The Pressure is On! [Update]

"TheRealBicycleBuck" (therealbicyclebuck) 09/17/2018 at 21:00 • Filed to: None

7

39

[Update]  Exam III passed! One more to go and ground school is done!

Exam III has arrived! This week consists of an exam tonight, a review session later this week, then it’s time for the final! This one’s all about navigation and flight planning.

Navigation without GPS can be a real bear. There are all these handy navigation aids at airports all over the U.S., but understanding how to get the signals and use them with rudimentary instruments to get from one place to another is more than a little confusing. I think I’ve got it down, but we’ll see.

I’m happier working with the maps, although those aren’t really user-friendly either. They remind me of Alice’s Restaurant and the 8"x 10" color glossy photos with circles and arrows and a paragraph on the back of each one.

If all you had to do was figure out the bearing and distance between two airports, it would be easy. But no, you also have to factor in the wind and the magnetic declination (your compass doesn’t always point to the same north on the map) and make adjustments while you are in flight so that you actually arrive at the airport you intended to. While you’re at it, you’ll use a really nifty “computer” which is really more like a slide rule and you’ll fill out a sheet with a bunch of waypoints because you can’t just fly from one point to another.

Don’t forget to factor in that your airspeed usually doesn’t match your ground speed, so no two flights between the same airports will ever burn the same amount of fuel.

Then there’s the weight factors and balancing the load in the plane. The pilot’s pretty important, but the people loading the plane are just as important. Get it wrong and you’ll crash.

Anyway, I’ve been studying and feel ok about it. I’m surprised how good it feels to run through a sample problem and get it right. Let’s hope I get them all right tonight!

PartyPooper2012 > TheRealBicycleBuck 09/17/2018 at 09:26

1

Yeah...but how do I navigate to the place where I left my trillion dollars???

Break a leg... or would it be a wing in aviation? I guess they have both. 

Eury - AFRICA TWIN!!!!!!! > TheRealBicycleBuck 09/17/2018 at 09:45

0

Good to see they are still teaching all the old navigation techniques and the E6B. Truthfully, you’ll never use it again, but it gives you good mental prep for when things go bad. 

TheRealBicycleBuck > Eury - AFRICA TWIN!!!!!!! 09/17/2018 at 10:03

0

Never use it again? I suppose I won’t if I get Foreflight or Skyvector. Neat stuff.

TheRealBicycleBuck > PartyPooper2012 09/17/2018 at 10:03

1

Tell me where you left it and I’ll get you there!

Chariotoflove > TheRealBicycleBuck 09/17/2018 at 10:21

1

Tell us how you did on  the Kobayashi Maru part.

I remember my dad navigating with all that stuff before GPS. Hard to fit more ink on those maps, but it always seemed like they tried.

TheRealBicycleBuck > Chariotoflove 09/17/2018 at 10:57

1

The maps are definitely a nightmare. They seem to follow some rules, except when they don’t. As the instructor always says , “refer to t he legend!”

If I can figure out how to hack into the scantron unit, I’ll be able to beat the Kobayashi Maru conundrum.

PartyPooper2012 > TheRealBicycleBuck 09/17/2018 at 11:01

1

I left it by the X.

TheRealBicycleBuck > PartyPooper2012 09/17/2018 at 11:11

0

The complete lack of a coordinate system and real-world reference tells me you must be a CAD guy. :)

ttyymmnn > TheRealBicycleBuck 09/17/2018 at 11:11

1

They remind me of Alice’s Restaurant and the 8"x 10" color glossy photos with circles and arrows and a paragraph on the back of each one.

You can get anything you want at Alice’s Restaurant.

Have you ever seen the movie? I suppose it’s important for its era, but by and large, it’s a terrible film. Arlo is a much better singer than he is an actor.

PartyPooper2012 > TheRealBicycleBuck 09/17/2018 at 11:18

1

bzzzzz WROOOONG

Just found the image on the interwebs. Nothing to do with me.

Also not a CAD guy. More of a USD guy

ttyymmnn > TheRealBicycleBuck 09/17/2018 at 11:21

0

Also, we’re coming up on the anniversary of Jimmy Doolittle making the first blind flight using only instruments in 1929.

Here’s Doolittle in the rear seat of a Consolidated NY-2 Husky. The hood that covered his cockpit for the blind flight is retracted.

This is his instrument panel. 

TheRealBicycleBuck > ttyymmnn 09/17/2018 at 11:23

0

He could hop in a modern plane and fly it by instruments with just a few minu tes of training. Every plane I’ve flown so far has very similar gauges. It’s amazing how little things have changed. (E xcepting GPS, moving maps, glass cockpits, etc.)

TheRealBicycleBuck > PartyPooper2012 09/17/2018 at 11:24

1

Well, I fear your trillions are lost.

TheRealBicycleBuck > ttyymmnn 09/17/2018 at 11:26

2

I haven’t seen the movie, but the song is a Thanksgiving tradition.

I’ll just go back to the Group W bench.

ttyymmnn > TheRealBicycleBuck 09/17/2018 at 11:29

0

Except for the F-35. An F-35 pilot told me that there is not a single steam gauge in the airplane, not even a compass or artificial horizon. Everything is electronic, and would run off a batter in case of emergency. And then, that battery only lasts for a few minutes. They expect you to get your ass on the ground or punch out. Granted, when the power is on, I imagine the readouts look similar. But still. This seems crazy to me.

TheRealBicycleBuck > ttyymmnn 09/17/2018 at 11:33

1

Even the basic glass cockpit has an artificial horizon and navigation aids. They just layer up all the other information on the same screen. Once you know what lines match which gauges, you’re good to go.

I have no idea what they’re doing in the F-35. I think this just goes to support my believe that those aren’t real and only exist in video games.

PartyPooper2012 > TheRealBicycleBuck 09/17/2018 at 11:47

0

AHA! There is still hope. You didn’t end the sentence with FOREVER

TheRealBicycleBuck > PartyPooper2012 09/17/2018 at 11:58

0

Chariotoflove > TheRealBicycleBuck 09/17/2018 at 12:10

1

When all else fails,

Also, childhood joke we used to tell:

Q: How is the starship Enterprise like toilet paper?

A: They both circle Uranis in search of Klingons.

I’m crossing my fingers for you. You’re living the dream.

PartyPooper2012 > TheRealBicycleBuck 09/17/2018 at 12:20

0

This can go on for a while. 

TheRealBicycleBuck > PartyPooper2012 09/17/2018 at 12:40

0

Never gonna give up.

PartyPooper2012 > TheRealBicycleBuck 09/17/2018 at 13:32

1

...and desert you...

TheRealBicycleBuck > PartyPooper2012 09/17/2018 at 14:57

1

Dessert you.

PartyPooper2012 > TheRealBicycleBuck 09/17/2018 at 15:36

0

That’s commitment

must have taken you no more than hour and a half to photoshop that.

Shall we continue these shenanigans tomorrow?

TheRealBicycleBuck > PartyPooper2012 09/17/2018 at 15:47

0

Naw. I cheated. Someone else photoshopped that and posted it to memecenter.

PartyPooper2012 > TheRealBicycleBuck 09/17/2018 at 15:53

0

I figured as much, but I have no way of prov....

BUSTED!

TheRealBicycleBuck > PartyPooper2012 09/17/2018 at 15:57

1

My bird IS the word > TheRealBicycleBuck 09/17/2018 at 21:20

0

This coming from a casual observer, but in most cases it looks like the hardest part of flying a plane is everything around piloting except the actual handling of the plane.

Chariotoflove > TheRealBicycleBuck 09/17/2018 at 21:35

1

Yes!  Internet high five.

WilliamsSW > TheRealBicycleBuck 09/17/2018 at 21:45

0

Congratulations! What’s the next step? Is that it for ground school or no?

TheRealBicycleBuck > WilliamsSW 09/17/2018 at 21:58

1

The comprehensive final exam is the last test . Then ground school is done. It’s scheduled for next week, but I have to miss it. I’ll probably take it within the next two weeks.

After that,  I still have at least 16 hours of dual time with an instructor before I can solo, then at least another 20 hours of solo time before my check ride and certification.

TheRealBicycleBuck > My bird IS the word 09/17/2018 at 22:22

0

There’s some non-intuitive stuff about how our body reacts to flying that really complicates things too. For example, if you’re in a turn for long enough, your body settles down and thinks you’re in level flight. When you level out, your body thinks it’s turning. This confusion leads to a lot of crashes.

Most of the handling is covered in flight school, but it really is nothing like driving a car. Just for starters, when you’re on the ground the plane is steered with your feet. Once it leaves the ground, you have to deal with three degrees of freedom in movement, your accelerator is a mounted to the dashboard, you have to adjust your fuel mix manually while in flight, you have to pay attention to your airspeed and your plane’s performance while paying attention to where the wind is blowing you while you stay on course to your destination and avoid running into other airplanes. And while all this is happening, you have to communicate with the tower and other airplanes. If the weather is bumpy, you have to keep the plane flying straight and maintain your altitude while being thrown around and trying not to get sick from the roller-coaster ride.

Yeah, it’s fun!

Turbineguy: Nom de Zoom > TheRealBicycleBuck 09/17/2018 at 23:01

1

Remember, ground-based VORs will save yer arse if the Russians or Chinese ever jam our GPS network. That is, until the FAA decommissions them O_o

VOR navigation took me a while to get down too; the TO/FROM part was confusing and figuring out radial intercepts gave me fits for a long time. Eventually it made sense and it ended up one of my fav things to teach when I became a CFI. 

WilliamsSW > TheRealBicycleBuck 09/17/2018 at 23:25

0

Great progress!  So, you have 4 hours of dual so far then?  

TheRealBicycleBuck > WilliamsSW 09/17/2018 at 23:50

1

Thanks! I have 6 hours so far. I meant to type a minimum of 14 hours, but I was on my phone and my fingers are kinda fat....

TheRealBicycleBuck > Chariotoflove 09/17/2018 at 23:54

1

I was going to mention to you.... The guy who took over ground school is a former FAA examiner. We were talking about disabilities and pilot’s certificates when he mentioned that he once went on a check ride with a guy who had lost his legs in Iraq. The guy managed to do everything required and he flew a plane modified with hand controls for the rudders.

Just in case you were interested.

TheRealBicycleBuck > Turbineguy: Nom de Zoom 09/17/2018 at 23:55

1

This website really helped me get a grasp on what is going on with VOR:

http://www.luizmonteiro.com/learning_vor_sim.aspx

WilliamsSW > TheRealBicycleBuck 09/18/2018 at 00:05

1

Ah - ok.  I remember a while back you went up twice in a weekend, so I figured that was probably 4 or so, glad you’ve added a bit more! 

Chariotoflove > TheRealBicycleBuck 09/18/2018 at 00:14

1

I am interested, and grateful that you thought of me. My USAir flight was delayed for storms one time in Charlottesville, I think, and I ended up hanging with the copilot at the gate. We talked about whether I could reasonably fly without legs, and he thought I could. I went home and looked it up, and it turned out there is an entire association of disabled pilots. It gave me great hope that a version of me in an alternate reality where I had lots of disposable income would be able to fly.

Honestly, I’m hoping that someday after tuition payments are done, I can take lessons.