Post by Tom Goodrick on Oct 20, 2009 23:21:24 GMT -5
Tonight I noticed on FliightAware an interesting way of getting a GSP direct flight through VOR's that ATC will gladly accept as an IFR flight. I ubderstand from what I've read that, while most GPS units give the ability to fly direct flights between airports, it is seldom available to pilots as governed by ATC. They prefer that you use VOR's as in the "good old days". Presumably this gives them control of where you are - somewhere on a line between two VOR's. But a flight I saw tonight gets around this in a neat way. The flight is of a Piper Arrow flying this evening (dark) from Virginia Highlands (KVJI) to Huntsville, AL, (KHSV). The aircraft was rented from the Redstone Flying Club where many people I used to work with at NASA rent planes and also instruct. This seems like something Professor A Gordan Emsley would do - take an IFR student on a night flight over mountains.
When I looked at the flight path it was nearly a straight line with just a little jog at the end. The pilot picked the VOR's VXV near Knoxville and the RQZ VOR ("Rocket") near KHSV as waypoints. These lie on a straight line between the two airports but are too far apart to use with regular VOR recievers in the cockpit. The flight altitude was 8,000 ft which is safe but there are many small mountains along the way that stick up high enough to block a VOR signal. The distance from KVJI to the first VOR, VXV is 101 nm. The distance from VXV to RQZ is 150 nm. These might be possible reception distances at 8,000 ft over flat land, but I doubt very much if this would work in this case with the mountains.
But a GPS nav computer like the Garmin 430 or 530 (similar to the Garmin 500 in our simulator) has no problem with mountains. It has the coordinates of the VOR's in memory and use its memory to diplay progress along a course between VOR's or any other type of waypoint. Thus the GPS navigator gives a pilot confidence to fly a course where the actual radio reception would be marginal.
Professor Emsley taught me orbital mechanics. He instructs at the Redstone club in IFR, ATP and also mutli engine ratings.
I have a couple of nice Piper Arrows. I'll pick the slow one and make that night IFR flight (planned speed is 125 knots and actual speed was very close.).
When I looked at the flight path it was nearly a straight line with just a little jog at the end. The pilot picked the VOR's VXV near Knoxville and the RQZ VOR ("Rocket") near KHSV as waypoints. These lie on a straight line between the two airports but are too far apart to use with regular VOR recievers in the cockpit. The flight altitude was 8,000 ft which is safe but there are many small mountains along the way that stick up high enough to block a VOR signal. The distance from KVJI to the first VOR, VXV is 101 nm. The distance from VXV to RQZ is 150 nm. These might be possible reception distances at 8,000 ft over flat land, but I doubt very much if this would work in this case with the mountains.
But a GPS nav computer like the Garmin 430 or 530 (similar to the Garmin 500 in our simulator) has no problem with mountains. It has the coordinates of the VOR's in memory and use its memory to diplay progress along a course between VOR's or any other type of waypoint. Thus the GPS navigator gives a pilot confidence to fly a course where the actual radio reception would be marginal.
Professor Emsley taught me orbital mechanics. He instructs at the Redstone club in IFR, ATP and also mutli engine ratings.
I have a couple of nice Piper Arrows. I'll pick the slow one and make that night IFR flight (planned speed is 125 knots and actual speed was very close.).