Sport Pilot Talk

Got a kid who is going on his solo cross country in an airplane which just had a Garmin G3X and autopilot installed.

Joking as we were talking about flight planning he says “ how will you know I didn’t just turn on the autopilot and not use all this planning” I said if the flight aware is perfectly straight I’ll be suspect. He says “I can just program in some zig zags”

Hahhah ok kid Got me there. He’ll be just fine. Flies no radio with a Piper Vagabond most of the time so he knows the way.

I kid the girl that I'm flying with now about the G3X and the autopilot in the Sling 2. I told her she can't use it, she just looks at me with a "sly" grin.

I'm working on my CFI-S now, but fly A LOT with her. She's 21 yo and wants to get her pilots license SO bad but she's in college now and really doesn't have the time to devote to it full time. So I fly with her every opportunity we get (I own the Sling) and I'm "teaching" her what I know, practicing for my CFI, if you will. And, she's doing great, made a couple of unassisted t/o's and lndgs. a couple weeks ago. She flies left seat every time we fly.

malexander wrote:She flies left seat every time we fly.

Which gives you lots of right-seat practice. It's a win-win!

drseti wrote:

malexander wrote:She flies left seat every time we fly.

Which gives you lots of right-seat practice. It's a win-win!

My thoughts exactly.

Best way for me to learn new avionics is try to teach someone how to use them. It forces you to really study and work through menus.

Time have changed.... Did my solo cross country (Riverside Ca to Phoenix Az) with sectionals, stopwatch, a trusty E6, and Narco Mark 3 radio. Relied on navigation skills, check points, and knowledge. All the new avionics are great until they fail or you fly into one of the government test areas where they jam GPS transmissions. Good to still learn the basics of navigation while enjoying the new technology.
VR... Don

snaproll wrote: Narco Mark 3 radio.

Hey, Don, I had the fancy Narco SuperHomer!

Yeah Paul, We were blessed with that 360 channel wonder. Best always... Don

snaproll wrote:Time have changed.... Did my solo cross country (Riverside Ca to Phoenix Az) with sectionals, stopwatch, a trusty E6, and Narco Mark 3 radio. Relied on navigation skills, check points, and knowledge. All the new avionics are great until they fail or you fly into one of the government test areas where they jam GPS transmissions. Good to still learn the basics of navigation while enjoying the new technology.
VR... Don

Unless regularly practiced ( which it won’t be since pretty much everyone relies on technology ) nobody will remember this stuff anyway.
I am not going to be paper planning every time just to account for a minuscule chance of encountering a GPS wasteland ... and if I do encounter one, I surely won’t be pulling my E6 ... I will just use basic pilotage skills ( which really requires just common sense ) to get me on the ground or get out of the area.

I still fly with my paper map in my lap, or at least REALLY close by. AND I still draw my line on it. Been doing it this way since 1977, when I got my PPL.

GPS is very difficult to jam and I don't think unless you're in a serious war zone that there will be any GPS dead spots while you are in the sky not to mention that your receiver might also use GLONASS . It would be more realistic to worry about your GPS machine breaking.

Ha, when I did my training a decade or so ago I was not allowed to bring a GPS on either my cross country or my checkride.

I don't object to teaching, and using, all available technology. When I started, we had to hand-prop the plane. That certainly doesn't mean we should disallow electric starters.

Warmi wrote: Unless regularly practiced ( which it won’t be since pretty much everyone relies on technology ) nobody will remember this stuff anyway.
I am not going to be paper planning every time just to account for a minuscule chance of encountering a GPS wasteland ... and if I do encounter one, I surely won’t be pulling my E6 ... I will just use basic pilotage skills ( which really requires just common sense ) to get me on the ground or get out of the area.

My theory is that if GPS goes out, my iPad still has sectionals. Figure out approximately where I am (should already know this!), match sectional to the view outside, navigate via pilotage. Not rocket science.

Now if an EMP or solar flare knocks out all electronics, things get more interesting, but unless you are out in the desert somewhere it's probably pretty easy to find a nearby airport and set down, even without a map to reference.

Andy, in the event of an EMP, my electronic ignition modules will be fried, and I'll be flying a glider. Electronic navigation will be the least of my problems!