today's "today's lesson" lesson posting

[kath]

Today: Kath goes IFR cross country!

BED <-> 7B2 (Northampton, Mass)
The destination was my idea, I wanted to try something non-towered. Got filed and briefed. I guessed a departure time and guessed wrong. Called up clearance delivery way too early, but they were nice to me and got me a new flight plan and clearance. "Wow, they're being nice" says my instructor.
We fought a headwind on the way there. I kept up with GPS reprogramming as we got re-routed and re-re-routed. Just as my instructor had predicted, "You'll plan out everything down to minute accuracy, and as soon as you get in the air, everything will change!" I experimented with the autopilot some more on the way. The air is smooth. "Take a look outside" says my instructor. Gosh, it's IMC! It's like floating in a void, like that episode of Star Trek where the universe shrinks to a spheroid 200 meters in diameter. I wonder if scuba divers ever get the same sensation?
ATC instructs us to decend out of the clouds and we start a VOR-A approach to the field. The approach plate has lower minimums if one has the "local" altimeter setting, which it says you can get on CTAF. Not sure what this meant, I called up Unicom and asked if they had an altimeter setting. They sounded confused too and gave as an "unofficial" setting. Since it sounded untrustworthy, we didn't use it, and went with the higher minimums. What was that about?

Like a doofus, I'd forgotten to change the departure time when filing for the return trip, so my flight plan had expired. Bradley Clearance was kind enough to rustle up a new one for me. "That's twice," said my instructor, "they're being so nice to us. Maybe it's because you're female." "Hey," I responded, "Use all resources available in the cockpit, right?" Including charm!
The trip back was even more interesting. We were due for a tailwind. We got a clearance GPS direct, and a release, switched to CTAF, took off, and called up Bradley Approach again. "What's this?" I asked, pointing to the big red "HDG" flag that had popped up on the HSI. The HSI was all hosed. "You'll have to put it in 'free' mode and check it every 15 minutes," said my instructor. Free mode was no good either. The heading card would not spin. "21693, say heading" said Bradley. "Turn right to 080 and proceed direct DREEM." I started following my vectors with mag compass timed turns. Meanwhile, something was wrong with the GPS too... the screen seemed frozen and the MFD reported no data. My instructor pulled the POH out of the back seat and started paging through it. "Okay, get up to altitude and then we'll try to fix the HSI," he said. "Turn off avionics bus 1, then turn it back on." *gulp* Okay. *snap* *snap* All the avionics flashed off, then on. The HSI was still hosed, the card just wouldn't move. The GPS, rebooted, now seemed stuck on a satellite-acquire screen. "Why won't it acquire?" Helllloooooooo, satellites?? "21693, say heading" said Bradley again. (In other words, 21693, where the hell are you going?) "21693 is having some DG trouble," I said, and got some more vectors. I suggested power-cycling the GPS again, and this time the satellites were back and my heart rate slowed a little bit. We were still in VFR conditions, and flew the whole trip back (including the ILS at home base) without the DG.

Today I learned that the autopilot in "roll" mode only is still my best friend when trying to hold a heading without a DG. And that when in doubt, power-cycle.

And the landing was even a greaser. "I saw that smile," said my instructor after the landing.

Stay tuned for next lesson: Superpilot gets humbled by something and says "aaarrrgg!" many times.

 

[bbchien]

Wait until you get to where your CFII explains what a minimum equipment list is. Some of my acquaintances in the RJ fleet say they have never flown with everything working. Sigh.

 

[spiderweb]

Nice post, Kath. I had a couple of thoughts.

I think it is great that you are learning GPS NAV, because this is a great way to get where you're going. Some CFIIs won't teach it. I would suggest, though, that you maybe leave it for every third or fourth trip, because GPS can also get you sloppy.

Were you on vectors the whole way? If not, did you check the OROCA? Go a bit more north or west of your location and you can get burned if you don't check that. (Read that last bit as "Ben was taught a lesson on that one by his CFII, once!)

If you had lost your GPS, when ATC gave you direct DREEM, you could have refused it by alerting them to the fact that you were no longer /G. Some intersections are easy to find without GPS, others are a *****. I never accept direct to an intersection if I am not /G unless I really know where it is (as in my neighboorhood).

It is great to have these experiences within the controlled environment of an instrument lesson with CFII on board. I've had a couple of high-intensity experiences with CFII on board, and those times have given me a bit of courage to face the future flying IMC single pilot.

 

[kath]

I think it is great that you are learning GPS NAV, because this is a great way to get where you're going. Some CFIIs won't teach it. I would suggest, though, that you maybe leave it for every third or fourth trip, because GPS can also get you sloppy.

My instructor is very pro-GPS. He feels (and I agree) that if it's in the plane, I should learn how to squeeze every capability out of it. Partial-panel, for instance, he encourages me to use the ground track drawn on the MFD as a backup heading indication. "Use everything you have" he says. Same philosophy with the autopilot. He does fail them both at inconvenient times, of course.

I know that this is a debate which could rage on and on... and I haven't really formed my own opinion yet, so I'm trusting my instructor's greater-experience-based philosophy on this one. Another reason to learn the GPS well is that all the instrument approaches at Hanscom require either it or an ADF, and since only one or two planes in our fleet have ADF's, you effectively need to be /G to fly IFR back to home base.

Were you on vectors the whole way? If not, did you check the OROCA? <.....> If you had lost your GPS, when ATC gave you direct DREEM, you could have refused it by alerting them to the fact that you were no longer /G.

Oh, goshdarnedit, Ben, could you remind me what OROCA is? We were getting vectors... I think. Now that you mention it, I need to ask my instructor about this. They never said "Radar vectors" to anywhere, but they were saying "turn right heading 080" and so forth all the way to DREEM. Was I "on vectors" or not? Is there such a thing as a "pity vector"? For when someone is clearly off-course and needing a little help?

It was very uncomfortable being off-airways and wandering in the vague direction of DREEM. If we hadn't gotten the GPS up again relatively quickly, I suppose I'd've told ATC that we were also no longer /G and required vectors.

--Kath

 

[fgcason]

OROCA = off route obstruction clearance altitude

 

[kath]

OROCA = off route obstruction clearance altitude

Is that the same thing as the "quadrant" clearance altitudes printed on the enroute charts?
--Kath

 

[RobertGerace]

"You'll plan out everything down to minute accuracy, and as soon as you get in the air, everything will change!"

Not me. Call me crazy, but I don't. My flight planning is as follows:

1) Weather supposed to be safe? (Also, am I required to file an alternate?)

2) How long to get from A to B taking wind into account? (maybe try some different altitudes.)...this will dictate a fuel stop or not -- and how much fuel I need for the trip, and how that merges with how much weight I'm taking, how long the runways are, the altitudes and temps of the airports, etc.

3) What charts do I need?

4) What time do I leave in order to arrive at the time I need to arrive?

5) What are my 'outs' if something goes wrong?

You never know for sure what clearance you're going to get. (Yes, you have a good chance of knowing on regular trips, but even then...when will your turn on course come?...could be different every time.)

Enroute, I'm making minute-to-minute decisions...basically about, "do I continue this flight or abort it using one of my planned outs?" Also, "given my ETE and my fuel remaining, will I have what I have decided (with the most current weather data available to me as of right now) a comfortable margin when I land?

Many times I've landed short for more fuel or to wait for weather to pass...but like you said...everything changes once you get in the air. So I've learned to plan the big stuff, and go with the flow.

Crazy?

 

[spiderweb]

I know that this is a debate which could rage on and on... and I haven't really formed my own opinion yet, so I'm trusting my instructor's greater-experience-based philosophy on this one. Another reason to learn the GPS well is that all the instrument approaches at Hanscom require either it or an ADF, and since only one or two planes in our fleet have ADF's, you effectively need to be /G to fly IFR back to home base.

I think you mean "you effectively need to be /G to fly an approach back at home base. You certainly don't need to be /G to get back to Hanscom. But, I looked it up and you're right--every approach requires ADF. Bummer!

Oh, goshdarnedit, Ben, could you remind me what OROCA is? We were getting vectors... I think. Now that you mention it, I need to ask my instructor about this. They never said "Radar vectors" to anywhere, but they were saying "turn right heading 080" and so forth all the way to DREEM. Was I "on vectors" or not? Is there such a thing as a "pity vector"? For when someone is clearly off-course and needing a little help?

You were on vectors. But now I'm confused becuase in the orignal post you said they cleared you direct DREEM, but now you are saying they gave you headings to fly. That's another way to do it. You can tell them that you are no longer /G, and that you'd be happy to go direct DREEM if ATC is willing to vector you there.

It was very uncomfortable being off-airways and wandering in the vague direction of DREEM. If we hadn't gotten the GPS up again relatively quickly, I suppose I'd've told ATC that we were also no longer /G and required vectors.

--Kath

Right. I don't think you did anything wrong. If you had already turned in that direction and were at or above the OROCA or higher, and in radar contact, you were absolutely no danger at all, neither were you doing anything wrong. If your /G status was out for more than a little bit, you're supposed to notify ATC, of course, but you knew that. I think probably the main reason for this is so that they don't tell you to do something you can't do.

 

[RobertGerace]

Kath --

Like a small flicker of a flame, I've been starting to keep an enroute chart on my lap more and more often. I have also started paying attention to what vor's I'm near and dialing them in on my #2, and centering the needle and occasionally taking fixes with my #1.

While I haven't really worried about it much (as I always fly high enough that there is no danger of hitting anything) it is not a comforting thought to have the screen go dark and have no clue where I am.

I hope some day to progress to the dicipline level that at any given moment the GPS could go dark and I would know exactly where I am.

 

[lsimonds]

Kath,

What a training flight! Wow! Makes me think how valuable it is to do the IMC thing as much as possible while training.

I was talking with a flight instructor at my home base who is fairly low-time actual IFR and know's I'm ATC. He lameted the plight of having trouble with the GPS after he'd been instructed to go direct somewhere. Nothing like requesting that initial heading. As a matter of fact, when I worked traffic years ago, it was SOP for me to issue "fly heading blah blah, when able direct." It just gets the GA pilot pointed in the right direction.

I envy you getting the instrument training and doing so well.

LK

 

[Alan]

Wait until you get to where your CFII explains what a minimum equipment list is. Some of my acquaintances in the RJ fleet say they have never flown with everything working. Sigh.

I took a Comair RJ from Louisville to Cincinnati this morning to connect to Toledo to pick up my plane post annual inspection. Leaving Louisville, we lined up on the runway, the engines spooled up and we went about three taxiway exits before the engines spooled down and we exited the runway. We sat on the parallel for 3-4 minutes (while the MEL was being consulted?) and then taxied back to the end of the runway and away we went. No comment from the front on the reason.

 

[wsuffa]

Kath,

At least you had a flag. I had a problem with the HSI where it would come unlocked & spin with no flag. I first discovered the problem climbing out of Four Corners Regional on a DP. Something didn't look right.

Apparently one of the shops that worked on the plane (I suspect which one, but can never prove it) swapped out the remote compass with a defective or marginal one. The serial number didn't match the one noted in my logbooks. When my avionics shop sent off the defective remote compass, the repair station noted that the unit had been repaired previously with resistors that were "Radio Shack" grade. And it had some other "illegal" repairs.

If I could prove who did it, I would take them to court - and nail their ^$$es to the wall at the FAA. Someone could have been killed. I'll say that again "Someone COULD HAVE BEEN KILLED". It's not that hard to get a KG102A repaired properly.

You wanna know why I'm particular about who does my maintenance? Now you know.

Moral to the story: Don't trust the flag. Cross-check periodically with the compass.

Grrrrrr......

 

[BruceAir]

Ah, the great GPS debate.

Every airplane at the flight school where I instruct part-time is equipped with an IFR-certified GPS. We also have a couple of new Diamond DA40s with the G1000 cockpit, and we'll probably get a couple of Cessnas decked out with the same glass cockpit. We integrate GPS training into all our syllabi, VFR and IFR, and insist that our students demonstrate competence. IFR candidates must be able to fly GPS approaches and use the system effectively.

IFR students and instructors should note that the FAA updated the IFR PTS as of October 1, 2004 to include, among other things, new emphasis on GPS, autopilots, and electronic displays.

According to the introduction to that PTS:

• The use of GPS for navigation and approaches has been
clarified and the requirement for a GPS approach has been
added.

• Approach terminology has been updated to include Precision
Approach (PA), Approach with Vertical Guidance (APV), and
Nonprecision Approach (NPA). The requirements for their use
have been clarified.

• Testing in modern aircraft with electronic flight instrument
displays has been addressed.

• The use of autopilot and flight management during testing has
been addressed.
...
• The body of the PTS has been updated to include electronic
flight instrument displays, flight management systems, GPS,
and autopilot usage.
===

The PTS further notes:

The applicant is expected to utilize an autopilot and/or flight
management system (FMS), if properly installed, during the instrument
practical test to assist in the management of the aircraft. The examiner
is expected to test the applicant’s knowledge of the systems that are
installed and operative during the oral and flight portions of the practical
test. The applicant will be required to demonstrate the use of the
autopilot and/or FMS during one of the nonprecision approaches.

If the practical test is conducted in the aircraft, and the aircraft has an
operable and properly installed GPS, the applicant must demonstrate
GPS approach proficiency when asked. If the applicant has contracted
for training in an approved course that includes GPS training in the
system that is installed in the airplane/simulator/FTD and the
airplane/simulator/FTD used for the checking/testing has the same
system properly installed and operable, the applicant must demonstrate
GPS approach proficiency.
=======

Now, it's obvious that we shouldn't become dependent on any piece of equipment in the airplane (except, perhaps, our brains). But GPS, electronic displays, and other technology is becoming an integral part of flying, especially IFR operations. Understanding and using that new technology effectively and safely should be an integral part of our initial and recurrent training.

Learning a full-featured unit like a Garmin 430 or 530 can seem daunting. But even if you don't own an airplane that has one in the panel, you can download manuals, quick-reference cards, and often PC-based simulators free from the manufacturers. For example, to learn about the Garmin 430, visit http://www.garmin.com/products/gns430/, where you can download a simulator, a sample training syllabus, and a complete set of manuals, all free.

Similar information is available for other Garmin products, and other manufacturers (e.g., Bendix/King) make comparable information available via their Web sites (although in my opinion, the Bendix/King site isn't as easy to use as Garmin's).

You can also find excellent background information and practical advice on the Web site of the AOPA Air Safety Foundation. All of the information and online courses on the ASF site are free to all pilots--you needn't be an AOPA member. For example, they have an excellent Safety Advisor on GPS available for download.

It's true that learning to use new technology adds to the increasingly heavy burden on today's students, who must cope with complex airspace, new regulations, more procedures, and a host of other details that didn't exist 30 years ago. But it's also true that students (and instructors) have never had so many tools readily and freely available to help them master the new knowledge and tasks they face.

 

[Arnold]

Today: Kath goes IFR cross country!
EDIT
The approach plate has lower minimums if one has the "local" altimeter setting, which it says you can get on CTAF. Not sure what this meant, I called up Unicom and asked if they had an altimeter setting. They sounded confused too and gave as an "unofficial" setting. Since it sounded untrustworthy, we didn't use it, and went with the higher minimums. What was that about?

Uncontrolled fields may have the altimeter setting available from a number of sources. It seems these days that AWOS and ASOS are the most prevelant, but unicom may also have it. In my experience this is usually the case only where a 135 or 121 operator has paid to employ and train someone to properly determine the altimeter setting using calibrated equipment.

 

[fgcason]

Is that the same thing as the "quadrant" clearance altitudes printed on the enroute charts?
--Kath

Do you mean MOCA or MSA on an approach chart?

If so it's kind of the same. 1000ft (2000ft in mountainous terrain) over the highest obstacle. It however does not assure navaid or radar or communications coverage but at least you won't run into anything stationary while you're wandering around down there.

I'm learning too but short of a sectional chart's max elevation numbers and adding 1-2K, I can't find anything resembling OROCA on the enroute charts I have in front of me tonight.