Cockpit backup avionics...

[FastEddieB]

But having said all that, I don't see it as a necessary tool for the VFR pilot .

Agreed.

I have my Dynon D10A as a backup to the real horizon outside the plane.

A VFR pilot, with proper training and planning, should never lose the real horizon in the first place. But it can and does happen, so having some way to know up from down is nice to have. Having a backup to the backup, however, seems a bit extreme.

In my plane, primary navigation is my 496. It has enough information, including weather via Sirius, to safely navigate in most cases, but...

1) It lacks some info on the sectional, and so likely fails as a source of the "all available information" the FAA requires for any flight "not in the vicinity of an airport".

2) It's very expensive to update, so my habit is to update the aviation and obstacle databases annually.

3) Therefore, I use the information on my iPad Mini via WingXPro7 as my primary information source.

4) And my backup to that is my iPhone, also running WingXPro7 and kept current. Kinda small for routine use of the sectional, but about the same size screen as most of the Garmins many of us got used to over the years and fully usable in a pinch.

5) I do have a handheld COM, but most of my flying is done where there are mostly non-towered airports in any case, so I don't always have it in reach. Probably not a bad idea, though.

[3Dreaming]

Eddie, I have been told that if the 496 has had all the updates it meets the requirements for the FAA in place of a sectional.

[FastEddieB]

Eddie, I have been told that if the 496 has had all the updates it meets the requirements for the FAA in place of a sectional.

Cool.

Any chance of a source?

[dstclair]

A paper chart doesn't need to be current to serve the purpose of preventing you from being lost...but pulling it out of a flight bag and trying to orient you and the chart to your location can itself be quite difficult when you are flying in unfamiliar areas.

I'm not sure I agree with this. Presumably I was chugging along just fine and know where I am at any point in time. I think most of us know we're near airport(s) XYZ and small town ABC with Lake DEF to our north. I'l grant it would take a couple minutes to open up the map and pinpoint the location but I wouldn't call this difficult.

[3Dreaming]

Eddie, I have been told that if the 496 has had all the updates it meets the requirements for the FAA in place of a sectional.

Cool.

Any chance of a source?

I don't have one without searching, but that is what I remember from back in 2007 when I got my first CT with a 496. If I remember correctly that did come from someone with the FAA.

[ct4me]

A sectional is not required IN the plane, you just have to consulted one (or equiv) prior to flight... right?

[FastEddieB]

A sectional is not required IN the plane, you just have to consulted one (or equiv) prior to flight... right?

Probably technically correct.

91.103 in its entirety (bolded mine):

Each pilot in command shall, before beginning a flight, become familiar with all available information concerning that flight. This information must include --

(a) For a flight under IFR or a flight not in the vicinity of an airport, weather reports and forecasts, fuel requirements, alternatives available if the planned flight cannot be completed, and any known traffic delays of which the pilot in command has been advised by ATC;

(b) For any flight, runway lengths at airports of intended use, and the following takeoff and landing distance information:

(1) For civil aircraft for which an approved Airplane or Rotorcraft Flight Manual containing takeoff and landing distance data is required, the takeoff and landing distance data contained therein; and

(2) For civil aircraft other than those specified in paragraph (b)(1) of this section, other reliable information appropriate to the aircraft, relating to aircraft performance under expected values of airport elevation and runway slope, aircraft gross weight, and wind and temperature.

[dstclair]

AC 91-78 opines that EFBs may be used in lieu of paper charts.

Also, the question of current data is answered: http://www.faa.gov/air_traffic/flight_i ... int=go#q8b

What is the FAA policy for carrying current charts?
The specific FAA regulation, FAR 91.103 "Preflight Actions," states that each pilot in command shall, before beginning a flight, become familiar with all available information concerning that flight. Although the regulation does not specifically require it, you should always carry a current chart with you in flight. Expired charts may not show frequency changes or newly constructed obstructions, both of which when unknown could crate a hazard.

The only FAA/FAR requirements that pertain to charts are:

Title 14 CFR section 91.503[a] (Large and Turbojet powered aircraft)
Title 14 CFR section 135.83 (Air Carriers-Little Airplane)
Title 14 CFR section 121.549 (Air Carrier-Big Airplanes)
The FAA's July/August 1997 issue of FAA Aviation News on "current" aeronautical charts provided the following information:

"You can carry old charts in your aircraft." "It is not FAA policy to violate anyone for having outdated charts in the aircraft."
"Not all pilots are required to carry a chart." "91.503..requires the pilot in command of large and multiengine airplanes to have charts." "Other operating sections of the FAR such as Part 121 and Part 135 operations have similar requirements."
..."since some pilots thought they could be violated for having outdated or no charts on board during a flight, we need to clarify an important issue. As we have said, it is NOT FAA policy to initiate enforcement action against a pilot for having an old chart on board or no chart on board." That's because there is no regulation on the issue.
..."the issue of current chart data bases in handheld GPS receivers is a non-issue because the units are neither approved by the FAA or required for flight, nor do panel-mounted VFR-only GPS receivers have to have a current data base because, like handheld GPS receivers, the pilot is responsible for pilotage under VFR.
"If a pilot is involved in an enforcement investigation and there is evidence that the use of an out-of-date chart, no chart, or an out-of-date database contributed to the condition that brought on the enforcement investigation, then that information could be used in any enforcement action that might be taken."

[Nomore767]

FYI There is a company called Dura-Charts that apparently makes Sectionals etc that are stronger and more resistant to ripping along the fold lines etc. Prices seem reasonable.

http://www.duracharts.com

[MrMorden]

An iPad is considered a class II electronic flight bag (EFB) by the FAA, and thus fulfills all the requirements for carrying charts for Part 91 operations.

Personally, I use an iPad for primary charting and navigation, and a Garmin 496 as backup. If both of those fail, I guess I'll tune ATC or 121.5 and ask for vectors to nearest suitable airport.

[cogito]

For nav I use iPad/Foreflight with MGL EFIS and iPhone/Foreflight as backups. I still keep a current Los Angeles TAC in the plane because one of the rules for flying in the Los Angeles Special Flight Rules Area (a north-south corridor directly over LAX) is, "The pilot shall have a current Los Angeles Terminal Area Chart in the aircraft."

I take that to mean a paper chart, no?
-Craig

[dstclair]

For nav I use iPad/Foreflight with MGL EFIS and iPhone/Foreflight as backups. I still keep a current Los Angeles TAC in the plane because one of the rules for flying in the Los Angeles Special Flight Rules Area (a north-south corridor directly over LAX) is, "The pilot shall have a current Los Angeles Terminal Area Chart in the aircraft."

I take that to mean a paper chart, no?
-Craig

Foreflight and others have TAC charts and the FAA has deemed EFB's to be equivalent so I wouldn't interpret the above to mean paper.

[MovingOn]

.......

[MrMorden]

Paper charts might not be required, but I think it's good, cheap insurance.

I think it depends. I keep the ATL sectional and TAC under the seat of my airplane, because they weigh less than a pound and I know the area well enough I could almost certainly unfold the things and figure out very quickly where I am and where I need to go.

I'm hoping to take a long cross country to Michigan later this year; I will probably not take paper charts of all the areas I'd pass through -- it's too much paper to keep up with, and the chances of needing them are slight. I will probably be on flight following anyway, so if by some wild coincidence both of my nav devices fail, I would ask ATC for vectors.

[MovingOn]

.......