Flight Training - August 2012 - 32

airspace, and other factors allow direct flights, but in most cases you will need to make turns in your flight plans at least every so often. This is where the mechanics of flight planning that we all learn on the sectional and with a navigation log come in handy. The simple skill of being able to study a route and consider issues such as airspace and terrain apply to all forms of navigation. We may not fill out a navigation log, but using a GPS receiver does not preclude one from having to plan before getting into the airplane. The devices are able to find all the airports, navaids, and intersections because of an on-board database. Verifying the currency of that database is a must-do preflight task. Generally the data is valid for 28 days, at which point you’ll have to pay for a new database. Current data isn’t required for VFR flight, assuming you have charts on board, but to use a GPS for IFR navigation it is. Most GPS receivers break down the various tasks and functions via a menu system accessed through a knob, soft keys (screen-based menu system that can change depending on what page you’re on), or hard keys, which are the buttons on the display that have dedicated, never-changing functions. Usually pages are divided into categories such as flight plan, airports, weather, and auxiliary. One of the biggest drawbacks to using GPS is that every unit does things a little bit differently, and thus we have to relearn how to do each task when switching units. As a VFR pilot, it’s important to know how to navigate with the Direct-To function, and how to create and change flight plans. If the GPS is an integrated unit such as the Garmin G1000, a lot more work is in order because that’s the brains of the entire airplane, which must be adequately respected. Besides flight planning, GPS’s biggest benefit is likely the addition of moving map displays and the staggering amount of situational awareness thereby associated. However, even though the displays provide a great level of detail, and the map follows along on your flight in tandem with the countryside below, they are

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T H E I PA D

TERMS A’PLENTY
Using a GPS means learning and understanding the many terms that correspond
APR AUX BRG CLR DTK ETA ETE FPL GS HDG INTEG LOC NRST RAIM TAS TRK VLOC Approach, as in instrument approach Auxiliary page Bearing To, or compass direction from current position to next waypoint Clear, a button used to clear a field or go back Desired track, or compass direction between the from and to waypoints Estimated time of arrival, or at what time you’ll get to the waypoint Estimated time en route, or how long it will take you to get to the waypoint Flight plan, as entered by the user Groundspeed, or speed over the ground Heading, the direction the aircraft nose is pointed Integrity, in reference to satellites Localizer, or lateral instrument guidance Nearest, in terms of airport, navaid, intersection or whatever the user selects Receiver Autonomous Integrity Monitoring True airspeed Track, or path over the ground VOR/localizer receiver, a database-derived descent path

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Flight Training - August 2012

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Flight Training - August 2012
