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Pilotage tips

pierre smith

pierre smith

Well Known Member
WHAAAT? pilotage?? Yep...in my Air Tractor there's no "glass" and a lonely Garmin 496, with around 140 "User" waypoints...customer base that I work for, so I look outside a lot.

I learned a few years ago, that hardwoods usually border rivers and streams, so you can identify them a long ways off...way before you can actually see them. Here's a picture I took yesterday, flying across the Ogeechee river near here:
Fallcolors.jpg


Pretty, for such flat country around here.

Best,
 
Bravo Pierre! In these days of technology pilotage is becoming a lost art. I love going cross country with my low-tech "moving map", the view outside and a sectional chart. About a year ago I flew from Southern California to the upper end of Idaho. My passenger arrived armed with AAA road maps for the route. It was very cool, I could see a lake or other feature on the GPS and sectional, she could give you the name and history. Good fun on a long flight.

John Clark ATP, CFI
FAAST Team Representative
EAA Flight Advisor
RV8 N18U "Sunshine"
KSBA
 
My favorite as well

Of course I'm a hopeless romantic but God I love to see our country from the air and correlate the features with what is displayed on the sectional. There is a comprehension that stays with you forever afterward. When I visualize a trip the sectional view often automatically comes to mind. The ability (combined with dead reckoning especially) comes in handy when the GPS fails as well.

Bob Axsom
 
Jeeze Pierre…

You might have strayed a little there, that looks like the Firing Range at Fort Benning, hope you had the correct IFF Code dialed in ?!!

Just kidding :), beautiful counry, thanks for the Pilotage Tip, good stuff.

pk
 
Here's another. In the western half of the country, quite often towns can be identified first by their trees. The dark trees are visible a long ways off.

Dave
 
Yes, and they used to paint the name of the town on roofs of buildings. That was also in the days of radio ranges, dit dah, dah dit, etc.

BTW, hi David, how are things in Boulder? I heard a vicious rumor that you had snow? Sad about the Buffs tho, huh?
 
Here on the Canadian prairies, you used to be able to figure out where you were when "temporarily unsure of position" by reading the town names on the sides of the grain elevators that every community had. Very difficult these days; the sentinels of the prairie are pretty much gone, with fewer and further between giant terminals and concrete high-throughputs replacing them. So now, when "temporarily unsure of position", you're probably just plain lost!
 
Jerry Cochran said:
BTW, hi David, how are things in Boulder? I heard a vicious rumor that you had snow?
Click to expand...

Yeah, we had some snow. It didn't fall from the hangar roof until I opened the hangar door - timing. Just a few days after I'd mopped the floor, too.

Hate to call this a tip, and again more suitable for the dry western states, but any lakes or reservoirs are usually on the map and are often more distinctive than roads, railway lines or towns. Especially look for dams, they are easy to spot and identify to the map.

Dave
 
What ever happened to the old tried and true method of dipping down and reading the town name on water towers? Still works, even down here in the Rio Grande Valley we have the towns painted up there for aviators. Reading the city limits sign worked too, but so darn many electric wires and trees get in your way.
 
One f the great things about RV's is their ability to easily cruise up high. you can see a lot farther from up high, and out west you can see specific mountains a LONG ways off...I am pretty used to looking down on the earth from a very great height, and geography comes pretty easily, so mountains are easy to navigate by - point at the one you recognize from a hundred miles away and press on....

Paul
 
Pierre, yet another great tip from a Master aviator! That one could some day come in handy if out in somewhat reduced vis, or stuck down low under a solid deck.

Thanks much!
 
Thats the fun way to fly in my opinion. I have always loved looking at a map and figuring out where we are and where we are going. Being right seater for my dad, I do this a lot.

We flew the Grand Canyon flight corridors this summer. They are very specific locations and altitudes. We had the sectional with lat/lon coordinates on it that my dad kept trying to put in the GPS. I told him to forget the GPS, I would get us through. It was a blast looking for landmarks in the grand canyon. It kept our eyes outside and I enjoyed navigating that way. We were flying IFTBD (I follow the big ditch):cool:
 
Casey Stewart said:
Thats the fun way to fly in my opinion. I have always loved looking at a map and figuring out where we are and where we are going. Being right seater for my dad, I do this a lot.

We flew the Grand Canyon flight corridors this summer. They are very specific locations and altitudes. We had the sectional with lat/lon coordinates on it that my dad kept trying to put in the GPS. I told him to forget the GPS, I would get us through. It was a blast looking for landmarks in the grand canyon. It kept our eyes outside and I enjoyed navigating that way. We were flying IFTBD (I follow the big ditch):cool:
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I look at it a different way. I fly mountains a lot, which includes the Grand Canyon area at the south, and Idaho, Montana to the north. I usually pre-plan longer cross-countries on a sectional. Then I'll input that plan into the Garmin 696 GPS. I like using an on-line flight planner before flight, to get an idea of winds & fuel usage. Then during the flight, I'll make fuel comparisons with my fuel totalizer, which is also getting inputs from the GPS.

Since I'm the one that has to fly, I also like looking down, and not having to worry about exact landmarks, as with the Grand Canyon corridors. No one else is helping find the land marks from the Grand Canyon sectional, because they prefer to look out the canopy too. Therefor, if all this info is already loaded into the GPS, I can now fly with precision in regards to the flight path, as well as looking at Mother Natures best.

And then of course, thanks to the GPS and XM Satellite weather, I have constant weather/ winds/ altimeter setting ...updates as well as popup TFR's on the two to three hour flight home. I "never" turn off the GPS. :)

L.Adamson
 
No GPS

I love turning off the GPS and using DR and Pilotage. Great way to see the country, especially down low. Guessing at heading, wind correction angle, and then throwing it all out the window when you see something on the ground that merits circling over are all little pleasures of life. High wings are better for that... but with an RV all it takes is rolling inverted and then the wing is on top. :)
 
I agree.

I've been on this airport since 1971, working for a spray operation/Cessna Ag aircraft dealer first, then my own business a few years later.

I've seen guys going to California in J-3's, Ercoupes and Stearmans, with a stack of Sectionals and as I often did, road maps! We'd talk at the gas pumps and hear unbelievable stories, like, "Man I just flew 200 miles under a 500' overcast, but boy, did these road maps save the day!"....and so on, from a Cub driver:), and, "Did you know, if you fly low, you can read the signs on the freeway to tell how many miles to Atlanta?"

The Stearman guy had two copies of each sectional,...."They get sucked out if I'm not careful, same as in my Pitts!"

Now, with the iPad, it gets easier!

Best,
 
Our technology has certainly spoiled us. Moving maps, fuel computers, wind vectors, terrain alarms, so much information at hand and you don't need to think about it.

I had the occasion to fly my Bucker down to Southern California this summer, a full days journey in that airplane. I decided I would hide away the portable 296, get out the charts, and brush off the rust in my brain.

Reading charts in an open cockpit has its own challenges but the biggest challenge I had was adjusting myself back to a reference of scale. I had one heck of a time orienting myself and landmarks on the map. It took me quite some time to get used to the scale. With our electronics, we adjust our scale to what suits us, zooming in or out, scrolling up or down. Sectionals give you one scale. Once I adjusted to that, things came back naturally.

I recommend everyone pull out a sectional from time to time just to keep their brain engaged. By the way, I was surprised how quickly the whiz wheel skills came back. I was able to get a peek at the 296 every once in a while just to confirm my calculations.

It was fun and challenging.
 
how fast is your finger???

Even out here, where airports can be few and far between...my biggest problem 'following the line' on a sectional is that by the time I see a landmark, find it on the cluttered mess of a sectional, and read the elevation of a tower or airfield....I'm over it! ( dang 150 kt. RV!) [email protected] also need to lose 4000' - ---now!
My brain & finger that used to operate just fine..... at C152 speeds..... now barely keeps up at J-3 speeds. ( perhaps there's an LSA in my future eh?)
 
AGL

pierre smith said:
....., "Man I just flew 200 miles under a 500' overcast, but boy, did these road maps save the day!"....and so on, from a Cub driver:), and, "Did you know, if you fly low, you can read the signs on the freeway to tell how many miles to Atlanta?"
....
Click to expand...

When I was a solo student pilot in Michigan in the early 70's (before GPS for you youngsters...:)...) I did the sign experiment myself in a C-150.

The towns in Michigan sometimes all looked the same strung out along a main road. I discovered that at 1000 ft AGL it was very easy to read the town names on the water towers, and that 500 ft was good to read the freeway signs...:)

Now I bet those same routes are full of cell phone and TV towers...:eek:

PS Even with GPS I still buy sectionals - it took a dozen for my May trip to Georgia.
 
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gerrychuck said:
Here on the Canadian prairies, you used to be able to figure out where you were when "temporarily unsure of position" by reading the town names on the sides of the grain elevators that every community had.
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Reminds me of a cartoon - A couple of guys in an airplane circling a grain elevator, map spread across the windshield, and the navigator saying "I can't fine Pool, Saskatchewan anywhere on this map!". If you have never heard of the Saskatchewan Wheat Pool you wouldn't get the joke :D

I learned to fly in the BC mountains, and navigation was by the shape of the lakes, valleys, and height of the mountain peaks. The first time I flew on the prairies I would have gotten lost without the VOR, I was not familiar with using roads and railroads as my guide. It was vice versa for my buddy who learned to fly on the prairie. I still think flying in the mountains is easier from a navigation perspective. All about what what a person considers "normal".
 
I learned to fly in central Minnesota. It's almost impossible to get lost if you've got a sectional or a road map... just check the shapes of the lakes around you.

But... Flying at night when the wind is calm is very disorientating as all the lakes reflect the stars so well it's hard to tell up from down.:eek:
 
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Years ago I had to deliver my '41 T-craft to its new owner in Hampton Roads, VA. That was something like a six hour flight from Charlotte with nothing but a wet compass and a watch.

For redundancy I brought a friend was a naviguesser on B1's. The minute we lifted off his head went down into the sectionals. The only time he looked up was to verify we were on course. He would say things like, ?There should be a 600 foot tower at your three o?clock in five, four, three, two, one seconds.? Then he would look up, tap the wildly swinging whiskey with his pencil and admonish me with, ?I said zero niner six, not zero niner seven, not zero niner five!?

It was a great flight and we had a fantastic time.
 
We'd all be living under Sauron's thumb if Bilbo and Frodo had iPads and GPS instead of maps and knowledgeable guides!

We'll, I do like GPS...but there isn't anything better than a road map for a long distance cross country planner. I do carry them if I'm crossing many sectionals or even a few WACs. You can see end-to-end for basic routing that isn't possible with a tiny screen, nor must you become a floor covering specialist engaging bedsheet sized charts edge-to-edge to get the big picture.

John Siebold
 
IFR

I follow railway. Going north from here up to Darwin you can follow the (Note singular) rail line. However fly on the right side of because aircraft coming the other way use it too.

Roads can be another matter. Once you get into the dryer areas the roads on individual cattle stations can be problematic, because every farmer has a grader attachment for the tractor and pops in a new track whenever he feels like it!

For the Canadians, we still have grain silos. Can be of great help, they don't have names on them but when you?re flying over country as "flat as a tack" their tallness and whiteness really stand out.

Cheers

Jim
 
N941WR said:
Years ago I had to deliver my '41 T-craft to its new owner in Hampton Roads, VA. That was something like a six hour flight from Charlotte with nothing but a wet compass and a watch.

For redundancy I brought a friend was a naviguesser on B1's. The minute we lifted off his head went down into the sectionals. The only time he looked up was to verify we were on course. He would say things like, “There should be a 600 foot tower at your three o’clock in five, four, three, two, one seconds.” Then he would look up, tap the wildly swinging whiskey with his pencil and admonish me with, “I said zero niner six, not zero niner seven, not zero niner five!”

It was a great flight and we had a fantastic time.
Click to expand...

Wonder how Charles Lindbergh found his way to Paris flying alone, at night, over water, low overcast, no attitude indicator and no front view ( Spirit of St. Louis had no windshield, he used a PERISCOPE to land in France)... Just the basics: Airspeed, Altimeter, Oil Pressure and Temp, wet compass and watch. And LOTS OF INSTINCT! He knew he had to go NE more or less...
Autopilot ??? Liters of coffee to stay awake !!!
 
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The sun!

One afternoon, I had a freshman ag pilot here once and I told him where a certain field was. I then said to go west about a mile and he'd see a cotton field with a burned up tractor in it, after he sprayed the first field.

His remark, "The d**n compass doesn't work!"...Me, "Duh, where does the sun set?"

Best,
 
Sparky said:
I learned to fly in central Minnesota. It's almost impossible to get lost if you've got a sectional or a road map... just check the shapes of the lakes around you.
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The other nice thing about the midwest, including much of MN, is the nice grid lines they have placed on the ground. You can often tell how far it is to a town or other landmark just by counting the number of roads. There are a lot of squares, and with square mile plots (640 acres), 5 roads equals 5 miles.
 
flyboy1963 said:
Even out here, where airports can be few and far between...my biggest problem 'following the line' on a sectional is that by the time I see a landmark, find it on the cluttered mess of a sectional, and read the elevation of a tower or airfield....I'm over it! ( dang 150 kt. RV!) [email protected] also need to lose 4000' - ---now!
My brain & finger that used to operate just fine..... at C152 speeds..... now barely keeps up at J-3 speeds. ( perhaps there's an LSA in my future eh?)
Click to expand...

Yes, this is my biggest gripe. The needed info is covered up with useless junk! Terrain lines are useless and add to the clutter. Three VOR's in the SF bay area lap over each other to the point that they are useless. Can we do better with less information printed on our sectionals................
 
Water towers

Lost over Kentucky, before GPS, on my longest x-c to date and I see lots of writing on a water tower. Thinking I'm saved, I drop down to read, 'Eastern Kentucky University.' I didn't know where the heck that was but I called some pilots I heard talking and they knew where I was.
I had to scud run for home on the return of that same trip following the railroad tracks. My CFI told me there are never towers in the middle the train tracks but that's not true of the interstate hiways. If you have a choice, take the train!
 
Cadstat said:
... I had to scud run for home on the return of that same trip following the railroad tracks. My CFI told me there are never towers in the middle the train tracks but that's not true of the interstate hiways. If you have a choice, take the train!
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Don't try that eastbound out of KBGF!:eek:
 
Lindbergh

The earth inductor compass was a pretty sophisticated instrument in its day. Lindbergh had a turn and bank and flew for hours in IMC conditions with just the turn and bank and the compasss. I don't think he drank coffee, does anyone else remember? Some of the pilots who have flown the Spirit replicas say it is the most miserable flying airplane they ever flew.
 
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