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  1. davidgfern

    Getting the shaft, need help wrapping up PPL

    Compared to learning to fly in a flying club, they are all ripoffs. In addition, many of the CFIs who teach at flying schools are just time builders. The best instructors are those that teach flying because they love to teach people to fly.....you generally will not find those individuals at...
  2. davidgfern

    Getting the shaft, need help wrapping up PPL

    Where in SoCal? Are you in San Diego?
  3. davidgfern

    Getting the shaft, need help wrapping up PPL

    Not sure if this is an option for you or not...... stay away from ALL flight schools. Stay FAR AWAY. Find a flying club and join it, then get an instructor who is known to other club members and finish your training that way. Flying schools are a RIPOFF.
  4. davidgfern

    FAR AIM Inner vs Middle Marker

    The MM is usually, (but not always) placed at the point where , if you are on the glide slope, you are 200 AGL, however the MAP is defined by whatever the DH/DA on the approach plate says.... as I said, for a Category 1 ILS this is USUALLY where the MM is located, but it is not ALWAYS true.
  5. davidgfern

    FAR AIM Inner vs Middle Marker

    The DH for an ILS approach depends upon the Category of the ILS approach being flown. The most common ILS approaches are Category 1, and these have a decision height (usually) of 200 AGL..... that is where the MM is located. However, certain ILS approaches can be flown to lower minima than that...
  6. davidgfern

    Has anyone insured a complex aircraft as a student pilot?

    I second this..... I used Falcon for many years. They have great service and they are less expensive than Avemco.
  7. davidgfern

    BFR PIC?

    No.... both are valid and mean "every two years." Twice per year is "semi-annual."
  8. davidgfern

    Your first solo IMC flight after passing checkride

    No..... the person that I called "stupid" made a ridiculous comment about ripping all autopilots out of aircraft, which had absolutely ZERO relevance to the discussion at hand. There was nothing cryptic about what I was saying with respect to how an autopilot should be used, however that...
  9. davidgfern

    My CFI says that VFR cruising altitude is based on the planes heading

    Aren't CFI's douchebags by definition?
  10. davidgfern

    My CFI says that VFR cruising altitude is based on the planes heading

    You need a new CFI right away!
  11. davidgfern

    Anyone heard about turning LORAN back on in CONUS?

    The Russians developed a system equivalent to OMEGA (known in the west as ALPHA) that I believe is still in operation (I was able to receive several of these stations at my San Diego location about ten years ago). I imagine that its primary use is for submarines operating in the Arctic.
  12. davidgfern

    Your first solo IMC flight after passing checkride

    That is a good kind of shock to have ----- it keeps you safe.
  13. davidgfern

    Anyone heard about turning LORAN back on in CONUS?

    The accuracy of OMEGA was not good enough to make any errors due to relativistic effects visible.
  14. davidgfern

    Anyone heard about turning LORAN back on in CONUS?

    My first job out of college was as a VLF radio engineer (civil service for the U.S. Navy) ..... I had the good fortune of being able to visit (and work on) many of the Navy's VLF radio transmitters and antenna systems. The group in which i worked actually built the very first OMEGA navigation...
  15. davidgfern

    Anyone heard about turning LORAN back on in CONUS?

    Don't laugh...... the local oscillators in the GPS satellites have a very slight frequency offset to compensate for the difference in the earth's gravitational field between the surface and the altitude where the satellites are..... this is a consequence of General Relativity ------ the stronger...
  16. davidgfern

    Your first solo IMC flight after passing checkride

    I don't think that we are in disagreement at all..... the point I am driving home here is that if you are using the autopilot AS A CRUTCH to protect yourself against your lousy instrument skills, you are committing suicide on the installment plan. At some point, the autopilot WILL fail ---- and...
  17. davidgfern

    Your first solo IMC flight after passing checkride

    If you are being true to yourself, then you should practice flying on the autopilot equally while both practicing and while in actual IMC. From your initial response it sounds as if you may be using the autopilot as a crutch to compensate for lack of basic instrument proficiency. I will repeat...
  18. davidgfern

    Your first solo IMC flight after passing checkride

    Your post was perhaps the most stupid thing I've read this month.
  19. davidgfern

    Your first solo IMC flight after passing checkride

    Again ---- why? If you cannot confidently hand fly an airplane in actual IMC, you shouldn't be flying in IMC conditions. An autopilot is a tool that is very valuable for helping the pilot during times of high cockpit workload ----- copying a clearance, fiddling with the GPS or NAV/COM radios...
  20. davidgfern

    Anyone heard about turning LORAN back on in CONUS?

    Use of LORAN as a worldwide timing reference would be a poor choice ---- the groundwave coverage at 100 kHz would make the transmitter power requirements way too large. Individual LORAN chains were essentially independent of one another, although there were some chains that did have overlapping...
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