Google Earth as a cross country tool.

John Baker

John Baker

Final Approach
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John Baker
I am sure this must have been brought up before, in the unlikely event it hasn't, here it is.

You can simply put in the airport identifier in the Google Earth search field and it will take you to that airport.

This is a great tool for reconnoitering unfamiliar airports and the surrounding terrain. If used in combination with your charts, it gives you a much clearer picture. It is a valuable tool to anyone planning cross country flights.

This idea was given to me by my flight instructor.

John
 
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I have used Google Earth for the same purpose, but I do not trust it. It is rarely updated. Where I am at they are using images that are 5 years old. A lot changes in 5 years.
 
I used it during training prepping for my cross countries. It does give you an idea about what things might look like when you're going to an unfamiliar airport. The previous mention of being out of date is true in some respects but not a reason to not use it IMHO.
 
I consider myself a sufficiently skilled pilot that I don't need to see the area beforehand in order to be able to fly in it. Besides, I go to new places because of their novelty. Don't need Google to ruin the surprise.
 
steingar said:
I consider myself a sufficiently skilled pilot that I don't need to see the area beforehand in order to be able to fly in it. Besides, I go to new places because of their novelty. Don't need Google to ruin the surprise.
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Yabut your an experienced pilot, your an expert, you know lots of stuff.

I'm just a student, I don't know squat. This forum is for Pilot Training, that's why I posted it here. Someday I'll know lots of stuff too. :D

John
 
A great add-on is from http://www.chartgeek.com/

Google Earth formatted Sectional and TACs, along with 3D airspace...You can plan your flight on the sectional, measure distances (don't forget to change units to nm) and then remove the sectional layer to pre-fly your route.
 
I also like www.runwayfinder.com and www.ourairports.com. Unless the whole area around an airport has been dug up and rebuilt, these sites give you a chance to see potential emergency landing sites if you lose power after takeoff, visual clues to entering the downwind, etc. Pilots, especially student pilots, should use all of the tools they can lay their hands on.

Bob Gardner
 
John Baker said:
Yabut your an experienced pilot, your an expert, you know lots of stuff.

I'm just a student, I don't know squat. This forum is for Pilot Training, that's why I posted it here. Someday I'll know lots of stuff too. :D

John
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Sooner or later you'll have to go to a new airport you haven't seen before. You might have to divert because of the wx or other factors. If every time during your training you go to a new airport you've seen in Google or some other pictoral representation, the first time you go to one that yo haven't, or that looks different from your computer picture, you could have trouble. If you have no trouble then you didn't need it in the first place.

Sorta like the same thing as my never using a GPS during my training. Have to learn to do things with pilotage, since charts are the only things that don't break or run out of batteries.
 
I have a GPS, it's still in the box, I've never used it. The reason is I don't want to clutter what is left of my brain with things that are not all that necessary on a check ride. I just discovered this Google Earth thing, so I have only used it a couple of times in the real world.

As far as pilotage and dead reckoning go, I am completely comfortable with that aspect of navigation. Since I have never used GPS, VOR equipment seems just fine to me.

Like Bob pointed out, it is almost foolish not to take advantage of every tool you can lay your hands on. FARs seems to think so as well, in that they expect you to know everything you can learn about the flight before you take off.

Although seeing an airport and it's surrounding terrain beforehand can take away from the wonderment of new discoveries, it can also remove unexpected surprise links from the accident chain.

John
 
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Google could be handy for interesting waypoints, such as the sunnydale nudist colony off to the east. (kidding)
 
steingar said:
I consider myself a sufficiently skilled pilot that I don't need to see the area beforehand in order to be able to fly in it. Besides, I go to new places because of their novelty. Don't need Google to ruin the surprise.
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Spoil sport :D
 
On one of my trips out west, the airport manager(and CFI) at Afton, WY used Google Earth to show me some of the approaches into some backcountry Idaho strips. It was very helpful because the you can't always see the runway during the approach. And it doesn't matter how old the data for the area is, those mountains haven't changed shape much.

Barb
 
It is a valuable tool to anyone planning cross country flights.
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Of course.
I'm just a student, I don't know squat.
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Not true. You know that careful flight planning is A Good Thing.
I consider myself a sufficiently skilled pilot that I don't need to see the area beforehand in order to be able to fly in it.
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The quotation that comes to mind is the one about the superior pilot using his superior judgment to avoid having to use his superior skills. IMHO it's not a question of "need," it is a question of good planning/good judgment.

I have 123 different airports in my logbook, so I guess that means I may be "sufficently skilled" in finding airports. Never have failed to find one, anyway! The first item on my predescent checklist is "Airport Diagram Available."

Re Google Earth, I do not use it regularly for flight planning but I just flew a route in northern Canada where not all the airports were in my flight planner database. I copied and pasted every manually-entered lat/long into Google Earth and looked to verify that there was an airport there. Very comforting when "NRST Airport" is giving three-digit numbers for distances.

John, in addition to using Google Earth I suggest that you make a practice of having an airport diagram for your destination available on your kneeboard. You can visualize how the airport will look to you by drawing your approach course line right on the diagram. Even turn the diagram course-up if you like. Diagrams can be downloaded as individual pages for many airports from the NACO website or by using many other tools. Absent a full page diagram, use the little one on any approach plate or check the AF/D and AOPA site. For Canada, NavCanada publishes a really nice book/pdf download containing over 500 diagrams. And maybe print your Google satellite view and carry that as well!
 
I use AOPA airport diagrams for every cross country. I have one of those metal Knee boards with the binder rings. Just flying locally, I have the airport diagram for every airport except private in the San Diego area. I never fly without the most important document of all of them, a chart. A chart has all the information you need to approach and land at any airport. What a chart does not give you is a clear mental image of where you are going.

If you fly into the Los Angeles basin, the charts become so cluttered, it is easy to miss something like a small pond near an airport on the chart while flying. Look at Bracket Field on a TAC for Los Angeles, then look at it on Google Earth. At Bracket Field, that small pond is a positive identifier that you are in the right place. It is on the chart, but very easy to miss. Please understand that I am not using GPS, just pilotage, dead reckoning, and radio nav aids.

John
 
I use AOPA airport diagrams for every cross country.
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Good, although I would suggest using the NACO diagrams or plates whenever they are available. I am not sure how up-to-date the AOPA directory information is re frequencies especially. Besides, using the NACO pages will familiarize you with them for when you start on your instrument work.

I have one of those metal Knee boards with the binder rings.
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Yup. Me, too. I carry all kinds of crib sheets on it in addition to notepaper, airport diagrams, etc.
 
FWIW, when I flew down to Columbus last month I Google Earthed KCMH to get an idea of where Lane Aviation was relative to the terminal, and I even used the panoramic photos from the street to identify the exact building.

It's a really useful tool, though in some areas the satellite image resolution is pretty poor. I've noticed that resolution varies from day to day also, not sure what to make of that (bandwidth issues?)
 
If you need Google to find the Lane hangar at CMH you need a better eyeglass prescription. Much better.
 
Yep, pretty hard to miss from the taxiway (or even short final, probably), but that wasn't the point. I was wondering how far Lane was from the terminal (where the rental desks are), and what exactly was between them. The airport diagram doesn't give that kind of detail, all it indicates is the parking area. I wanted to be sure it was actually in that row of buildings, that's all.
 
If you need Google to find the Lane hangar at CMH you need a better eyeglass prescription. Much better.
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And this cheap shot adds value to the discussion? How?
 
I used to use MS Flight Sim approaches to practice a new approach. I don't anymore.

I do look up grass strips on Google Earth to be able to pick them out from the air. It ain't always easy in a green state like Pennsylvania.

It's a tool -- use it until you don't need it anymore, or use it forever.
 
My CFII recommends using it when planning a flight to unfamiliar areas. One more tool in the box.
 
Ghery said:
My CFII recommends using it when planning a flight to unfamiliar areas. One more tool in the box.
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Exactly, nothing wrong with more information, no matter what your skill level is. I use Google often.
 
Stein.... might I suggest that the attitude you portray in the entirety of this post is the exact thing that led to your predicament at 6Y9 earlier this fall. I guess your sufficient pilot skills didn't require you to do a W&B calculation or consult your POH for takeoff performance specs.
 
Wow. Getting testy in here.

I use Google Earth to find crazy hard to find strips. For example - the first time I went into Gastons by myself (well, Piper was on board), I used it because I knew I'd miss it. I almost missed it still.

I did, however, not use it to find 6Y9, and I'm glad, because three pilots on board all searched and found it.

Its a tool, and it can be used in the right circumstances.
 
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