

I know you were looking into getting x-plane, and i ended up "flying" the navs i had planned before i actually did it right down to clearof's and other checks i would do on the go.even though what i saw out of the window wasnt nearly as good as what i saw when i actually flew it, major landmarks were in, and it helped quite a bit flying into airfields i didnt know.

 

Hope some of that waffling helps..:thumb_up:

 

 

[RetiredRacer]

Simon, do you have the commercial version of X-Plane or just the standard version?

 

 

[Simonflyer]

Hi Bob

 

its just the Standard version..

 

Cheers

 

 

[Guest Brett Campany]

I cant go past the Bob Tait PPL book.Easy enough to understand, and plenty of workable problems.Also the "Flightplan" app for your iphone is a really good thing to use to back up the info you gleam from your flight computer..Getting used to working out the various uses for it and then double checking via that app.

 

Get a really good system going for the in flight phase so that you can manage the workload well.Once you have something really clear and concise going on it makes it much easier to manage particularly when diversion are thrown in, or you find yourself off track and need to do a correction.

 

Just sit with your maps, and get really good at defining what is what, and imagine what things will look like from the air as you make each track change.In particular what landmarks etc will you be looking for to make sure your on track.

 

I know you were looking into getting x-plane, and i ended up "flying" the navs i had planned before i actually did it right down to clearof's and other checks i would do on the go.even though what i saw out of the window wasnt nearly as good as what i saw when i actually flew it, major landmarks were in, and it helped quite a bit flying into airfields i didnt know.

 

Hope some of that waffling helps..:thumb_up:

Cheers Simon, still yet to get X-Plane 9 and try it out. I've got all of the charts and everything ready to go and yeah the iPhone app FlightPlan is brilliant for checking calculations. So far so good I think!

 

 

[Guest Decca]

Hi Brett. Just picking up on a point in the opening post; you mention the RAAus syllabus (3.07: Navigation) plus the RAAus link which opens up an excellent training aid on Flight Planning & Navigation.

 

Because I (mostly) use the training resources provided by RAAus, I was wondering if you found it wanting & needed more info than what is supplied?

 

ALL: The last thing I want here is going off topic or anyone going overboard with criticism that should go direct to the RAAus webmaster, who does a fantastic job.

 

Regards, Decca.

 

 

[Guest Brett Campany]

Hi Brett. Just picking up on a point in the opening post; you mention the RAAus syllabus (3.07: Navigation) plus the RAAus link which opens up an excellent training aid on Flight Planning & Navigation.Because I (mostly) use the training resources provided by RAAus, I was wondering if you found it wanting & needed more info than what is supplied?

 

ALL: The last thing I want here is going off topic or anyone going overboard with criticism that should go direct to the RAAus webmaster, who does a fantastic job.

 

Regards, Decca.

So far it's been pretty good but I probably won't really know until after my 3 flights this weekend. I'll tell you then if it needs any work but from previous experience it's looking pretty good anyway.

 

 

[Guest basscheffers]

I know you were looking into getting x-plane, and i ended up "flying" the navs i had planned before i actually did it

Another good way to look at things from the air is Google Earth. Plot your tracks, set the eye at cruising altitude and look towards the horizon along your track. Drag the screen to move forward.

While it is not 3D, it gives you a good idea about what towns, quarries, reservoirs, etc. to look for.

 

I find the scenery around South Australia in X-Plane pretty poor, unfortunately.

 

 

[Powerin]

Google Earth's inbuilt flight simulator might help too?