A Flight Instructor's Journal

Chart Notes

2011-07-10T20:04:00.007-05:00

I’ve decided to start writing some notes on instrument procedures and approach plates. I was going to title it “Chart Clinic”, but that title has been used in other publications, so I settled on the title of “Chart Notes.” I will make my disclaimer right now. I don’t claim to have any special knowledge or expertise. So feel free to let me know when I have taken a turn into the weeds. The information from this first note comes from the 2011 FAR/AIM, specifically section 5-4-5 of the AIM. I have tried to pick out approaches to illustrate the AIM and in some cases found myself confused by the wording in the AIM and a charted procedure. In all of these discussions, you are invited to submit procedures that you have questions about. Maybe together we can figure them out.

Most of us have had the experience of looking at an approach plate and wondering “What does that mean?” and more importantly, does it affect me and if so, how. So welcome to the first installment of Chart Notes. Today’s note covers the topic of equipment, and how it applies to an approach plate.

The equipment required to join and fly an instrument approach procedure (IAP) is listed in the title and in the notes. Straight-in IAPs are identified by the navigation system providing final approach guidance and the runway to which the approach is aligned, for example VOR RWY 13. Circling only approaches are identified by the navigation system providing final approach guidance and a letter, for example VOR-A. More than one type of navigation system separated by the word “or” means either type of equipment may be used, for example NDB OR GPS RWY 34. More than one type of navigation system separated by a slash indicates more than one type of navigation equipment must be used to execute the final approach segment. Take for example VOR/DME RWY 27 at Anoka (ANE).

Notice the word DME appears in two different places on the procedure, once in the title and a second time in the notes. Let’s take DME in the title first. Whenever an approach requires more than one type of equipment to execute the final approach, the types of equipment will be listed in the title of the procedure, separated by a slash. Hence both DME and VOR equipment is required to execute the final approach segment of this procedure. But DME also shows up in the Notes section of the chart. What does this mean? Whenever radar or other equipment is required on portions of the procedure outside of the final approach segment, including the missed approach, a note will be charted in the notes box of the pilot briefing portion of the approach plate. So DME REQUIRED in the notes box indicates DME is required to fly the initial and intermediate segments of this approach. DME in the title indicates DME is required to fly the final approach segment of the approach. Notes are not charted when VOR is required outside the final approach segment.

Now let’s look at another approach. For this example I have used the ILS-31 at Saint Cloud (STC). This is one of those procedures that I find at odds with the AIM.

In this case, ADF REQUIRED appears on the planview of the procedure. When radar or other equipment is required for procedure entry from the enroute environment, it will be charted on the planview of the approach. There is no way to get to the IAF HUSSK from the enroute environment without having an ADF. V2 passes to the south of the STC VOR and V413 passes to the north of it. I could make the argument that you could get to it from via the transition route from Gopher (GEP) VOR, which is listed as being an IAF, but I’m not a Terpster. I’m simply illustrating what the AIM says. Or maybe the approach plate notation is wrong. My instructor and I have had numerous discussions over this approach. He says, quite logically, that ADF is required for the MAP. I agree, but to be strictly in accordance with the AIM, then it should also be listed in the Notes section of the pilot briefing strip. One possible explanation is that the ADF notation on the planview serves both requirements. I’m not completely convinced, but for lack of any other explanation, I’ll accept it.

According to the 2011 AIM, the FAA is in the process of changing the notation for LOC approaches that are charted on an ILS approach when the LOC approach requires additional equipment. The AIM states the LOC minimums will be annotated with the navaid required. I’ve looked at a number of ILS/LOC approaches, and they all show the required equipment as shown below in the ILS or LOC/DME for RWY 27 at Anoka.

The word DME appears in the title, the planview, and in the profile view. Granted in the profile view it is shown as DME distances off the localizer. LOC/DME in the title indicates DME is required to execute the final approach segment when flying the procedure as localizer only. The DME notation in the planview indicates DME is required to get from the enroute environment to procedure entry. In this case, both IAFs are DME waypoints. In the profile view, the FAF, the step-down waypoint KOGGE and the MAP point are all DME waypoints.

In all of these procedures, an IFR GPS may be used to substitute for ADF or DME equipment. The GPS is a legal substitute for DME. You can make the navaid the active waypoint, such as GEP for the IAFs. You can also utilize the database when it contains the DME waypoint, such as BLAYN or BOKYA. But here’s a “gotcha” moment if you are using GPS to provide this information. When the GPS-27 procedure for Anoka is loaded in the GPS, examination of the waypoints inserted into FPL0 will show that KOGGE is missing. When I called Jeppeson about this, their response was that they do not insert step-down fixes for a LOC approach when that approach is charted with an ILS procedure. So how do you find KOGGE if you are localizer only? The GPS will not allow you to insert KOGGE into FPL0 between BOKYA and the MAP point. One way of doing it is to make IANE, the localizer ID, the active waypoint. Earlier Garmin units would indicate it is an intersection, but it gives you the correction information. I have loaded this approach in a Garmin 430(W), a Garmin G1000, and a KLN94. None of them insert KOGGE into FPL0. This trick works most of the time. However once in a while it does not know what the localizer ID is. Your only choice then might be to stick KOGGE at the end of FPL0 or you might be able to find it from the nearest intersection page.

Another symbol that has started to appear on the briefing strip is a “W” on a black field. The AIM says this means that outages of the WAAS vertical guidance may occur daily at this location due to initial system limitations. For flight planning purposes, the LNAV minimums should be used. In flight operations it says vertical guidance may be used to complete the approach if LPV or LNAV/VNAV minimums are available. An illustration of this is GPS-RWY 21 at Madison (MSN). Below I have reproduced just the briefing strip and the minimums portions of the procedure.

The “W” indicates WAAS vertical guidance may not be available, as stated above, but now look at the minimums for the procedure; the WAAS minimums are NA. So you have to go with the LNAV minimums. Also, on the briefing strip, the ASR means “published radar minimums at this airport.” One final note on the nomenclature used in the minimums section, “GLS PA DA” stands for “G(PS) Landing System. The GLS NA restriction will be removed when the LPV minima is published.

One final comment is needed here to clarify the LNAV/VNAV DA on the minimums section of the procedure. This appears on many GPS procedures, and as you probably concluded, it stands for “Lateral navigation/Vertical navigation. In order to utilize these minima, an aircraft must be equipped with:

· WAAS avionics approved for LNAV/VNAV approach or

· A certified Baro-VNAV system with an IFR approach approved GPS or

· A certified Baro-VNAV system with an IFR approach approved AWAAS or

· An approach certified RNP-0.3 system with barometric vertical guidance (Baro-VNAV)

Baro-VNAV refers to certain RNAV systems that present vertical guidance to the pilot based on a specific vertical path which is predicated on barometric pressure. My guess is that these systems generally predated GPS. Bottom line – mostly that doesn’t apply to the majority of us.

I’ll conclude this discussion with the two ILS approaches into Billings (BIL), starting with ILS-10L.

ILS-10L has an IAF at the LOM, SAIGE. There is a transition shown from the BIL VOR to the LOM. The transition is a heading of 298°, a distance of 3.9 nm and is flown at 6000’. This takes you from the enroute environment to the procedure, so no additional equipment is needed. But now look at ILS-28R.

In big letters on the planview, are the words RADAR REQUIRED. If you study the approach, you will see there is no way to get from the enroute environment, the BIL VOR, to the procedure. There is no transition to the localizer. Consequently the words RADAR REQUIRED mean that you must be vectored to the approach by ATC. Although SUTLE is designated as an IAF, a procedure turn is not authorized. Also the title indicates DME is required for the localizer-only approach, as is also shown in the profile view.

I believe I have rambled on long enough, so will end it here. Your comments are welcomed.

Excellence is Attitude

2011-05-04T22:51:00.007-05:00

Most of us have had to endure them – all those mid-level managers whose jobs are to think up mottos to inspire the troops toiling away in the trenches to work harder. Such mottos are then emblazoned on pins, refrigerator magnets, etc. in hopes that their very presence will produce measurable increases in efficiency and hard work. (Is there a metric for wishful thinking?) Years ago, when I worked for a large computer company, one such motto was “Excellence Is Attitude”. I think I still have the refrigerator magnet somewhere.

As an inspiration for coding excellence, it didn’t do much. However, when applied to aviation and the craft of instrument flying, it is an extremely good motto. Why? Because the attitude indicator is at the heart of aircraft control. When I see noticeable altitude and heading deviations, I’m pretty sure the cause is lack of attention to the attitude indicator.

Because of its importance, the attitude indicator is central to most instrument scans. There is no single scan that is right for everyone. I usually have beginning instrument students try out a few different scans to see which one they may prefer. The long-standing hub-and-spoke is often used and has worked well for generations of instrument pilots.

In teaching scan, a useful exercise is to have the student “count” the scan. And I have the student count aloud. It is one way to keep their eyes moving. Let’s look at the traditional hub-and-spoke scan. In this scan, the attitude indicator is the “hub” and the other five flight instruments are the spokes.

When you count this scan, the attitude indicator is “AND” and the other instruments are “ONE”, “TWO”, “THREE” etc. So the count goes like this.

AND-ONE-AND-TWO-AND-THREE-AND-FOUR-AND-FIVE

Start with the attitude indicator “AND” then go to the altimeter “ONE” then back to the attitude indicator “AND” then to the VSI “TWO” then back to the attitude indicator “AND”, etc. So it turns out to be like this.

AI-ALT-AI-VSI-AI-HI-AI-TC-AI-ASI

Having an instrument student count out loud really does help to keep their eyes moving around all the instruments. If heading or altitude start to stray, have the student start counting aloud again. And count with them. You will find it helps keep their eyes moving.

Glass Scan:

Lately I have switched from the traditional hub-and-spoke type of scan to a glass scan. I started using a glass scan when I had an Aspen installed in my plane. The glass scan was reinforced when I started working in a G1000. Interestingly enough however, the glass scan is equally effective in a traditional “six pack” configuration of the flight instruments. In the glass scan, you look at the AI three times, then check the altimeter and VSI together for pitch information, then back to the AI and check it three times, then check the HI and TC for bank information, then back to the AI and check it three times, then check the ASI. Notice I say check the AI three times. The first time you look at the “wings”, the second time at the bank indicator, the third time is back to the “wings” again.

To count this, you say “attitude” three times.

ATTITUDE - check wings for pitch (attitude-1)
ATTITUDE - check bank angle indicator (attitude-2)
ATTITUDE - check wings for pitch (attitude-3)

For the traditional six-pack configuration, the complete glass scan goes like this:

ATTITUDE – ATTITUDE – ATTITUDE
CHECK ALTIMETER AND VSI FOR PITCH INFORMATION

Then go right back to the attitude indicator and check it three times:

ATTITUDE – ATTITUDE – ATTITUDE
CHECK HEADING INDICATOR AND TC FOR BANK INFORMATION

Right back to the attitude indicator and check it three times:

ATTITUDE – ATTITUDE – ATTITUDE
CHECK AIRSPEED

The glass scan utilizes the information presented by the flight instruments in a very efficient manner, and the extra attention paid to the attitude indicator really pays off in terms of heading and altitude control.

So putting it all together, you have a count (and scan) that goes like this.

ATTITUDE – ATTITUDE – ATTITUDE
ALTIMETER & VSI
ATTITUDE – ATTITUDE – ATTITUDE
HEADING INDICATOR AND TC
ATTITUDE – ATTITUDE – ATTITUDE
AIRSPEED

If you practice this scan, I can pretty much guarantee you will noticeably improve heading and altitude control.

Glass Scan on a PFD:

When flying a true PFD, the glass scan becomes even more concentrated. At first it is difficult, because information is not where you expect it to be. Here is a typical PFD layout.

The PFD still shows the AI as you are accustomed to seeing it – the “wings” still near the horizon and the bank information is displayed the same as a traditional AI. But from there things start to change.

The traditional TC is now split into two parts. The slip-skid part is shown as a white trapezoid underneath the white triangle on the bank part of the AI. It works exactly the same way however; if the trapezoid slides out to the right side of the triangle, you “step” on it with right rudder. The standard rate turn information is now shown on the HSI part of the PFD. It is shown as two lines on either side of the current heading (360°). The plane is not turning in t his picture, but if it were, magenta “snakes” would come out in the direction of the turn. The first indicator line, which is shorter, represents a half standard rate turn. The second, longer indicator line is a standard rate turn. Airspeed and altitude are presented in digital formats on tapes on either side of the display. The VSI is a digital readout on the altitude tape. In level flight the VSI box is blank. Below is a graphic of a PFD display for an aircraft in a climbing right turn.

So as you can see, the PFD gives all the information you need, in a concentrated layout.

1. Attitude indicator shows nose slightly up and wings show turning to the right
2. Attitude indicator shows about 15° of bank angle
3. Slip-skid indicator shows coordinated turn
4. VSI shows a 400 fpm climb
5. Altimeter shows current altitude is about 3250’
6. Heading indicator shows current heading of 90°
7. TC shows it is a standard rate turn
8. Airspeed indicator shows 100 knots

Our scan would become something like this. I have indented the “non-AI” items in the scan just to make them stand out a little better and to help show it is the same glass scan.

• Check AI – wings and nose show climbing right turn
• Check AI and TC - 15° bank angle, coordinated turn to the right (slip-skid)
• Check AI – wings and nose show climbing right turn (this is our third ATTITUDE)

Check altimeter and VSI – climbing at 400 fpm rate

• Check AI – wings and nose show climbing turn to the right
• Check AI and TC - 15° bank angle, coordinated turn to the right
• Check AI – wings and nose show climbing right turn

Check HSI – turning to the right, current heading 090°

Check TC (SRT) – in standard rate turn to the right

• Check AI – wings and nose, climbing right turn
• Check AI – 15° bank angle and coordination
• Check AI – wings and nose, climbing right turn

Check ASI – 100 knots

So it’s the same glass scan, but now the information is concentrated in one tight display. It seems very awkward at first, but you quickly become used to it. And the beauty is you can use it on either the standard “six-pack” display or a glass PFD.

So remember, no matter what type of scan you use, the attitude indicator is key to its success. Ignore it and your heading and altitude will suffer. Pay a lot of attention to it, and your heading and altitude control will become much better. I encourage you to try the glass scan. It may seem awkward at first, but it pays off with better heading and altitude control.

Excellence Is Attitude

Valet Service at Flight Service

2010-10-17T14:52:00.002-05:00

Imagine driving up to a nice restaurant. A parking attendant opens your car door and a doorman holds the restaurant front door for you. The host greets you by name and takes you to a table, while a waiter brings your preferred beverage along with a menu.

That's custom service, but it isn't the exclusive province of the rich and famous. Lockheed-Martin Flight Service also provides custom service for pilots. It's called a profile, and it's a nifty idea. A profile consists of information about you that seldom changes. It is on-file and can be accessed quickly by a briefer. Basically this information is used to populate the static information blocks on a flight plan form. This would include your tail number, airplane type and equipment code, true airspeed, your name, phone number, home base and aircraft color. You can even store frequently used routes. It can be tied to your phone number, so whenever you call, a flight plan form is pulled up that already contains your information. You would only need to add the specifics of the flight that you intend to file.

Creating a profile with Flight Service is incredibly easy. Just call Flight Service and tell the briefer you wish to create a profile. He or she then asks you the questions needed for the profile. You can create profiles for more than one aircraft. Profiles can be keyed to your name or phone number. If you key your profile to your last name and your last name is one that is commonly used, you can code it with a special tag so the briefer can easily find it. For example, Smith could be coded as Smith135. You can store more than one phone number, although one phone number needs to be designated the master phone number.

With a pilot profile on file, the flight service specialist can pull up a flight plan form that already has about half of your information filled in. The template he or she has instantly available might look something like this. With so much information already filled in, it’s a quick process to fill in the remaining blocks.

Creating and using a pilot profile with Flight Service is a terrific feature, of which too many pilots remain blissfully unaware. It saves time and makes filing a flight plan a lot easier. And although it won't provide a beverage along with your weather briefing, it makes life easier for both you and the Flight Service briefer.

More Audio Panels Demystified

2010-07-25T14:27:00.006-05:00

About two years ago I wrote an article on the KMA24 audio panel. You can find it on my blog at

Audio Panels Demystified

I thought that it would be a good idea to update that article, with a discussion of the newer Garmin 340 audio panel. On a macro level it works pretty much the same way as the KMA24, but there are enough differences to warrant an update. First a picture of the Garmin 340 audio panel is needed to serve as our roadmap.

Let’s break the panel down into groups and sub-groups.

Marker Beacons

1 Marker beacon lamps

2 Marker beacon audio select/mute button

3 Marker beacon intensity indicator LEDs

4 Marker beacon intensity selector button

Intercom System

5 Pilot volume control

6 Pilot voice-activated intercom squelch level

7 Co-pilot volume and passenger control (pull knob out for passenger volume)

8 Co-pilot and passenger intercom squelch level

9 Crew isolate mode button

10 Pilot isolate mode button

11 Passenger address (PA) function

12 Speaker function button

Com/Nav

13 Audio select buttons (COM 1, COM 2, COM 3)

14 Transmitter (audio/mic) buttons (COM1 MIC, COM2 MIC, COM3 MIC)

15 Split com button (a really useful function)

16 Aircraft radio audio selection buttons (NAV 1, NAV 2, ADF, DME)

17 Annunciator test button

18 Locking screw access

19 Photocell (automatic annunciator dimming)

Failsafe mode

The power to the unit may be manually turned off by rotating the pilot’s volume control button (5) counter-clockwise until it goes past the detent. Normally power is controlled by the avionics master switch. In case of power failure, the pilot’s headphone and mic is connected directly to COM 1.

Com Functions

Selection of COM1, COM 2, or COM 3 for both mic and audio is done by pressing com mic function buttons (14). Selection of either COM1 MIC, COM2 MIC, or COM3 MIC activates both the mic and headset function for the selected COM radio. Obviously only one of the three may be selected at any given time. The selected COM audio automatically goes to headset. Additionally any additional audio may be heard by pressing one of the remaining COM buttons (13). When transmitting, the active COM MIC LED display blinks approximately once/second to indicate transmission is occurring.

Split Com

The split com button (15) is undoubtedly one of the most useful features in the audio panel. When it is pressed, the pilot hears and transmits on COM 1 frequency. The co-pilot hears and transmits on COM 2 frequency. The split com function is terminated by pressing the split com button a second time.

While in split com mode, it is possible for the co-pilot to make announcements to the passengers by pressing the PA button (11). Pressing the PA button a second time terminates the announcement mode and returns operation to normal split com mode.

Aircraft Radios and Navigation

The navigation radios audio function is controlled by the buttons of group 16. Pressing any of those buttons brings up the nav audio source. A second push terminates the nav audio source. Volume is controlled by the volume control on the radio unit itself.

PA Function

Passenger announcements may be made by either pilot or co-pilot by pressing the PA button (11). Pressing the PA button a second time terminates announcement mode.

Speaker Function

The speaker button (12) directs all aircraft radio output to the aircraft speakers. The speaker output is muted when a COM microphone is activated.

Isolate Functions

The CREW isolate button (9) isolate communication between pilot and co-pilot from the passengers. The passengers can communicate with each other but cannot hear either the pilot or co-pilot or hear the aircraft radios.

The PILOT isolate button (10) isolates pilot communication from both passengers and the co-pilot. The co-pilot and passengers can communicate with each other but cannot hear the pilot or any aircraft radios.

Test Button

The test button (17) illuminates all annunciators in the audio panel.

Marker Beacons

The marker beacon group (1 – 4) control operation of the marker beacons. Pressing the MKR/mute button (2) activates audio for the marker beacons. If no signal is received, pressing it a second time deactivates the function. If the MKR/mute button is pressed a second time while a signal is being received, the audio is muted by the MKR function is not deactivated. The marker beacon lamps (1) operate independently of any audio selection and cannot be turned off.

The sensitivity button (4) controls either low or high sensitivity of the marker beacons as indicated by the HI or LO LED indicators (3). LO sensitivity is used during an ILS approach. HI sensitivity may be used to get an earlier indication of the aircraft approaching a marker beacon or for identification of a marker beacon along an airway.

Marker beacons are activated by passing over a 75 MHz marker beacon transmitter. Whether the associated marker beacon tone is heard or not depends on whether the MKR/mute button (2) is selected.

The following table shows the operation of the marker beacons.

All in all, the Garmin 340 audio panel is a real 21^st generation replacement for the trusty KMA24 audio panel that still ably serves in a lot of airplanes. Once you understand how the Garmin 340 audio panel works, I think you will be impressed by its capability and ease of operation.

Getting Back Into Dodge

2010-06-20T20:32:00.011-05:00

"Getting out of Dodge" is a fairly common expression, meaning it's time to stop whatever we're doing and get out of wherever we are. Sometimes it means something as simple as leaving work, but more commonly it is associated with a precarious situation or an imminent threat of one sort or another.

When applied to aviation however, sometimes it becomes very important to get back into Dodge as expeditiously as possible. Let's say you are making plans for a trip. The weather is IMC, but you are feeling competent and on top of things. Before you take off, you program your GPS for the trip. This means more than just hitting the DIRECT-TO button and dialing in your destination. You take the time to actually put your flight plan into FPL0. Your departure airport is Anoka (KANE) and your destination is Fort Dodge (KFOD). FPL0, then, would look like this - the simplest flight plan there is, a departure airport and a destination airport.

Feeling that you are prepared for this, you take off and slip into the clouds. But then the unexpected happens. This could be any number of things - you start icing, you lose your vacuum pump, etc. You need to first of all fly the airplane. But continuing on your trip makes no sense. You need to get back to your departure airport as quickly as possible. If you press PROC to grab the ILS back into Anoka, the Garmin 430 is (logically) going to present you with the approaches for Fort Dodge, your destination. Yes, you can get the approaches back into Anoka in a couple of different ways. You could go to FPL0, turn the cursor on, highlight KANE and press DIRECT-TO. Or you could go to FPL0, press MENU, and select INVERT FLIGHT PLAN. Now PROC would present you with the approaches for Anoka.

Both of these methods however require multiple button pushes to achieve the desired result. And if you are in an emergency situation, the less button pushing you have to do, the better your chances are of achieving a successful outcome. There is a neat little trick that will achieve this. When you program FPL0, simply add your departure airport a second time, as the last airport in FPL0. Now FPL0 looks like this.

The software in the Garmin 430 has it bring up approaches for the last airport in FPL0 when PROC is selected. And since your departure airport is the last airport in FPL0, PROC brings up the approaches for Anoka.

Once you are on your way and things are proceeding without incident, you can simply delete that last entry for Anoka in FPL0. To do this, go to FPL0, turn on the cursor, and move it to that last KANE entry by using the large (outer) knob. Warning - if you try to reposition the cursor with the small knob, the Garmin thinks you wish to enter a new waypoint and brings up the appropriate dialog box. Once you have the second KANE highlighted, simply press CLR. You will be asked to confirm that you want to delete the waypoint. Answer YES, and the second KANE disappears

Caveat - if you have recentered your CDI by pressing DIRECT-TO, this procedure will not work. The DIRECT-TO takes priority over FPL0. In this case, you either have to cancel the DIRECT-TO by pressing DIRECT-TO, MENU and select CANCEL-DIRECT-TO or going into FPL0, turning on the cursor, highlighting KANE and doing a DIRECT-TO.

Putting the departure airport as the last waypoint in FPL0 is strictly for an emergency. But if you are in the clouds, your left engine is on fire, you are icing, and your right-seat passenger is throwing up on you, it will serve as a very effective means of getting you back into Dodge in a hurry and with the least amount of button pushing.

In the interest of disclosure, I should also add that this stratagem is not mine. I saw it outlined recently in AVweb, a popular aviation website . I thought it was pretty neat trick, and investigated exactly how it would work and what its shortcomings might be.

Reverse Sensing? No Such Thing

2010-02-19T11:19:00.016-06:00

I often hear comments from pilots about confusion over normal sensing and reverse sensing. To some it seems no big deal, but to others it is a source of worry and confusion. I am going to make what may seem to be a rather startling comment to some of you.

If you truly understand VOR navigation, there is no such thing as reverse sensing.

Okay, bear with me. The confusion arises because the majority of pilots have been taught to “fly towards the needle” when learning VOR navigation. That in turn gets interpreted to mean fly either right or left in order to get on the desired course. And therein lies the problem and the source of the confusion.

You do not fly towards the needle. Instead you fly towards a heading, and that may mean fly either right or left. It depends on where the nose of the aircraft is pointing.

In the above figure, the OBS is set to 360, same direction as the nose of the aircraft. So students have been taught to fly towards the needle, or to the left. But instead of right or left, think heading. Looking at the VOR display, a heading of 270° will take you directly to the selected course. In this case that does happen to be a turn towards the left. But now let’s spin the aircraft around, so it is flying south.

Notice the VOR display has not changed. The VOR head (as the VOR display is technically called) neither knows nor cares where the nose of the aircraft is pointed. The CDI is still deflected to the left. It is still saying that to get directly to the selected course, you need to fly a heading of 270 degrees. But now look at the DG (or heading indicator). A heading of 270° is towards your right – in the opposite direction of the needle. This, then, is the so-called reverse sensing. But if you think heading rather than right or left, there is no reverse sensing. Instead there is just a heading to fly, and that heading may be to your left or to your right.

This works for localizer as well as VOR courses. Let’s take a look at the ILS-18 into Lebanon, NH (KLEB). Here is what the instruments look like as the pilot is being vectored for the ILS, flying a heading of north. Look at the approach plate first and see where the aircraft is.

Now let’s look at the aircraft instruments. Note the aircraft is flying north, on the east side of the localizer. The VOR display says the pilot needs to fly towards the west to get to the localizer course. The DG (heading indicator) says this means a turn towards the left. Think heading, not right or left!

Now let’s look at tracking inbound on the localizer. Again, first look at the approach plate to see where the aircraft is.

Now let’s look at the instruments. Note that the aircraft is slightly west of the localizer course. The instruments show exactly the same thing – the aircraft is slightly west of course. Also note in both cases, the OBS for the VOR display is set to the final approach course. If you set the OBS to the final approach course, it results in less knob twisting, and in a busy cockpit, this is an advantage.

So you see that if you disavow yourself of the “fly right or left or towards or away from the needle” way of thinking, the entire concept of reverse sensing simply disappears.

I’ve shown it here for a localizer, since this notion of reverse sensing is very common when either flying a back course or tracking outbound on a localizer to do a procedure turn. But it works exactly the same way for tracking on a VOR approach.

Let’s look at the VOR-25/LEB. Below is a portion of the approach plate, showing the position of the aircraft being vectored for the approach.

Now let’s look at the instruments. The aircraft is being vectored on the east side of the final approach course. The OBS is set to the final approach course. The needle is deflected to the right and a heading of 330° would take us directly to the final approach course. But 330°is to our left, away from the needle. Think heading, not right or left.

Now let’s look at the picture as the aircraft has been given a heading that provides an intercept for the final approach course. First look at the approach and see where the aircraft is.

The aircraft is on a heading of 280°, just about ready to join the final approach course. This is what the instruments look like.

If you think heading rather than right or left, you can set the OBS to the final approach course, even if you are flying outbound to do a procedure turn. By the way, with an HSI you always set the course to the final approach course, sometimes called the front course, even if you are flying a Localizer-Back-Course approach.

If you are used to always setting the OBS to your heading, as students have been traditionally taught, then continue with the procedure if you are comfortable with it. However you decide to do it, though, think heading – not right or left.

I close this discussion with the following acronym.

IBOT

I have used it for a long time to help students remember what radial they are on.

I = inbound or “TO” flag on VOR head

B = radial is at the bottom of the VOR head

O = outbound or “FROM” flag on the VOR head

T = radial is at the top of the VOR head

So think “inbound bottom” and “outbound top.”

Try out some of the ideas I’ve presented here yourself. You will find out they work, and they can significantly reduce the amount of confusion that occurs when doing VOR navigation.

True, False or Maybe

2010-02-07T16:33:00.004-06:00

Instrument flying is chock full of rules and regulations. However it is also replete with gray areas, where a clear definitive answer is not spelled out. These areas are always good to spark a lively debate among pilots. Instructors are no different – we have our ideas too about the gray areas. So let’s look at a few things that are not clearly spelled out and are sure to provoke some debate.

Question 1:

Scenario: you are flying towards the IAF for the NDB or GPS RWY 34 at Cambridge (KCBG). You have been cleared for the full approach, your direction of flight is northwest and your altitude is 4000’ MSL.

After passing over the IAF, you must get established on the outbound leg with a heading of 170° in order to do a procedure turn. Which is the true statement?

· You must make a right-hand turn to get established on the outbound course because that is the protected side shown for the hold.

· It doesn’t make any difference whether you turn right or left because you are at MVA and not in any danger of colliding with an obstacle.

Question 2:

For the same approach, for various reasons you are at an altitude of 8,000’ and need to lose a lot of altitude in order to fly this approach. ATC tells you to hold south of the NDB IAF as published and descend in the hold until you reach 3,000’.

You do as directed and reach 3000’ as you are approaching the IAF on the inbound leg of the hold. ATC clears you for the full approach.

True or false:

· You must intercept the outbound leg in order to fly out and do a procedure turn.

· You can simply extend the outbound leg of the hold for two minutes or so and then turn inbound in the elongated holding pattern.

· Both procedures are acceptable.

Bonus question:

· What is DUMDY? (Hint – it is not shorthand for Descend Undercarriage Mixture Descend some more and Yippee there’s a runway in sight)

Question 3:

Now let’s look at another approach, this one is the GPS-28 approach into Maple Lake (KMGG). Scenario: you are approaching NAZMY from the east. ATC has cleared you for the approach.

You are pretty much lined up with the final approach course but the approach plate doesn’t specify NoPT coming from this direction and the 1-minute hold depicted at NAZMY is clearly meant to serve as a procedure turn.

True or false:

· You must do a turn around holding because NoPT is not specified

· You don’t have to do a turn around holding because you are more or less lined up with the final approach course

Question 4:

You are flying the full VOR-A approach into KMIC (see IAP below). You have completed your outbound leg on the procedure turn and are ready to do a 180° turn to a heading of 121° to intercept the inbound course.

You happen to glance at your DME and it reads 9 nm. The profile view clearly states the procedure turn must be done inside of 10 nm. Which of these statements is true?

· You must turn right because that is how the procedure turn is depicted on the approach plate.

· It makes no difference which way you turn, so make a left-hand turn to 121° in order to stay within the 10 nm range for the procedure turn.

Second bonus question:

You are flying single-pilot IFR and are trying to get the weather at your destination. But just about the time the ATIS report is giving the winds, ATC starts talking again so you turn down the volume on the ATIS frequency in order to hear the controller. After several attempts to get the weather, you still don’t have the pertinent information and are getting closer and closer to your destination.

What is your best course of action?

· You never leave the ATC frequency, so just hang in there and keep trying. Maybe you’ll get lucky.

· Ask ATC for permission to leave the frequency to get the weather at your destination

Answers:

As I said at the start, these are areas that can provoke a lot of discussion among pilots, so here is my two cents worth.

Question 1:

It makes no difference which way you turn in order to get established outbound.

Question 2:

Both procedures are acceptable.

First bonus question:

DUMDY is a procedural waypoint for an IFR GPS. An IFR GPS starts scaling down to 0.3 nm sensitivity two miles before reaching the FAF. However this approach does not have a FAF; you simply start to descend when established inbound. DUMDY serves as a virtual FAF for an IFR GPS. Two miles before reaching DUMDY the GPS starts scaling down to 0.3 nm sensitivity. And as a sidebar, if flying this as a GPS approach, you had better not start your procedure turn until you are south of DUMDY.

Question 3:

The second answer is correct. ATC is not expecting you to do a procedure turn. In the AIM, this is clarified, and controllers will often clear you straight in for the approach. If there is any doubt in your mind, however, query the controller about it.

Question 4:

The second one is preferred. It makes no difference which way you turn, and a left-hand turn will more likely keep you within the 10 nm limit.

Second bonus question:

The second course of action is preferable. You won’t read this in any book, but I have had both controllers and DPEs tell me they would prefer pilots ask for a frequency change to get the weather. Otherwise you are trying to listen to two frequencies at once and risk missing a call or not getting the weather (or both).

In the future I’ll try to delve into some of issues and questions like this. Your suggestions for future topics are welcome.

Silence

2010-01-27T19:33:00.001-06:00

I have not been posting for a long time. Busy is about my only excuse. But I've had many requests to start posting again. So I will start again in the near future.

It is very nice to know that many people read the blog and that it has proven helpful in some ways.

Linda

Audio Panels Demystified

2008-05-27T17:20:00.007-05:00

As instructors we are sometimes quite guilty of assuming “everyone knows that”, whatever “that” may be. Just a simple question from a student however can quickly make us realize it’s a false assumption. So it was a question from a student concerning the operation of an audio panel made me realize that it is probably worth offering some explanation about its operation.

The audio panel in question was the KMA 24, probably one of the most common audio panels found in planes.

In an overall view, the KMA 24 audio panel has two rows of buttons, flanked on the left by marker beacon lights and on the right by a rotary knob whose principle function allows the user to select COM 1 or COM 2. The top row of buttons directs the selected audio output to the speaker in the aircraft. The bottom row of buttons directs the selected audio output to your headset.

Marker beacon lights are used in many ILS instrument approaches. If the ILS approach has marker beacons (not all of them do), the most common ones are the outer marker (the blue light marked “O”) and the middle marker (the amber light marked “M”). The inner/airway marker (the white light marked “A”) is generally only installed at major airports. Marker beacons emit a 75-Mhz signal. When the aircraft passes over an outer marker, the blue marker beacon light is seen. A middle marker beacon illuminates the amber marker beacon light. In addition, an audible tone may be heard. If you want the audible signal to come through the speaker, press MKR (#9) on the top row of buttons. If you want it to come through your headset, press MKR on the bottom row of buttons.

The 75 Mhz signal transmitted by the marker beacons is a carrier frequency. This carrier frequency is modulated into a 400 hz, 1300 hz or 3000 hz signal for the OM, the MM, and the IM respectively.

TST - test the marker beacon lights. Pressing this button causes all the marker beacon lamps to illuminate. SENS - the button just to the right of the amber marker beacon lamp selects the sensitivity of the marker beacons. HI allows the marker beacon signal to be detected approximately one mile before passing over the beacon. At this point, if you had HI sensitivity selected, you would want to switch to LO sensitivity. A word of caution concerning the TST button. Bendix King notes that the TST button should not be pushed when the autopilot is coupled on an ILS approach. Some autopilots, including Bendix King models, use the marker beacons to change the sensitivity of the autopilot. Next to the “O” marker beacon lamp is a photoelectric cell which controls the brightness of the marker beacon lamps.
TEL – controls audio for a radio telephone. Alternately some KMA 24 audio panels replace the TEL function with HF, for operation with a high frequency transceiver. Note that this function, either TEL or HF, must also be selected on the rotary knob on the right side of the audio panel.
1 COM – controls audio received from COM 1 communications radio. Again, the top row button directs output to the aircraft speaker, and the bottom row button directs it to your headset.
COM 2 – controls audio received from COM 2 communications radio.
1 NAV – controls the audio received from the NAV 1 radio. This includes any weather information, such as HIWAS as well as the Morse code IDENT. Many nav radios have a switch on the radio for IDENT. This must be selected in addition to selecting either speaker or headset for the audio.
NAV 2 – ditto for the NAV 2 radio.
DME – allows you to hear the Morse code identifier for any DME that is co-located with VOR or localizer stations. Most DME receivers have the ability to enter a frequency separately from the nav radios. However the most common method of operation is to remote the DME receiver to either nav 1 or nav 2.
MKR – allows you to hear the marker beacon audio signals.
ADF – allows you to hear the Morse code identifier of an NDB station. During an NDB approach, most instructors teach their students to keep the Morse code identifier for the NDB on during the entire approach to verify integrity of the signal. Unlike VOR receivers, ADF receivers do not display an OFF flag, so the Morse code is the only way to ensure the data being received by the ADF receiver is valid.
AUTO – this is probably the most confusing button for pilots when they first work with the audio panel. The rotary switch on the right side of the KMA 24 can be set for either COM 1 or COM 2. The rotary switch controls the transmission frequency. So if you have COM 1 selected with the rotary switch, when you push the transmit button, you are transmitting on COM 1. The AUTO button allows you to automatically slave the received audio information to whichever frequency you have selected with the rotary switch. By pressing the AUTO button in the bottom row (headset), you will automatically hear the transmissions from either COM 1 or COM 2, depending on which one has been selected by the rotary switch. So with AUTO selected, you may switch back and forth between COM 1 and COM 2 with the rotary switch without having to reselect COM 1 or COM 2 using the push buttons. If you desire to hear audio from the other com radio, you may do so by simply pressing the appropriate button for either speaker or headset. For example you are listening and transmitting on COM 1 but would like to listen to ATIS at the same time. You may do this by putting the ATIS frequency in COM 2 and pressing the COM 2 button for either speaker or headset. Warning – it can be confusing to try to listen to two frequencies at the same time.
The rotary switch on the right side is used to select the desired transmitter for the cockpit microphones. COM 1 and COM 2 have been previously discussed. The INT position selects cabin intercom. This allows the crew to address the passengers over the cabin speaker. The EXT position allows the crew to address people on the ramp through an external ramp hailer speaker, if one is installed.

In putting this discussion together, I found a good pilot guide to operation of the KMA 24 audio panel on the Bendix King website. It is a downloadable pdf file, and the web address is

Pilot Guide to the KMA 24 Audio Panel

Goodbye old WINGS, hello new WINGS

2008-03-22T15:51:00.004-05:00

The old Wings safety program that we all knew is now officially gone. This has come as a shock to many pilots who relied on it for their flight reviews. In its place however is a new and improved version of the program, one that addresses some of the issues and shortcomings of the old program.

The new WINGS is a web-based program that tracks your training and promotes personal proficiency. The old WINGS program was time based; go to an FAA safety seminar and do the three hours of training. No standard of proficiency was specified. The new WINGS program is based on both knowledge and proficiency. It is modeled on consistent recurrent training to PTS standards, a paradigm that has proven successful in both airline and corporate flying. As with the old program, it is entirely voluntary. In order to participate, you need to have a pilot license and a current medical. Student pilots may participate in the program, but they will not be able to receive credit for training.

Training is broken down into three phases — basic, advanced and master. Completing the requirement for the basic phase will count as a flight review. Within the phases there are core elements and elective elements. Completing the requirements for the basic phase constitutes a flight review.

How do you, both flight instructor and pilot, participate in the new WINGS Pilot Proficiency Program?

Go to the website (FAASafety.gov) and register. You must hold an FAA license and a current medical.
Complete the pilot profile for the type of training you wish to do. This does not necessarily have to reflect your certificates. It may be tailored to the type of flying you do.
Complete the required and elective training requirements.
Submit your completed credits for validation.
Use the system to track your proficiency.

As with the old system, you must fly with an instructor in order to complete your training. Both the flight instructor and the pilot must be registered in order to obtain credit. If the flight instructor is not registered, the flight training must be verified by a registered instructor.

The instructor doing the training must put an endorsement of training in the pilot’s logbook.

“I certify that [pilot], holder of pilot certificate number [number], has satisfactorily demonstrated proficiency in all tasks as outlined in the WINGS Pilot Proficiency Program activity course number [number] on [date].
Name, certificate number, date, signature”

I have made it my goal to do my flight review, which expires in May, by working my way through the Basic phase of the new WINGS Pilot Proficiency Program. This should give me a much better understanding of the program, and I am looking forward to doing it.

Substituting GPS for DME and ADF

2007-10-30T15:29:00.000-05:00

I work with a lot of plane owners, and I have found the trend is to install an IFR GPS and skip having a DME in the plane. After all, the IFR GPS can be used in place of DME – right? Yes it can, but you had better have a clear understanding of how that substitution is to be done if you want to stay squeaky clean with the FAA.

The 2007 AIM, section 1-1-19 has information that every pilot flying with an IFR GPS should take the time to read. Specifically 1-1-19(f) talks about the substitution of an IFR GPS for DME or ADF. Before jumping into this discussion, it must be noted that your GPS must have a current database card.

Let’s look at the DME requirements first. Let me offer a caveat up front. I confess to having a difficult time following the AIM numbering scheme. Having said that, I will jump into this discussion, hoping I have the numbers right.

The first point to note is in AIM 1-1-19(f)(5). It says that in order to use the GPS for DME, the course deviation indicator (CDI) must be set to terminal sensitivity. This is normally 1 nm full-scale deflection. In most situations, the GPS receiver will already be in terminal mode. However, if it isn’t, then you will need to manually select terminal mode. To do this with the Garmin 400-500 series, go to the Aux 3 page and select CDI/Alarms.

This will allow you to manually select the CDI sensitivity. Select the 1.00 nm scale.

The caveat here is that you must not forget to restore it to AUTO once you no longer need it forcibly set to 1.0 nm sensitivity.

To manually select the CDI scale for the KLN89B, go to the NAV1 page. Turn the cursor on. Position it on the CDI Deviation Indicator and press CLR until it says CDI scale. Use the small knob to select the 1.0 nm sensitivity (ARM mode). Press CLR to return the display to the CDI Deviation Indicator and turn the cursor off. When the KLN89B is in Approach mode, it is not possible to select a less sensitive scale that the current one. The default sensitivity is 5.0 nm. Unlike the Garmin units, there is no AUTO mode.

The KLN94 CDI sensitivity is selected in the same manner. For both the Garmin and the KLN units, if the sensitivity has been manually set to 1.0 nm, the unit will go to a more sensitivity setting (approach mode), but it will not go to the enroute sensitivity (5 nm) until it has been reset to AUTO (Garmin) or 5.0 nm (KLN).

AIM 1-1-19(f)(c)(2)(b) talks about using GPS to fly a DME arc, and this is the one that is probably most frequently violated, albeit unintentional. It says, in part, with the boldface type from the AIM itself:

“You must select from the airborne database the facility providing the DME arc as the active GPS waypoint.
Note: The only acceptable facility is the DME facility on which the arc is based. If this facility is not in your airborne database, you are not authorized to perform this operation.”

What that means is you can’t just merrily load the approach and fly the arc using the Map page display and the suggested headings provided by the GPS, sequencing along from waypoint to waypoint. You have to keep the DME facility as your active waypoint. It is generally possible to do this and keep the waypoints, including the arc, visible in your Map display.

Let’s look at the VOR/DME-27 into Anoka (KANE) as an example of how to do this.

This approach incorporates a couple of different examples of using GPS for DME. To get started, let’s examine the use of the GPS to fly the DME arc. The first step in doing this is to load the approach into the GPS. By loading the full approach into the GPS, we get most of the waypoints as well as the arc displayed on the Map page. Also note that the GPS is in terminal mode sensitivity.

The problem however is that GEP, the facility that provides the DME information, is not the active waypoint. It is however the MAP waypoint for the hold. We can make it the active waypoint by going into FPL0, highlighting GEP and doing a DIRECT-TO.

By doing this, we still have the waypoints displayed on the Map page, but we have now satisfied the requirement to have the DME facility as the active waypoint. The arc can be flown using the Map for positional awareness and the waypoint distance to keep us within the proper arc distance.

Turning inbound on the final approach course, we are in VLOC mode and GEP is still the active waypoint. Now that we are no longer on the arc, we can go back to using the GPS waypoints. AIM 1-1-19 f(c)(1)(b) states:

“If the fix is identified by a five-letter name which is in the airborne database, you may select either the named fix or the DME facility as the active waypoint.”

This means that the fixes in the approach (TOURI, VOR10 and RW27) may be used in lieu of GEP and the DME distance.

By going to PROC and selecting Activate Vectors-To-Final, we can replace GEP with TOURI, the FAF, and start waypoint sequencing again. But be forewarned; because this is not a GPS approach, you must leave the CDI in VLOC mode so that guidance is being provided by GEP.

Now let’s look at another approach that might trip the unwary user depending on GPS to substitute for DME. Consider the ILS-27 into Anoka.

The trap here lies in the localizer-only approach. If you load this approach from the GPS database, the step-down fix KOGGE will not be one of the waypoints in the approach. This means that you must rely on DME to identify this fix, but the facility providing the DME is the localizer, I-ANE, rather than a VOR. You can get the proper DME distance by doing DIRECT-TO IANE in your GPS. Both the Garmin and the KLN units think IANE is an intersection, but it does give you the proper DME distance for a localizer-only approach. I did talk to Jeppesen about this approach. They do not include waypoints for step-down fixes for localizer-only approaches. However Jeppesen indicated there is some thought as to possibly including them in the future.

When substituting GPS for an ADF, it is not so detailed on instructions. The AIM says the NDB must be selected from the database and the receiver must be in terminal sensitivity. This might lead you to believe you can fly a pure NDB approach using the NDB as the active waypoint in the GPS and placing the unit in OBS (non-sequencing mode). Take the case of the NDB-28 approach for Osceola (KOEO).

By now you are probably asking yourself why would anyone choose to do this when there is a GPS-28 for Osceola? Well, for quite a while there was indeed an approach plate for GPS-28/OEO but there was no corresponding GPS approach in the database. Why? Because of a runway extension, the GPS-28 approach was NOTAM’ed as NOT AUTHORIZED. In this case, you had only one choice – the NDB-28. So trying to conform to the guidelines in the AIM, the NDB-28 approach is loaded. But now you run into yet another problem. AIM 1-1-19 (f)(b)6) says:

“Charted requirements for ADF and/or DME can be met using the GPS, except for use as the principle instrument approach navigation source.”

Now the conundrum – that ancient ADF receiver in your plane hasn’t worked in years. And even if it did work, you know that loading OEO into the GPS as the active waypoint, putting the receiver in OBS mode, and forcing it to terminal sensitivity is going to do a far better job of getting you into Osceola than that old ADF receiver. But unfortunately the AIM seems to say the FAA doesn’t see it that way.

This basically means that you can hold over a compass locator or NDB using GPS, and you can use it to identify a compass locator on an ILS or LOC approach. Returning to the ILS-27 into Anoka, the primary holding fix is GEP. But there is an alternate holding waypoint at the PNM NDB, which is about 30 nm northwest of Anoka.

You can use GPS to substitute for ADF in doing this hold. Again, the receiver must be set to terminal sensitivity. At the MAP waypoint for the ILS-27 into Anoka, the GPS receiver stops sequencing and waits for instructions from the pilot. If you press OBS on the Garmin units, it automatically brings up the waypoint for the published hold, which in this case is GEP. However you don’t want to go to GEP. So instead press DIRECT-TO. The GPS will display the waypoint for the published hold in the DIRECT-TO dialogue box, with the cursor on. All you have to do is put in PNM for the desired waypoint. The DIRECT-TO works on the KLN units as well.

So now you can head off to Princeton (KPNM) and enter the alternate hold. You can either do it by placing the GPS in OBS mode and flying the hold with raw data, so to speak, or you can load the NDB-15 approach at Princeton (KPNM) and go to PNM for the missed approach, since it is the same hold. Personally I would opt for the latter, since it depicts the hold.

To summarize substitution of an IFR GPS for DME and/or ADF:

Current database card
For use on a DME arc, the active waypoint must be the facility providing the DME
For DME waypoints (other than an arc), if the DME waypoint has an associated name in the database, you may use the database waypoint. If not, the waypoint must be identified using the DME facility as the active waypoint
The GPS may substitute for an NDB or compass locator except if it is the primary navigation source for an instrument approach
For use in lieu of both DME and ADF, the GPS must be in at least in terminal sensitivity (1 nm)

So now you have the nuts and bolts of substituting your IFR GPS for DME and/or ADF. Find a friend and go practice this ahead of time. Or better yet, find a good sim with a GPS and go practice these skills. Flying in the soup with a controller issuing rapid-fire instructions is not the time to be figuring out which buttons you need to push to substitute your GPS for DME or ADF.

The Art of Going Missed - Updated

2007-07-25T20:15:00.000-05:00

The missed approach may be thought of as a Plan B maneuver. It is normal to anticipate and expect that an instrument approach will result in a beautiful runway emerging from the mist and clag. That’s what we expect to see and our mindset tends to be “It is going to be there.” But sometimes it isn’t – and that’s when we need a Plan B.

DH or MAP point is not the time to be looking down at your approach plate, trying to find the missed approach instructions, during which time the plane will most likely continue to descend. The first part of the missed approach procedure should be firmly fixed in your mind, right alongside DH or the MAP point. You are low to the ground at that point, and you need to start reversing that situation immediately. So pitch up and power up right away. Get started climbing away from what is all-too-firm terra firma. Once you have a positive rate of climb established, then you can attend to other duties – cleaning the plane up and reporting your missed approach.

Many missed approach procedures involve climbing straight ahead to a certain altitude, then executing a turn to go to the waypoint for the hold. With more and more planes being equipped with IFR approved GPS units, it is increasingly common to have the instrument approach loaded in FPL 0, even if it is not a GPS approach. The GPS will automatically sequence through the waypoints in the approach until the missed approach point is reached. At that point automatic sequencing is suspended, and the GPS will wait for input from the pilot.

What happens next is specific to the model of GPS. The Garmin 400/500 series wait for the pilot to press the OBS button, which will bring up the published missed approach waypoint and provide guidance to it. The KLN89B and KLN94 units expect the pilot to press the DIRECT-TO button, which will bring up the waypoint for the published hold. By the way, this works on the Garmin unit too, and has some advantages. More on this later. The trick here is to know when to press either the OBS button or the DIRECT-TO button. The ILS-30 into Air Lake (KLVN) offers a good example.

The missed approach instructions are to climb straight ahead to 1500 feet, then climbing left turn to 2800 feet, to hold at the Farmington (FGT) VOR. The GPS will stop sequencing at the runway threshold. If OBS (or DIRECT-TO) is pressed at this point, the GPS gives guidance from that point to the VOR. But this is not what you want. The secret here is to delay pressing the OBS button until you have completed the climb to 1500 feet. When you press the OBS button after completing the straight-ahead climb, the Garmin 430 will display the magenta track that will take you to the holding fix, as shown below. Notice that the magenta track is offset by the distance required for you to make a standard rate turn to the desired heading.

Sometimes there may be an intermediate waypoint between the missed approach waypoint and the fix for the published hold. My best guess is that this is done to prevent the possibility of a plane hitting an obstacle while executing the missed approach. The GPS-13 at Rochester (KRST) provides an example of this.

The waypoints in FPL 0 for this approach in the Garmin 430W, look like this:

The Garmin 430 will stop automatic sequencing when RW13 is reached. If you press OBS at this point, it brings up the next waypoint in FPL 0, which is POKYI. Since there is no turn involved here, it is okay to press OBS as soon as you start the missed approach. This approach, by the way, is an LPV (precision GPS approach). I have had a Garmin 430W installed in my plane. I received the Garmin 430W/530W trainer CD from Garmin, and it does contain this approach. I will be writing future entries on the Garmin 430W unit.

I mentioned earlier that when the GPS stops sequencing through the waypoints, pressing the DIRECT-TO button is another way of bringing up the waypoint for the hold. Sometimes there is a distinct advantage to doing it this way.

Press OBS at the MAP point and the Garmin 400/500 series will immediately make the next waypoint in FPL 0 the active waypoint
Press DIRECT-TO at the MAP point and both the KLN and Garmin units will present the next waypoint in FPL 0 in a dialog box with the cursor turned on, so that it can be changed to another waypoint if so desired

So when would you ever want to utilize another waypoint for the hold. The ILS-27 into Anoka (KANE) provides a good example. This is the Jeppesen plate for the ILS-27.

Gopher VOR (GEP) is the waypoint for the published hold. However note in the upper left-hand corner of the plan view there is an alternate holding waypoint at the Princeton NDB (PNM). If you had been told to proceed to the alternate holding point, utilizing the DIRECT-TO method of bringing the waypoint for the hold would definitely be the preferred method.

Interestingly enough, the NOS version of the ILS-27/ANE shows the PNM holding point but gives the pilot no clue as to why it is on the approach plate.

To wrap this up, when you are briefing an approach, there are four items that you need to commit to memory.

The FAF
DH or MDA
How to identify the MAP point
The first part of the missed approach instructions

My experience in being a CFII for many years is that it is the last one that most people forget to do.

The Case of the Disappearing Waypoint

2007-06-24T13:44:00.002-05:00

T. is one of many customers who does a monthly sim session with me. He flies a Mooney, equipped with a Garmin 430W and is proficient on its use. His June sim session brought up an interesting scenario which is well worth sharing with you.

In the sim session, T. was flying an IFR flight from Anoka (KANE) to Rochester, Minnesota (KRST). For this particular flight, I had selected strong winds from the southeast. Playing the part of ATC, I directed T. to fly directly to CORDY intersection to start the GPS-13/RST.

T. loaded the approach into the Garmin 430 in the sim and activated it, with CORDY as the IAF. Unfortunately none of the Garmin 400/500 series downloadable simulators have a database current enough to contain the GPS-13/RST approach, so I will have to instead describe as best I can what happened. After T. loaded and activated the approach, FPL0 looked like this.

Approach GPS 13
CORDY (IA)
HEBAS
HUPAP (FA)
RWY 13 (MA)
POKYI
RST (MH)

I had thoughtfully set the ceiling so he would be forced to fly the missed approach, holding at the Rochester VOR (RST). As usual, T. flew it perfectly, executing the missed approach and entering the hold at the Rochester VOR, using the SUSP feature of the Garmin 430 to bring up the holding waypoint, RST in this case.

What happened next caught both of us by surprise. I told him to anticipate the ILS-13 approach into Rochester and was planning on having him do the transition from the VOR to ELLIE.

While still in the hold at the Rochester VOR, T. decided to load the ILS-13/RST approach. So he loaded it, using ELLIE as the IAF, but did not activate it since he was still holding around RST. As soon as he did this, RST disappeared as the active waypoint. This left him in a hold without an active holding waypoint.

In discussing it later, he explained his logic was to simply load the ILS approach, the logic being that he would not activate it since he was still in the hold at RST. However, as soon as he loaded the ILS approach in the Garmin, all of the waypoints from the previous approach promptly disappeared. Since RST was not a waypoint in the loaded approach, T. was left without his holding waypoint. Had he chosen RST as the starting point when he loaded the approach, he would have still had RST in the set of FPL waypoints.

It was an unexpected scenario to both of us. The bottom line is that you should not replace an approach in the Garmin 430 if you are depending on a waypoint in the current approach for navigation. Unless you are very careful, doing so can cause you to suddenly be navigating to an unintended waypoint. I think this would be a case of being up the well known creek without a proper waypoint!

Back to Basics - Holding 101

2007-06-10T15:55:00.000-05:00

Probably one of the weakest areas I see in working with both instrument students and instrument-rated pilots is holding. Granted, you don’t do it too often in the real world of IFR flying, but holds do come along on occasion.

In a previous article, Creating Holding Clearances, I talked about entries into holding patterns. But in this article, let’s step back even further and talk about how to draw a hold, given a holding clearance. Surprisingly, it’s an area that experience has shown me is lacking in basic understanding.

There are two broad categories of holds – published and unpublished. Published holds are drawn out for you on either an instrument approach plate or an enroute low chart. Unpublished holds are not depicted. They start with a holding clearance, and from there you are expected to translate that into the holding pattern. A holding clearance has a very definite form.

Hold [direction] of [waypoint] on the [radial or bearing] [direction of turns] [EFC]

So a hold around Gopher (GEP) VOR could be given as:

Hold northeast of Gopher on the 060° radial right-hand turns EFC

EFC is shorthand for “expect further clearance” and is a time limit, given in the event of loss of communications.

Once the holding clearance has been given, there is often a fair amount of confusion about the correct way to translate that into a graphic holding pattern. This is what I often see. The pilot will draw a line outbound from the VOR, hesitate, then draw the right hand turn at the “end” of the outbound leg. Then they will complete the pattern, which results in a left-hand holding pattern. This is how the incorrect holding pattern looks.

This all too common mistake results from confusion about where the “right hand” turn is defined. Here are the steps to drawing it correctly. Start at the VOR and draw a line outbound on the radial. Next reverse course and draw over the same line back in towards the VOR. Once you are back to the VOR, now draw the right-hand turn, and complete the holding pattern. It should look like this.

If you will follow this procedure, your holding pattern will be correct. The key point to remember is that the direction of turn, right or left, is drawn at the VOR, not out on the radial. Another key to help you get it right is to remember that when you track inbound, you want to be tracking inbound on the specified radial, with a heading that is the reciprocal of the given radial. Your outbound track is in the same direction as the given radial, but you are offset from the radial.

Using an RMI

2007-05-28T17:37:00.000-05:00

Those of us who did instrument training before GPS took over, had to learn how to do NDB navigation. An ADF is a very simple instrument. It simply points at the NDB. Follow the needle, and sooner or later you will get to the NDB – or possibly a thunderstorm. But such a seemingly simple instrument has been the source of a great deal of frustration to generations of pilots who had to learn how to use it for navigation. If our instrument instructors were successful in beating it into our heads, we eventually learned how to intercept specific bearings and track towards or away from the NDB in a more or less precise manner. The degree of precision often depended on the degree of wind.

VORs have radials, and NDBs technically have bearings. But to simplify this discussion, I am going to use radials in talking about NDBs. If we wanted to track inbound on the 180° radial towards the station, we learned to turn to an intercept heading, usually 30, 45, or 60° for ease of use. When the head of the ADF needle fell to the intercept angle, we were on the desired radial. If our airplane was really fancy, it had an ADF card that could be rotated. This simplified things for the pilot – more or less. If you remembered and had the time to do so, you could rotate the ADF card to match the aircraft’s heading. By doing this, you didn’t have to calculate intercept angles. When the head of the ADF needle fell to the desired radial, you had made the interception. Suppose you were southwest of the NDB and wanted to intercept the 180° radial and track inbound on it. You could turn to an intercept heading of 045° and also rotate the ADF card to match your heading. The head of the ADF needle would fall, and when it reached the desired reading of 360° (reciprocal of 180°), voila – you were on the desired course.

The ADF with a rotating card was often called the poor man’s RMI. It simplified NDB navigation, but having to constantly rotate the card really added to the pilot’s workload. But what if the card rotated automatically, just like your DG (heading indicator) or HSI. That essentially is what an RMI is. It is a DG with either one or two needles that can be set to respond to either NDBs or VORs. So using an RMI is basically just remembering how you did NDB navigation.

The RMI combines the DG and ADF into one instrument. As you turn, the card moves just as the DG or heading indicator would move.

Recently I was asked about using an RMI for hold entries. So let’s investigate how you use an RMI to get into a hold. To do this, set the RMI to respond to a VOR rather than an ADF. Assume you are tracking north on the 180° radial towards the VOR.

I have marked off the face of the RMI with the lines to determine holding entry for a right-hand hold. If you don’t recall this, please refer to Creating Holding Clearances. Our holding clearance at Podunk VOR was given as:

Hold northeast of PODUNK VOR on the 050° radial, right-hand turns, EFC……

This calls for a teardrop entry. To make this entry, we would turn to a heading of about 020° after passing over the VOR and fly for one minute (if it was timed legs).

Turning right to intercept the inbound course on the 050° radial, the RMI tells us right away that we need to stop the turn momentarily to intercept the radial.

Remember the RMI acts just like an ADF. The head of the needle is going to fall. Right now the plane is on the 40° radial, but we need to intercept the 050° radial. Since the head of the needle will fall, we can stop the turn temporarily on a heading of 200° and wait for the needle to fall. When it gets to 230°, we are on the 050° radial.

Modern RMIs include those that can track two different stations simultaneously and can be independently set to either VOR or ADF. This one is from a King Air panel.

It takes a little bit of readjustment to your thinking, but once you get the hang of it, it’s really a great instrument.

Mnemonics and Acroynms

2007-05-20T23:16:00.000-05:00

Mnemonics and acronyms – those little cryptic collections of letters and words that help us remember things. As pilots we certainly collect more than our share of them, and we all have our favorites that we tend to use, and teach. Some of my favorites include the following. They are not listed in any order or preference – just as I happen to think of them.

GUMP, BGUMP, BCGUMP, or BCCGUMP -- all variations of the same thing. Generally used as a pre-landing checklist, the letters stand for the following:

B – electric boost pump.
C – carb heat
C – cowl flaps
G – gas on the fullest (or correct) tank
U – undercarriage (gear)
M – mixture
P – prop

Red-Blue-Green -- this is the checklist I use on short final.

Red – mixtures should be forward
Blue – props should be forward
Green – gear had better be down

IMSAFE -- used for a pilot checklist. Are you safe to fly this particular day?

I – illness. You don’t need to be flying if you are sick. Go home and find your couch!
M – medication. Are you taking any medications, prescription or OTC, that would make you unsafe? Cold medications often make you sleepy, and a sleepy pilot is definitely not a safe pilot.
S – stress. Are you under stress or an emotionally draining situation? If so, you don’t belong in an airplane.
A – alcohol. No explanation needed. Alcohol and planes (and cars) don’t mix well.
F – fatigue. Are you tired and worn out? If so, you definitely do not belong in a plane.
E – eating. Have you eaten anything lately? A candy bar and a cup of coffee do not constitute a decent meal.

I once had a student pilot cancel her solo long cross-country. She got all the way out to the run up area and then taxied back in. When she called me to tell me she had cancelled, she cited the IMSAFE checklist. She was going through a messy divorce and decided she was definitely not safe. Needless to say, I commended her highly on her decision.

ABCD -- used for emergency procedures in case of engine failure in a single-engine plane at altitude.

A – airspeed. Trim for best glide. In a lot of trainer aircraft, this may be close to full nose-up trim.
B – best place to land. Pick out a landing spot and head for it. If you get there and you are high, you can spiral down.
C – checklist. If time permits, turn to the emergency section of the checklist to try to restart the engine. Otherwise use a flow method of checking critical items. Primer, boost pump, switch fuel tanks, carb heat or alternate air, mags (try one or the other).
D – dialogue. If you are talking to a controller, let them know you have a problem. Otherwise go to 121.5 and tell anyone within reception range that you have a problem. And if time permits, squawk 7700 on your transponder. But above all, fly the airplane.

Pitch-Full-Clean-Blue-Identify-Verify-Feather -- pre-takeoff checklist for multi-engine pilots. Treat every takeoff in a twin as “this is the day I am going to lose an engine on takeoff or climb out”. Review your emergency procedures before every takeoff. This particular set is for actions to be taken in the event of an engine failure on climb out after the gear has been retracted.

Pitch – pitch for the horizon, because your airspeed is going to bleed off at an alarming rate. Pitching for the horizon will preserve that vital airspeed and put you roughly in the vicinity of blue line (Vyse).
Full – make sure everything is full forward, mixtures, props, throttles.
Clean – verify you are clean, both gear and flaps retracted
Blue – put your airspeed right on blue line (Vyse), the airspeed for best single-engine climb performance. But just remember, there is nothing that says a light twin has to climb on a single-engine. However Vyse will at least minimize your rate of descent.
Identify – identify which engine has failed. Most multi-engine pilots are taught the “dead foot dead engine” technique. If you set your heading bug to runway heading and then use rudder to maintain the extended centerline, your “dead” foot will indicate the dead engine. Another clue is to use the turn coordinator – step on the high wing. The plane wants to yaw towards the dead engine, so stepping on the high wing identifies which engine has failed.
Verify – verify that you have correctly identified the dead engine by retarding the throttle for that engine. You don’t want to shut down your only remaining good engine!
Feather – close to the ground and fighting for altitude, that windmilling prop needs to be feathered. A windmilling prop creates an enormous loss of mechanical energy due to it forcing the crankshaft to rotate, which it turn causes pistons to move, etc. So get rid of that energy drain by feathering the prop.

Then climb to gain some altitude and come back for a landing. This in itself presents a dilemma. Climbing straight ahead is best for gaining altitude, but at the same time it is taking you farther and farther away from the runway. What is the best choice? Your decision. You can safely turn, even into the dead engine, but make it a very gentle bank and watch that airspeed.

PARE -- spin recovery. Although you may have not gone through spin training, you can’t get a Private Pilot license without at least having learned the situations that can lead to an unintended spin and how to recover from it, should it happen.

P – power to idle
A – ailerons neutral
R – rudder opposite
E – elevator forward

In most training aircraft it also works to just take hands and feet off the controls, and the plane will generally recover by itself. But you should remember the steps in case it doesn’t. If the situation presents itself, I strongly encourage you to take spin training. No amount of talking about entry and recovery can prepare you for the shock that occurs on your first up close and personal encounter with a spin.

ANDS -- this is another one all primary students learn about the behavior of the mag compass.

AN – acceleration will show a turn towards the north
DS – deceleration will show a turn towards the south

The 5 T’s – Turn, Time, Twist, Throttle, Talk -- Taught to generations of instrument students, it details the actions to take at various points in an approach or entry into holding. Not all of the T’s will be needed at every point, but running through the list will save you from an embarrassing omission.

Turn – turn to the desired heading. You may need to turn to an intercept heading to get on the desired radial or bearing.
Time – start your timer, if needed.
Twist – twist the OBS to the proper setting, either required radial or the reciprocal to eliminate reverse sensing.
Throttle – reduce your airspeed
Talk – if asked to report, do so.

TITS -- the mammary gland check, used to set a navigation radio and not forget something critical while doing so.

T – tune in the correct frequency
I – identify the VOR or NDB. That Morse code is there for a reason, so use it to make sure you have tuned in a properly working VOR or NDB.
T – twist the OBS to the correct setting
S – select the correct source, GPS or land-based VOR. Since the advent of GPS, the most common installation relies on a single VOR head to display either GPS information or VOR information. Make sure you know what is driving the VOR display.

One of the most common mistakes I see, as an instrument instructor, is failure to select the proper source. Some GPS units will switch from GPS to VLOC if the active frequency is a localizer, but don’t depend on the box to do it for you. You are PIC in the airplane, not the GPS, so make sure the signals driving the VOR display are coming from the desired source.

Stuff Out -- Vs and Vso, how to remember which is which.

Vso – “stuff out”, meaning gear and flaps, so Vso is stall speed in the landing configuration.

TOMATOFLAMS -- aid to remembering day VFR required instrumentation and equipment.

T – tachometer
O – oil pressure
M – mag compass
A – airspeed indicator
T – temperature gauge for each liquid cooled engine
O – oil temperature for each air cooled engine
F – fuel gauge for each fuel tank
L – landing gear position indicator
A – altimeter
M – manifold pressure gauge
S – seat belts

FLAPS -- aid to remembering night VFR required instrumentation and equipment, in addition to TOMATOFLAMS.

Fuses – spare set of fuses. Planes now mostly have circuit breakers.
L – landing light if operated for hire
A – anti-collision light
P – position lights
S – source of electrical power

“There is no more red port wine left” -- how to remember the position lights.

For those of you who are not sailors (which includes me), it’s one way of remembering that the red position light is on the left wing.

WRITMIM -- aid to set-up for an instrument approach

W – weather, ATIS or AWOS
R – radios set-up, both com and nav, active and stand-by
I – instruments, check both altimeter setting and DG
T – figure out time from FAF to MAP
M – missed approach point, make sure you know how it is to be identified
I – inbound heading, from FAF to MAP
M – minimum altitude, DH or MDA

“BLT with mayo, fries and a coke” -- created and used by one of my primary students, it was his method of doing a pre-takeoff check or a pre-landing check. He would also use it as a post-landing check. He was learning to fly in a Cherokee.

B – boost pump on or off
L – landing light on or off
T – transponder on ALT or stand-by
Mayo – mixture, either rich or leaned
Fries – flaps, either extended or retracted
Coke – carb heat, either on or off

These are some of the countless acronyms that are used by pilots. Do you have some favorites that aren’t listed here? Feel free to share them. It would both a lot of fun and informative to keep expanding this list.

Procedure Turns

2007-05-13T15:35:00.000-05:00

What really is the purpose of a procedure turn? It’s pretty simple – you’re going the wrong way and need to get turned around. We all learned about them – those little arrows on an approach plate, showing the direction to fly away from the course, generally for one minute followed by a 180° turn back to intercept the course going in the right direction. The one shown below is the Jeppesen method of charting a procedure turn

Instrument students were taught to fly it exactly that way. To deviate was to invite the dreaded pink slip from a disapproving examiner. However things are now starting to swing to a less strict interpretation.

But there are a couple of different types of procedure turns that must be flown exactly as depicted. One of these is the teardrop reversal, as shown below.

This procedure turn is from the ILS-18 at Lincoln, NE. To do this procedure turn, the pilot must fly out on the 324° radial of the Lincoln VOR and then turn right and intercept the inbound localizer course of 174°. Funny thing, it looks exactly like a teardrop entry into a holding pattern. The 324° radial is exactly 30° offset from the outbound localizer course.

The teardrop procedure turn must be completed within the limit specified on the profile view. The default value for this is 10 nm from the specified point or fix, but it can vary. The one for ILS-18/LNK is 12 nm, as shown below.

Another procedure turn that must be flown exactly as depicted is the holding pattern, as shown below for the ILS for Red Wing, MN.

If you have any doubt about whether the holding pattern is actually the procedure turn, check the profile view. That will clearly indicate that it is a holding pattern. In this case it is based on time, the tradition one minute. More and more however, the holding pattern is based on a DME leg length.

The purpose of both the teardrop procedure turn and the holding pattern in lieu of a procedure turn is to allow the pilot to lose a lot of altitude within a constrained amount of airspace.

As mentioned above, unless the procedure turn is one that must be flown exactly as depicted, then the pilot is given a fair amount of latitude as how to accomplish the procedure turn. The AIM actually states that the manner in which the standard procedure turn is accomplished is left to the pilot. This includes the point at which to start the turn, as well as type and rate of turn. Some of the methods include the 45° procedure turn, the racetrack pattern, the teardrop procedure turn, and the 80°-260° procedure turn. The only restriction is that it must be done within the limits specified on the profile view and it must be done on the protected side of the course.

One situation in which the charted 45° procedure turn makes a lot of sense is when doing an NDB approach (without a GPS). Then the charted procedure turn provides a 45° intercept to the final approach course. And when you are doing this type approach with only an ancient ADF providing guidance, that makes intercepting the final approach course a lot easier.

Years ago a retired Navy pilot showed me the 90°-270° procedure turn, and it has become my method of choice. As he explained it to me, this method is utilized by the Navy for man overboard, because it pretty much brings you back to the point at which you start the turn. The method is simple, and it involves no timing. Simply turn 90° in the direction of the protected side of the course and immediately start a 270° turn back in the opposite direction. This is a graphic of the 90°-270° procedure turn done in the sim. I did a screen capture of the track and made it into this graphic.

It’s easy, it’s efficient, and you don’t have to time anything. In actual practice, I teach instrument students how to do it both ways. This is a precaution against having an examiner who insists that it must be done in the traditional manner.

This brings us to the interesting question of when do you have to do a procedure turn. The AIM is pretty clear on this. You don’t have to do a procedure turn if you are being vectored, or if you are on a published portion of the approach that states NoPT. But with more and more GPS approaches being published, this brings up the question of why do a procedure turn when common sense clearly says one is not needed. Take the following example, the GPS-28 into Maple Lake (KMGG). It is clearly not the newer TAA style of GPS approach, yet it has something of the same shape and format – three IAF fixes, with one of the them being in the center.

Maple Lake lies west of the Minneapolis metro area, and is often used for practice instrument approaches. Clearly if you are coming from the east and are cleared directly to NAZMY, doing a procedure turn makes no sense whatsoever, but it doesn’t indicate it to be a NoPT entry. This has puzzled a lot of instrument instructors in the area, and the debate raged on for quite some time. Finally a senior controller with Minneapolis Approach was contacted and asked as to what was expected. He said he would not expect a pilot cleared to NAZMY from the east to do a procedure turn, and in fact it could conceivably cause problems if he had other traffic in the area close to the fix. The situation has been resolved, at least locally, by an amendment to the wording of the clearance. Now ATC will state that the pilot is five miles from NAZMY and is cleared straight in for the approach or words to that effect. The 2007 AIM says a procedure turn is “a required maneuver when it is necessary to perform a course reversal.” The bold-face emphasis comes from the 2007 AIM itself. It further states that a procedure turn is not required when an approach can be made directly from a specified intermediate fix to the final approach fix, which somewhat applies to the Maple Lake GPS approach, since NAZMY is both an IAF and an IF. But then the AIM promptly muddies the water by saying in such cases the term “NoPT” is used. Fortunately the TAA GPS approaches have resolved these ambiguities.

One final item should be noted on the topic of procedures turns, and that is the definition of the phrase “procedure turn inbound”. Many instrument students as well as instrument pilots interpret this phrase to mean the point at which you start the turn back towards the final approach course. It is not. Procedure turn inbound is the point at which you turn onto the final approach course.

The bottom line is that unless the procedure turn is a teardrop track or holding pattern in lieu of a procedure turn, today you can pretty much do what you want when it comes to course reversal. Just do it on the protected side and stay within the specified limit.

The 4 NM Hold

2007-03-08T20:30:00.000-06:00

Holding patterns based on distance rather than timed legs are becoming increasingly common, particularly for GPS approaches. Whether it is a turn around holding in lieu of a procedure turn or holding at the missed approach waypoint, 4 nm legs are becoming quite common.

The traditional method for making a teardrop entry into a hold is to turn approximately 30° away from the outbound heading, making the turn so as to stay inside the protected area of the hold, and fly for approximately one minute before turning back to intercept the inbound course. (See "A Eureka Moment".) This time honored technique works quite well for holds based on one-minute inbound legs, but it doesn’t work so well for the 4 nm holds. If you make the conventional turn for a teardrop entry and fly until you are 4 nm away from the holding waypoint, you might be far enough away from the inbound course to make intercepting it problematic.

So consider a variation on the teardrop entry. In this method, after crossing the holding waypoint, turn to the heading for the teardrop entry and fly for one minute. At the end of one minute, turn to the outbound heading and parallel the inbound course until 4 nm from the holding fix. Then turn to intercept the inbound course.

Below is shown the track of a turn around holding for a procedure turn at NOVSY, from the GPS-12/OWA. The turn around holding was flown by one of the instructors at Sim Flite Minnesota, who wanted to do some sim work to keep her instrument skills sharp.

I would say from the track, that her skills are quite good. Try this technique for a hold with 4 nm legs. It works quite well.

Little Things That Can Ruin a Flight

2007-03-04T00:49:00.000-06:00

In Right Airport, Wrong Approach, I described a short instrument training flight from Anoka (KANE) to New Richmond (KRNH) to Osceola (KOEO) and back to Anoka, with an approach planned at each airport. The article describes how to get the Garmin 430 to display the approaches for the next airport in the route (KRNH) rather than the final airport (KANE).

Once that was taken care of, we proceeded to New Richmond, where my student did the GPS approach. The plan was to then go to Osceola and do the GPS approach there. New Richmond and Osceola are relatively close together, which does not leave the pilot much time to troubleshoot any problem that might occur.

At New Richmond, once again we employ the MENU trick in order to bring up the approaches for Osceola. There are only two, a traditional NDB approach and a GPS approach, both for runway 28. But now there is a nasty little surprise waiting for the unwary. The 430 database only shows the traditional NDB approach.

But your trusty Jepp or NOS instrument approaches distinctly show two approaches for Osceola. Time is short, and you quickly reload the approaches for Osceola. But the 430 stubbornly insists there is only the one approach. The MSP approach controller is getting a little more insistent – what do you want to do, fly the full approach or take vectors. Perhaps the easiest way to handle this is to select the full approach, which makes the NDB at OEO a waypoint.

With the OEO NDB as the active waypoint, the GPS can then be put into OBS mode and the HSI or OBS course selector set for the final approach course. Then the approach can be flown, using the 430 to make a virtual VOR out of the NDB.

Things to double check – OEO is the active waypoint, the VOR display or HSI is being driven by the GPS (CDI is set to GPS) and the unit is in OBS mode. You can now fly an intercept course, and life is good again. MSP approach is happy again too, which is always a good thing.

But why was there no GPS approach into Osceola? You have an approach plate for it, but it was not in the GPS database. The answer is one of those little things that can jump up and bite you at the most inappropriate of times – Notams.

!FDC 6/9414 OEO FI/T L O SIMENSTAD MUNI, OSCEOLA, WI.
GPS RWY 28, ORIG...
PROCEDURE NA.

Yep, the GPS-28 approach into Osceola is not authorized. In questioning Jeppesen about the mismatch between the printed approach procedures and the GPS database, it appears that it is much easier to remove it from the database than to remove it from the printing process. So in order to comply with the FDC Notam, the approach was removed from the database. The object lesson here is that it is all too easy to become complacent, particularly when dealing with airports and approaches that are very familiar.

Our last planned approach was the ILS-27 back into Anoka (KANE). The wind was out of the northwest, so a straight-in approach was planned. But what if you had planned on doing the VOR-DME-27 approach into Anoka?

Once again, those pesky Notams could jump up and bite the unwary.

FDC 6/1513 ANE FI/T ANOKA COUNTY-BLAINE ARPT (JANES FIELD),
MINNEAPOLIS, MN.
VOR/DME RWY 27, AMDT 4A...
S-27 MINIMA NA.

Because of the FDC Notam, you can only descend to the circling minimum of 1400 feet. Those extra 60 feet, if you weren’t aware of them, could certainly result in a pink slip on an instrument checkride.

The bottom line is to check those Notams. Use the Find function in Notepad or whatever you use to search for everything relevant to your flight. Don’t let complacency ruin a perfectly nice flight.

Right Airport, Wrong Approach

2007-02-28T11:09:00.000-06:00

I went on a short training flight today with an instrument student in his C182, equipped with both a Garmin 430 and an MX20. My plan was to do a short flight to two nearby airports, New Richmond (KRNH) and Osceola (KOEO) and then return to Anoka (KANE), doing an approach at each airport. So he created a flight plan for our route. Entered into FPL0, it showed New Richmond as our active waypoint, which was precisely what we wanted.

When he selected PROC to load the GPS approach into KRNH however, it did not display the approaches for New Richmond, in spite of New Richmond being the active waypoint. The approaches for Anoka (KANE) were displayed, and this was not what was wanted.

So how to do you get the approaches for New Richmond, which is where we’re headed? As you might suspect, there is a trick to doing it. While in the PROC page shown in Figure 2 and with the cursor activated, press MENU, and then press MENU a second time. The first time you press MENU, the named approaches box will disappear and you will be left with the box showing the highlighted approach in green, as shown in Figure 3.

When you press MENU a second time, it will bring up a dialog box that allows you to change which airport you want, as shown below.

When you turn on the cursor and select “Select Next FPL Apt?”, magically the approaches for KRNH appear. Now you can select the approach you want at New Richmond, and life is good again.

Just make sure, however, that the approach you planned on doing is really available. More on that next time, subtitle “How Little Things Can Really Trip You Up.”

PLUGG or PLUGS?

2007-02-15T23:15:00.000-06:00

I was working with another CFI this week who wanted more practice on using the Garmin 430. The sim provides an ideal venue for doing this, and I had been taking full advantage of it, putting him into all sorts of scenarios involving the 430. One completely unplanned teaching experience occurred however, and it is well worth sharing with readers.

He had been working through a series of exercises using the FPL0 page. He was on a route from KANE (north of Minneapolis) to KSTC, about 50 miles northwest of KANE. There is an intersection between the two airports, named PLUGS intersection. I asked the student to modify his route in FPL0, so that he would first go to PLUGS and then to KSTC. So he went to the FPL0 page, turned on the cursor, scrolled down to where he wanted to insert the PLUGS waypoint and started the necessary knob twirling to insert the waypoint. By the time he got to the “U” position, the 430 had enough information to try an auto-complete of the waypoint. So it completed the waypoint as shown below.

He then proceeded to hit ENT and PLUGG was inserted into FPL0. In this case, however, the 430 had led him astray. The intersection he wanted to insert was PLUGS. However there is a PLUGG intersection, but it happens to be in the southeast part of the country. A quick “sanity check” would have prevented the error. The lesson here is to always check the waypoint you are inserting is really the one you want. The GPS will try to help you out by auto-completing waypoints, but you must always check what it is helpfully offering to you.

A Eureka Moment

2007-02-08T14:57:00.000-06:00

Every once in a while in this instructing business, you have what can only be described as a “eureka” moment. An insight occurs to you that is so simple and so obvious, you just have to sit back and ask yourself “Why didn’t I think of this 15 years ago?”

Such a moment occurred a week or two ago, when I was working another instructor in the sim. He is prepping for a possible interview and had specifically asked me to concentrate on holding. So I was giving him multiple holding clearances that would mandate all possible types of entries. I have written before about how to create holding clearances – at Holding Clearances

That all worked fine and well, but I needed to give the student some way of intuitively knowing which way to turn on a teardrop entry without resorting to drawing the hold. In thinking about it, I realized that when you approach a hold for a teardrop entry, you are essentially looking at the mirror image of the hold, so to speak If it is a teardrop entry for a right-hand hold, you need to turn to your left. If it is for a left-hand hold, then you need to turn to your right. So why not teach your student to use their hand to determine which way to turn? For example, you are approaching a right-hand hold, as shown in the following graphic.

You are southwest of the VOR, and your holding clearance is to hold northeast of the VOR on the 080° radial right-hand turns. You know that your outbound heading is going to be 080 degrees, but sometimes it is difficult to see which way to turn 30° off of the outbound course without drawing it out. But suddenly I realized you can use your hand to easily figure it out. Right-hand hold – so hold out your right hand, palm down. You need to turn 30°off of the outbound course in the direction of your thumb. Here your outbound course is 080°. So turn 30° in the direction of your thumb away from the outbound course, or 050°

If it’s a left-hand hold, the same thing works, only you hold out your left hand. You are northwest of the VOR and your holding clearance is:

Hold southeast of the VOR on the 140° radial left-hand turns

So hold out your left hand, palm down, and turn 30° off of your outbound course, in the direction of your thumb. So you would turn to 170° for your initial teardrop entry.

I’ve seen a lot of different tips and aids for helping instrument pilots determine which way to turn, but I think this is about the easiest one by far. As I said, every once in a while these “eureka” moments occur.

Teaching the Chandelle -- It works in the sim too

2007-01-19T22:35:00.000-06:00

The chandelle is one of the maneuvers in the single-engine commercial flight test. It is a maximum performance 180°climbing turn and was developed during World War I by French pilots. They would fly to enemy ground troops and toss their bombs out of the cockpit, and then perform the chandelle in an effort to avoid ground fire.

The maneuver is divided into two parts. During the first half of the maneuver, through 90° of heading change, the bank angle is held constant, and the pitch is slowly increasing. During the second half of the turn, the pitch is held constant and the bank angle is slowly rolled out. The graphic attempts to show the changes in the maneuver, where the gradually darkening magenta represents the increasing pitch, and then held constant during the second half, and the same for the changing bank angle, represented in blue. It is steady throughout the first half and decreases throughout the second half of the maneuver.

A road that is parallel to the wind serves as a good visual reference for teaching the chandelle. Fly towards the road at normal speed. When you cross the road, quickly turn into the wind, rolling to 30° of bank angle. Then simultaneously add full power and start to pitch up. At the 90° point in the maneuver you will be parallel with the road. You should still have 30° of bank angle and to have reached the maximum pitch attitude. During the second half of the maneuver, hold the pitch attitude constant while slowly rolling out bank angle. When you cross the road again, now in the opposite direction, you should have rolled to wings level and be just above a stall. Complete the maneuver by slowly lowering the pitch attitude to regain your airspeed. Lots of right rudder is needed during the second half of the maneuver, and at the 180° point, all of those left turning tendencies will be in full force.

In teaching the chandelle, I see two very common errors. The most common is uneven roll out of bank angle. The tendency is to keep most of the bank angle in until you are through about 170° of turn and then roll it out all at once. The second most common error is not maintaining the pitch attitude. It takes increasing back pressure to maintain it, and the tendency is to let it flatten out. How much pitch attitude is needed? That varies from plane to plane, and you just have to experiment to find out how much is needed to give you the desired airspeed at the completion of 180° of turn.

Because uneven bank angle roll out is such a common error, I teach the chandelle in two parts. The first part is simply learning to manage the bank angle – don’t do any of the pitch and power changes. Start on a cardinal heading and quickly roll into a 30° bank angle. When you have completed 90° of heading change, start slowly and smoothly rolling out the bank angle. As a guide, at 120° of heading change, you should have about 20° of bank angle. At 150° of heading change the bank angle should be down to about 10°. Practice this until you can handle the roll-out smoothly. The last 10° of roll out feel like you will never get the plane around to the desired heading, but it will happen – just very slowly. When you have the roll-out under control, you can now add the pitch and power. Just be sure when you do the complete chandelle that you make the quick roll to 30° of bank angle first, and then add power and start the pitch change.

UPDATE:

Today for the first time I actually taught the chandelle in the sim. It would not have occurred to me to do so in the sim, but I had a request from a CFI student to go over them in the sim. First I watched him do the maneuver, with it set to VFR conditions and configured as a C172. I saw the same mistakes that I see in a plane. So we did the two-part learning process. We worked strictly on bank angle management until he had that down pretty well. Then we added the pitch and power. We only spent 0.8 hour in the sim, but at the end of that short session, he was doing much better. The airplane would never have been that efficient. Now on Sunday we’re going to tackle Lazy 8’s in the sim. This should be fun!

The Sim in Action

2007-01-04T10:15:00.000-06:00

Over the Christmas holidays, one of my friends took a video of the sim in operation and made a 30-second clip that I put up on the website. I have been amazed at the response it has generated. Just that short clip is so much more informative about the sim than still pictures. You can see the clip at

http://www.simfliteminnesota.com/clients.html

The clip shows the sim configured as a Bonanza, with one of my friends flying the ILS-10R into KFCM (Flying Cloud airport). I’ve had several people complain that the clip was too short. So longer clips are in the future.