AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2008 - 94

The ease of route planning doesn’t end at the computer. In addition to preferred routings, standard instrument departures (SID)s and standard terminal arrivals (STAR) are on the databases of many GPS navigators, easing the transitions into and out of en route preferred routings. The airways system has grown so organized that where yesterday’s pilots joked that IFR meant, “I follow roads, or railroads,” today’s pilots say that IFR means, “I ﬂy routings.” Beneﬁcial changes in the way of weather information, ﬂight planning tools, and ﬂight plan ﬁling convenience. AOPA’s Real Time Flight Planner (RTFP) is a great example of the tools available to today’s pilots. Flight planning in 1958days consisted of two options. Pilots could obtain a brieﬁng and ﬁle a ﬂight plan over the telephone, or they could walk into one of the Aviation Communication Stations (ACS) located at many airports to study weather prognosis charts and get a face-to-face briefing before filing a flight plan with one of the attendants. In 1960 these stations were renamed Flight Service Stations (FSS). The most commonly used tools for ﬂight planning chores in the late 1950s were plotters, which were used to measure distances and determine headings with reference to printed charts, and mechanical calculators, most common of which is the E-6B style. Experienced pilots often carried a pocket-sized circular version of the E-6B that they called “whiz wheels.” These calculators enabled pilots to derive true airspeeds, density altitudes, leg time, fuel burn, as well as convert statute mile to nautical miles, Celsius to Fahrenheit, and feet to meters. No batteries were required but it took time to work through a set of preﬂight calculations and ﬁll out a navigation log. Today, pilots need only to enter the starting and ending airport identiﬁers, the cruising altitude, and if the owner’s aircraft profile is up to date, the flight planner instantly produces a complete ﬂight plan with preferred routing, a navigation log with identiﬁers, minimum en route altitudes, time between stations calculations, a colored route chart, and FAA-format ﬂight plan. Another click of a button ﬁles the plan. In response to the Grand Canyon crash of 1956, huge changes in the national airway system were implemented at a cost of more than $450 million. One of the most beneﬁcial changes for GA pilots was the replacement of the aging, very high frequency omnidirectional range (VOR) facilities from maintenance-intensive tube-type mechanically driven equipment to more dependable solidstate equipment. Instrument landing systems (ILS) that provided precision vertical and lateral guidance to airports were much easier to use and much safer than the Adcock low frequency ranges they replaced. As late as 1956, VFR charts were still depicting Adcock range installations. In spite of the rush to upgrade the national airway system, the changes that make today’s instrument flying the safest in the world—nationwide radar coverage and satellite-based navigation systems—were far in the future. In 1958 approach and departure radar control systems were available at major airport locations but en route radar coverage was still spotty. GA pilots who flew instruments in the late 1950s were required to make position reports on VHF radios as they progressed along their ﬂight plan. Reports were required at compulsory reporting points—such as over VORs—and followed a pattern in which the pilot reported his altitude, time over the station, the name of the station he was over, the name of, and the time he would arrive over the next compulsory reporting point in the flight plan, and the name of the reporting point after the next one. Few GA pilots flew instruments in the late 1950s. Hal Shevers, in addition to being the founder of Sporty’s Pilot Shop, directed instrument refresher courses for AOPA in the early days. “There weren’t many instrument ratings Internet-based tools such as the AOPA Real-Time Flight Planner have replaced the pencil, plotter, and E-6B calculator for ﬂight planning. In spite of the availability of electronic charts, paper approach plates and airway charts are still the choice of many modern-day pilots. AOPA PILOT • 94 • MARCH 2008

AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2008

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