midlifeflyer

Still on the subject of passenger comfort… How long are the “legs” on longer road trips? Is it just stop for gas, and back on the road? Or are there stops more often to stretch and take bathroom breaks? What about meals? Issues with motion sickness? I’d use that as a general guideline for smooth conditions. Turbulence is another matter. You are already thinking in terms of planned fuel/break stops, but also think in terms of possible enroute diversions. It’s not discussed enough in training or even later, but think in terms of alternates. Not the one required for IFR fuel planning purposes, but enroute alternates. Where you might go if some need - weather, uncomfortable passenger, etc - arises. Last thing you want is to need to divert with the only options a rural airport with no services, no nearby restaurants, and no lodging. That straight line looks great, but does it leave you within sight of nowhere? That’s also for legs where the weather is acceptable but the forecast a little iffy. Think in terms of decision points - “if the weather at the leg destination gets worse, here’s where I will make my “continue/divert decision.”

@AdamJD, ever seen my “The Clearance” video?

My goals are instrument currency and proficiency. I don’t care at all about landing or even takeoffs. Unless I’m doing a SID or ODP, I start in the air. And if I break out instead of going missed and crash on the runway, who cares? (Unless I’m using something like PilotEdge to get the ATC piece as well, I want to land and taxi off without embarrassing myself by creating a smoking hole on the runway.)

And there you go. Happy New Year.

I don’t think I have met a single person in my life in any endeavor who insisted they were right and everyone else wrong on a matter of pure technique or opinion who would admit to feeling infallible. After all, that’s a bad thing, so it couldn’t possibly apply to them.

Dunno. How is the RDU area to ABE at well below topping any Bravo? “As filed,” with the only change being a shortcut once speaking to PHL TRACON.

FWIW, this is a copy and paste of my answer to a similar question on another forum. Under discussion was the Redbird TD2 and how it’s used, understanding that it is not a duplicate of your airplane. BTW, the “analog” airplane I’m referring to is an Ovation Short version: what you get out of it depends on what you put into it. For me personally currency and staying sharp. In case you are interested in the details, I throw a virtual dart at a virtual map. It might be an airport I am planning to visit or an interesting procedures, even an ODP or SID even though they don't count for currency. I might set myself up so my "destination" is below minimums and I have to proceed to an alternate. Our TD2 has both glass and analog panels and I will switch them up. I might hand fly or I might use the autopilot. Since I usually fly glass, when I am going to take a trip in an analog airplane, I'll usually move to the analog panel and hand fly an approach or two there. For when I'm training others, it's usually for transition training or increased proficiency. On the transition the Redbird G1000 is not a real G1000. It doesn't have full G1000 functionality so there are some limitations (and I've seen some bad habits in flight because of it when the instructor doesn't point them out). Same for the analog KAP140. But for basic buttonology and knowing where your fingers need to go, it does a good job. One place where they really excel is hand flying. With no biofeedback and sometimes funky control response, you need to be on your toes with your scan.

There’s a flying club near me with a Gleim setup. I probably ought to get checked out in it just so I know more about it.

Sorry, but belief in one’s own infallibility is not a good character trait. An absolutely horrible one for an instructor. The equivalent of “it’s just wrong to have the approach plate in front of you when performing an approach, because I say so” is a pretty bad example of the type of thing that CFII did to me. Based on your posts, I can easily envision you doing that one too.

That’s really the only place I see an issue here - the attitude that “what’s best for me is the only right way. You are doing it wrong. Not because it doesn’t work, but because it’s not my way. ” I met one of those instructors for training when I was very wet behind the ears and learned to avoid them like the plague after that. It took about a decade to fix what he broke.

Sounds like you have your reasons to do it at home. I have flown and teach in the TD2, but not with the Gleim. If I were doing this myself, I would look very seriously at the Gleim because I think X-Plane (which I use at home) is a far better platform than Prepar3d and the avionics have a little better fidelity.

Interesting. I don’t get to fly into the NY/NJ/PHL area that often, but the one place I haven’t gotten route changes is in Potomac airspace. I file the T-Route around the east and unlike some other places, it actually works there. Once north of DC, a different story, depending on where I’m going.

Good catch.

…and they already include “Smart” SIDs and STARs.

I’m not aware of any significant difference in the navigation database content currently in the US/North American coverage. (There was a weird difference I knew about maybe 10 years ago that applied to the 430/530, but even that one doesn’t apply to the modern boxes)

I wrote about this in one of the last issues of IFR Magazine before Firecrown killed it off.

I think the 20C has an accelerator pump, shooting fuel into the system, just like your old pickup. Is that correct, Hank?

I agree but only in part. Navigators are stupid creatures. They do what we tell them to do. GIGO. The “garbage in” might be buttonology, but also lack of SA. An example is one of my list of “GPS Tasks Pilots Don’t Know How to Do.” It made the list when 3 pilots in a row screwed it up. The task requires the approach to be flown coupled all the way to minimums. We are inbound for an approach in which loading it adds the hold in lieu automatically. I announce to expect vectors to the IF and begin vectoring. The vectors move them into the proper position and I instruct direct to the IF, cleared straight in. Three pilots in a row, including a CFII, were surprised when the airplane turned outbound. The percentages vary, but I see more or less equal parts of both in this real-world task that I think is becoming common as an alternative to vectors to final. buttonology - not knowing how to clear/bypass the hold SA - not realizing from the position they are being moved into that straight in was likely and that something in the flight plan might need to be adjusted,

I don’t doubt you at all.

There’s one near me. I used to use it sometimes for IPCs, but no longer use any ground based approaches that require DME unless the aircraft has real DME. So it’s as rare as the arcs

Sorry. Irresistible

It might or might not apply to you, but remember the advice to carry post-it notes to cover the AI in case of a vacuum failure so you won’t get distracted or confused by it tipping and accidentally follow it into a spiral dive? Switching off the FD when you are not following it has a similar purpose.

That’s too bad. He definitely has his moments. And people disagree with some of his teachings. First time I ever saw or heard of him was live at SNF some years ago. I almost walked out but the horror was so fascinating.

I definitely come across people who feel that way with even less than 40 years under their belt. The nice thing about tools is that we can choose to not use them. I have a client with a G36. I think he’d say that the single most useful thing I taught him was that he can turn the FD off when he’s hand flying.

Maybe not that extreme, but when I see a thread by a pilot who is asking questions as part of an obvious attempt to teach themselves, I cringe. OTOH, when asked, many of them say they can’t find a CFI who understands what they have enough to teach it. Love him or hate him, I have to applaud Gary Reeves for focusing on “avionics mastery” as a career. It’s probably 80% of what I do with owners - for some strange reason it all makes sense to me - but I’m too old for a new career