is a portable gps helpful for training?

[rjl2001]

I'm about to start my helo training, and was wandering what people's opinions were on buying a portable GPS? Would it be very helpful for a student or would it be more of a luxory?

 

The thread about mounting a gps to your kneeboard was what got me thinking about it. I have a Garmin 60csx, but it doesn't have any aviation features or charts. Maybe I could sell it and put the money towards the Garmin 96 aviation model. Just curious if it's even something I should worry about as a new student.

[permison]

Absolutely helpful. I live in the DC area and need it to traverse the ADIZ (or whatever it is called now). I've been lost in the air and it is no picnic. I highly recommend one, especially given that you don't really have the ability to look at a map for any length of time when flying solo.

[crashed_05]

I would say it would be a good idea to have one with you but not rely on it. You need to become proficient in using charts and pilotage for your private cert, and a GPS would prob end up as a crutch. If I'm on a solo Xcountry, I force myself not to even look at the GPS and rely on good old pilotage so I can get better at it. If I were to get lost, and not be able to find my way with a chart, then I'll go ahead and hit the Direct button on the GPS.

 

Plus, a lot of schools make it manditory for their students to get flight following, just in case they end up getting into trouble.

[aclark79]

Its a luxury, a great one, but a luxury none the less.

 

I never let my students use theirs although I always had mine available as a CFI. Its very easy to get used to relying on the GPS instead of developing the map reading skills that may (if your like most people) be completely foreign to you when you start flying. Once you have the skill of translating what you see on the map to what you see on the ground, you can take the GPS out and use it. Now that isn't to say that flying commercially I don't use the GPS all the time, but as a student you'll be better off not using it.

 

give it to your CFI when your flying dual, keep it reachable but off during solos, unless you absolutely need it due to an emergency.

 

just my .02

[choppedair]

Its a luxury, a great one, but a luxury none the less.

 

I never let my students use theirs although I always had mine available as a CFI. Its very easy to get used to relying on the GPS instead of developing the map reading skills that may (if your like most people) be completely foreign to you when you start flying. Once you have the skill of translating what you see on the map to what you see on the ground, you can take the GPS out and use it. Now that isn't to say that flying commercially I don't use the GPS all the time, but as a student you'll be better off not using it.

 

give it to your CFI when your flying dual, keep it reachable but off during solos, unless you absolutely need it due to an emergency.

 

just my .02

 

I agree!

You do not need it, it is a luxury. 90% of the aircraft we trained in had no form of GPS, and it teaches you to navigate using a map and compass. I never let my students use a GPS either, as I think it can easily become a crutch or something you rely too heavily on. You will be a better pilot if you learn to fly without it. Even if you do get lost, there are plenty of other ways to get help (ie flight following), and it is best to learn how to make use of all your resources without just turning the GPS on.

 

 

I use my GPS all the time now to be more efficient, but if I'm flying somewhere new I follow along on the sectional, or I don't use the GPS regularly until I am very familiar with the area.

[Wally]

Having GPS is, in many ways, a safety enhancement. But, it's even more important that you learn to navigate early in your flight training, WITHOUT electronic aids of any sort- No GPS, etc.

[Galadrium]

Anything that adds to your situational awareness is helpful, and a GPS is certainly one of those things.

 

Its easy to start using it as your only source of navigation, but you should also use sectional charts, and dead reckoning. I've had GPS reception fail on occasion, so don't let it become a crutch. Navigate the old-school way and use the GPS to check how accurate you are.

[Tom22]

Electronic aids are nice to have especially when flying over featureless terrain, in the haze, westbound in the afternoon in South Texas.

Edited August 1, 2009 by Tom22

[RkyMtnHI]

Plus, a lot of schools make it manditory for their students to get flight following, just in case they end up getting into trouble.

 

not to hijack, but from the perspective of an operator. we have SPOT gps units on all helos:

 

http://coloradoheliops.com/thefleet/79-gpstracking.html

 

these are great little units that send out a signal every ten minutes or so that can be tracked online by just about anybody. you can also set them to signal multiple cell phones when activated or one of the help buttons is pushed. you can set the "help" button to say what ever; ours sends the message "on the ground at this location, everything is ok but send help", there is also a 911 button that calls in the Calvary if you hit it.

 

sometimes cells just don't work around here in the mountains and foothills (especially the iphone... gerrrrr) and this is an awesome way to track your people and add another level of safety. or, in the unlikely event you have a student or renter that thinks the rules don't apply to them, you can track their LAST flight in your asset.

 

i think the units cost around $125 each and cost $150 per year for the service, (there are different levels of service depending on what you need, the $150 is for everything).

 

dp

[crashed_05]

well, thats pretty niffty.

[helonorth]

GPS is just another tool. Learn your pilotage and dead reckoning of course, but learn to use the

GPS, too. One day we will finally forget all about looking

at GPS use as a crutch, luxury or somehow "cheating". It's nonsense.

[Tom22]

GPS is just another tool. Learn your pilotage and dead reckoning of course, but learn to use the

GPS, too. One day we will finally forget all about looking

at GPS use as a crutch, luxury or somehow "cheating". It's nonsense.

 

I think using anything other than a sectional, magnetic compass, and a timer is cheating – joking. I agree, I do not see why people view using a GPS as cheating. From a Human Factors standpoint, it makes logistics more efficient in that the pilot can focus more on the mission and not on finding landmarks.

[rollthbns]

Options..........

 

To echo pretty much what most people have said here, it is important to learn GPS as it is used more and more for all phases of flight. However, when the batteries run out...... better have those pilotage and dead reckoning skills too. Keep all the tools in your toolbox sharp! I approach it with my students the same way as I do the E6B. Have to be able to twist the wheel!

 

Fly safe everyone

[aclark79]

SPOTs are cool, but they aren't EPIRBS and I wouldn't want to rely on it to be one. I'd rather have the EPIRB if I could only have one.

[rotorrodent]

I'm about to start my helo training, and was wandering what people's opinions were on buying a portable GPS? Would it be very helpful for a student or would it be more of a luxory?

 

The thread about mounting a gps to your kneeboard was what got me thinking about it. I have a Garmin 60csx, but it doesn't have any aviation features or charts. Maybe I could sell it and put the money towards the Garmin 96 aviation model. Just curious if it's even something I should worry about as a new student.

 

 

So which hand are you going to use to program the bloody thing when you are airbourne? I don't think it would help you much at all except to preprogram before flight. Find yourself a training helicopter that has a Garmin 430. Spend you money on another hour of flight time!

 

Cheers

 

Rotorrodent

[ADRidge]

Here's my thinking on the matter... GPS is great. I think it's a handy tool when you get to the point where you can use it while FLYING THE AIRCRAFT. You said you'll just be starting out. I could be way off base here, but I doubt it. I think right now you need to focus on learning to fly the aircraft and read charts. I can count on one hand the number of times I used GPS during my Private Pilot rating and I'm damn glad I did. I've had a GPS act up a time or two, and I'm glad my primary instructor was so hard-nosed when it came to charts, a timer and an E6B.

 

edit: I was on a cross country from Boulder, Co to Dallas, Tx flying over the panhandle once and it was actually easier for me to use the chart on my kneeboard than it was the GPS to figure out where the nearest fuel was. But that's another story for another time.

 

Once you get past Private and start in on your time-building or instrument training, you'll learn the Garmin 430, I'd wager. I don't see a reason to buy your own backup GPS when you could just get acquainted with your sectional and know how to tell ATC that you're lost if it comes to it.

 

Save your money.

Edited August 3, 2009 by ADRidge