EAA Sport Aviation - August 2009

members forum

there are advertisements for these glass displays, but of course they are not shown as blank rectangles of glass. They show maps, flight instruments, and engine instruments.

A few years ago a fellow took me up for a ride in his Cessna. He had flown in to Truckee from the Novato, California, airport. Not a map was in sight. He had just dialed in the Truckee coordinates and followed the needle.

But to me, that photo of that RV-3B and that blank rectangle of glass raised the question, “What happens when the electrical and/or electronic systems fail?”

When I learned to fly back in 1943 and started flying cross-country, we (the fellows I learned to fly with) were taught to navigate by drawing lines on maps—never flew without a map—and then ticking off 10-mile or 20-mile marks on that line. We filled out a log using headings we got with a Weems plotter and estimated times of arrival (ETAs), calculated with E-6B computers, between turning points or major landmarks. The E-6B also gave us estimated groundspeeds using forecasted wind speeds and headings. Then in flight we would log actual times of arrival (ATAs) and correct ETAs and heading on the actual winds encountered. In the past 60-plus years of flying I’ve never flown a cross-country without drawing a line on a map and a filled out preflight log.

Of course, at night we also had the light lines and radio ranges. Then we got the omnidirectional ranges and LORAN positioning systems.

So, I think you would be doing new pilots and sport pilots a favor by writing an article or two on the advantages of drawing a line on a map—sectional or world aeronautical chart—and then looking out the window as you fly along, and doing a little flight planning, and filling out a log. If all else fails, take a road map.

William H. Silcox, EAA 105777

New Lifetime Members

Richard Bliss (EAA 143494), Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Thomas Droumenq (EAA 1003067), New York, New York

Terence Fraser (EAA 232997), Salineville, Ohio

Bill Gillespie (EAA 657898), Bell Canyon, California

Mark Lanier (EAA 778551), Fort Worth, Texas

Allan Latka (EAA 831022), Monee, Illinois

Jeff Montgomery (EAA 352283), Davenport, Washington

Diane Moody (EAA 866145), Amesbury, Massachusetts

Keith Ovitt (EAA 639508), Wheaton, Illinois

Scott Scherbon (EAA 866144), Amesbury, Massachusetts

Ann Toole (EAA 644330), Goochland, Virgina

William Toole (EAA 619395), Goochland, Virginia

Thanks for sharing your thoughts, William. We have written a couple such articles for sport pilots in EAA Sport Pilot & Light-Sport Aircraft magazine, including one that appeared in the most recent July issue. We’ll continue to keep that topic in the forefront.—Eds

About “Transponder Malfunctions”

I enjoyed George Wilhelmsen’s article in the May issue. Certainly the transponder is a “black box” we don’t think about much and are likely not to identify problems with. However, a misunderstanding is implied by a couple of statements in the text.

At no time was the pilot or aircraft in violation of the Class D airspace rules. There is no requirement for a transponder or radar contact in Class D airspace; the only requirement is to establish and maintain two-way radio contact with “the ATC facility providing air traffic services” (FAR 91. 129(c)( 1)). Clearly the pilot in question did this.

Note the above phrase includes approach control, not just the “control tower”; standard operating procedure is that approach works incoming aircraft often well inside the Class D airspace, then “hands off” the flight to the tower controller at some point when visual contact is established.