2003 12 does santa use a gps

THE VINTAGE INSTRUCTOR

Does Santa Use a GPS? DOUG STEWART

“C

hristmas time is here by golly, Disapproval would be folly. . . .” The words of that vintage Christmas song by Tom Lehrer brought a smile to my face as I deleted, one by one, the numerous spam e-mails I had received, trying to sell this, that, and the other thing for Christmas. Interestingly enough several of these were aviation related. As more pilot shops go online, they add to the onslaught of junk mail that now comes to us electronically. And just as their advertisements are electronic, much of what they offer seems to be electronic.

It is amazing to see how electronic technology is making such rapid advances in the realm of cockpit aids. We can buy portable GPS units that give us a panel of enough information to allow us to fly our aircraft with confidence even if we have had a vacuum system failure, and an electrical failure (provided we have fresh batteries in the unit). We can buy panelmounted units that can give us almost as much information as the MFDs that are in the cockpits of the airliners. There are portable devices available that come close to the glass cockpits found in the heavy metal.

We can buy headsets that electronically cancel all the noise that enters the tiny microphones imbedded in the earcups. All kinds of “noise” disappears the moment

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DECEMBER 2003

you turn on the switch. Engine noises disappear (gee . . . I kinda like the sound of that round engine, oh well. . .), all kinds of cockpit noise is canceled, even the sound of the gear warning horn, as one pilot claimed after landing his Cutlass gear-up at my home base this past summer.

But wait, you say.

This is Vintage Airplane magazine.

We fly old planes.

We don’t use that stuff.

For those of us with PDAs we can upload NEXRAD radar, METARS, TAFS, PIREPS...and the list goes on. We can use it as a moving map and overlay terrain warnings, radar pictures, and then toggle to a checklist of things to do. It can be used as an attitude indicator if you have a portable gyro plugged in. I wouldn’t be surprised to find out that someone is working on a way to hook it up to an autopilot, give it a synthesized voice to communicate with ATC (using a downloaded aviation vo-

cabulary), have a wire attached to your wrist that would send a small electronic shock to wake you up at a preset time. You could go to sleep shortly after leveling off, sleeping soundly with the confidence that the PDA would command the aircraft to avoid all other aircraft with the information it was receiving from the uploaded TCAS. But wait, you say. This is Vintage Airplane magazine. We fly old planes. We don’t use that stuff.

Well . . . let me tell you. Walk the lines of vintage aircraft at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh or Sun ’n Fun EAA Fly-In, and I think that you will find all kinds of these aids in the cockpits of these gorgeous machines. Perhaps the panels might be original, but somewhere in the cockpit resides some type of handheld device. For those of us who fly vintage airplanes, but choose not to “show” them, we also have panel-mounted equipment.

I know that when I was negotiating the purchase of my PA-12, there was a Garmin 150 GPS mounted in the panel. I asked the seller how much he would reduce the price if he removed the unit before the sale, thinking to myself

that I would never have any use for such stuff. (Back then I still used paper and pencil to write with, being of a somewhat antitechno mentality.) I planned to use this airplane to fly low and slow using pilotage to wend my way.

Why would I want GPS in this airplane?

Since the reduction in price the seller offered was nowhere near the value of the unit, I decided to include the GPS in the purchase. I have never regretted that decision. I have come to realize that when I have to get somewhere in my Super Cruiser in a hurry, the quickest flight is also the shortest line. It doesn’t get any shorter than the great circle route. I don’t always use the GPS, but it is great to have access to all the information the device offers. Not only is the shortest route depicted, how fast we are flying along that route, seeing our arrival time, and time enroute being constantly updated, but also the nearest airports, navaids and frequencies can be found in short order. I can find out at a few button touches exactly where the wind is blowing from and its velocity. Airport diagrams and information can be quickly brought to the fore. On and on the list goes. GPS navigators have so much information stored inside their memory.

The problem is that we quickly become dependent upon these wonderful devices. Before long the sectional chart has become relegated to the back of the cockpit, its expiration date long since past. And not only is that chart eroding into a pile of tattered paper, but our pilotage skills are doing the same at about the same rate. We easily lapse into complacency about charts when we can see a moving map clamped to our yoke, redrawing faster than the blink of our eyes.

If you are the owner of GPS equipment, when was the last time you went flying and left the unit in your flight bag? On purpose, not by accident. When was the last time that you drew a course line on a

chart, and plotted the true course and converted that to magnetic course? Do you still remember how?

Do you remember how to navigate using that most basic and simplest of techniques, pilotage? We all had to demonstrate our knowledge of the technique on our private pilot checkride, but for many of us dependence and reliance upon GPS navigation has allowed that skill to be forgotten.

I remember a flight not long ago that I shared with a dear friend and flying companion. She flew the outbound leg up into the Adirondacks using her handheld GPS to guide her while I sat relaxing in the back. The views were awe-full. High mountain peaks stood guardian over crystal lakes. It was fantastic. On the return flight we swapped seats and I would fly us back home. I decided to turn the panel mounted GPS off and just use map and compass for my navigation. My companion took her handheld unit in back with her. I didn’t miss any of the spectacular scenery on the flight home, with my head inside the cockpit looking at my GPS. Instead, I used the scenery to help guide me. You can imagine my delight when she informed me upon arrival back home that I never wandered more than three quarters of a mile off course during the entire flight back.

So I would like to suggest that if you do use GPS for navigation, turn it off occasionally and try using plain old pilotage. Not only will it help to refresh your skills, but it can give wonderful satisfaction knowing that you would not be lost if your GPS quit working.

It’s one of those things that we can do to aid in the transition from good pilot...to GREAT pilot.

Happy Holidays to you all! And if anyone asks you what I might want for Christmas, I think one of those cell phones that displays NEXRAD radar would be just fine. It’s time to trade in my tin cans and string.