Altered course

[d10]

NR has posted some good advice. This part should be highlighted though:

 

If you get to the big lake (Richard Russell) turn around because you went too far.

 

If you're trying to straight line 60nm with no GPS, you're most likely going to hit that lake before you find the airport. That's a really long leg and there aren't many good landmarks past Athens to guide you in. And beyond just knowing you've gone too far, make a plan to use that lake to reorient yourself. It looks like if you find the two bridges crossing the lake you can follow either the road or train tracks back west to the airport.

 

I am going to disagree about using towers for checkpoints though. Those can be hard to see if the weather gets bad and a 1700' tower is going to have some massive guy wires that are hard to see even if the weather is perfect. Putting it on your route and planning on skirting it to either side is how a lot of NTSB reports start. In fact if my route crossed over a tower of that size I'd intentionally plan a different route to keep clear of it. Using towers like he mentioned for your second trip is fine (noting that you'll pass 2nm south of that 1200' tower after 30nm).

[aeroscout]

Landmarks with vertical development are the best navigation checkpoints. Unless they are unremarkable from their background, like loose groups of antennas. Funnel points are great for correcting for crosswinds, and backstops keep you from going too far past your intended turn point in the event you miss flying over or past it.

[Nearly Retired]

 

 

I am going to disagree about using towers for checkpoints though. Those can be hard to see if the weather gets bad and a 1700' tower is going to have some massive guy wires that are hard to see even if the weather is perfect. Putting it on your route and planning on skirting it to either side is how a lot of NTSB reports start.

 

You're absolutely right about the guy-wires. They come out a loooong way from a 1700' tower.

 

Hopefully an instructor would not send a student out on a cross-country in limited viz. I don't mind using tall towers as checkpoints because I fly *over* them. I cannot imagine an instructor approving a student's cross-country planning that involved cruising at an altitude that was below the MEF for the route.

[Hand_Grenade_Pilot]

I'm not sure if you're already using one, but be sure to use a kneeboard (and to set it up correctly).

 

In addition to your standard sectional make sure you have a flight log (heading/ time/ distance/ fuel/ etc), airport diagrams, a frequency table for all nearby airports (tower, ground, approach/departure, unicom, FSS, etc).

 

Other important items you can attach are a pen, a flashlight (for preflighting and back-up lighting for night flying), batteries (for your headset), and checklists for the preflight inspection and start-up/ shut-down.

 

I use the following kneeboard:

http://www.flyboys.com/fb1316.html

 

I also recommend attaching two sets of these:

http://wings-aviation.com/catalog/flip-pockets-p-189.html?zenid=82760fceb9ecb9639fec603ffc4796b0

 

The flip pockets are great for holding all of the secondary resources listed above (freq table, flight log, etc). They are heavy enough to fly with the doors off without flapping all over the place. And it allows you to quickly switch between your map and other information.

[pilot#476398]

 

I also recommend attaching two sets of these:

http://wings-aviation.com/catalog/flip-pockets-p-189.html?zenid=82760fceb9ecb9639fec603ffc4796b0

 

The flip pockets are great for holding all of the secondary resources listed above (freq table, flight log, etc). They are heavy enough to fly with the doors off without flapping all over the place. And it allows you to quickly switch between your map and other information.

 

Those are cool, never seen them before? I've just been using approach plate sleeves for any "secondary resources".

[d10]

 

You're absolutely right about the guy-wires. They come out a loooong way from a 1700' tower.

 

Hopefully an instructor would not send a student out on a cross-country in limited viz. I don't mind using tall towers as checkpoints because I fly *over* them. I cannot imagine an instructor approving a student's cross-country planning that involved cruising at an altitude that was below the MEF for the route.

 

True, but how someone learns in initial training is likely how they'll continue to fly. I avoid route planning near major towers out of habit.

[pilot#476398]

Whether or not you use a tower as a checkpoint, if there's one close to the direction you need to go, you're going to be looking out for it anyway,...so you may as well use it.

[d10]

Looking out for it and seeing it are two different things. I look for all of my checkpoints and landmarks along my route, but sometimes I can't find them. This is why concepts like boundaries and funnels exist. When you can't find the tower that you know is there would you feel better knowing it was an off-route point you wanted to use for guidance or a spot you were heading directly towards?

[tradford]

There's one around here in particular that I count on for reference - but I can see it from way off. I know enough not to go near one (I'm still traumatized from the Robinson safety video).

[pilot#476398]

Looking out for it and seeing it are two different things. I look for all of my checkpoints and landmarks along my route, but sometimes I can't find them. This is why concepts like boundaries and funnels exist. When you can't find the tower that you know is there would you feel better knowing it was an off-route point you wanted to use for guidance or a spot you were heading directly towards?

 

As long as you are always on your exact course sure. However, is the wire you hit the one you were trying to find, or the one you were hoping to avoid?

 

I would feel safer knowing its below me, no matter where it is!

Edited December 31, 2013 by pilot#476398

[Nearly Retired]

I just wonder how wide a berth you'd give a big tower. One mile? Five? How far would you go in your flight planning just to avoid going near a tower? And what's the cut-off for avoiding a tower? Rated pilots should be able to safely conduct a cross-country, even with tall obstructions along the way.

 

Down here in the big, flat south, towers that are taller than 1,000' agl are a fact of life (there aren't any hills to put them on). Some are easy to see and located along prominent landmarks (Interstates and such). But there are a couple about halfway between Montgomery and Troy, Alabama that are out in the middle of nowhere and right along a route my boss and I frequently took.

 

Again, I'd never suggest to a student pilot to fly a cross-country at an altitude below the MEF. That's just dumb. Use towers as landmarks and fly *over* them. If you get "caught out" and have to fly the return leg down low below the level of the highest obstacle, the you better stop and replan the flight. You better select a course that will guarantee obstacle avoidance, especially if you do not have GPS and are unsure of your ability to accurately fly a course-line using nothing more than your chart.

[d10]

Sure, 1nm sounds about right. It's really as far as practicable and a safety consideration you should balance against other considerations. There are a couple large towers I fly near regularly because they're on established routes through busy class B airspace. Flying off route would be impractical and bring up safety issues with other traffic. I know where they are and give them extra attention when flying past. If there are numerous towers that would require an excessive detour, I have no problem with cutting it closer than 1nm and again paying extra attention to them. Flying over that massive tower between Gwinnett Co and Habersham when you have great references just a couple miles west with I-985 and Lake Lanier seems unnecessary though.

 

The status of the student shouldn't be a reason to trade off one safety measure (planning around obstacles) with another (altitude). Especially when you can use both. If you get a student in the habit of using towers for checkpoints because you can fly above them he's not going to be thinking about planning around them when he's out in the real world and flying missions in <3,000' ceilings. He's also not going to stop and replan his flight when the weather turns marginal. We have people pushing through 500/2 and going IIMC because it turns out making the correct decision to turn around/stop is actually really hard. You think someone's going to say "Looks like I've got 1500' ceilings and a 1000' tower ahead, I should stop and replan my route"? Not a chance. I'd question someone who did that anyway when they could have just planned a route to avoid towers to begin with.

[aeroscout]

In my area there are numerous uncharted towers that are notamed. In addition to them there are many just under construction that are neither charted nor notamed. At night I am reticent to fly right over the top of any suspect towers in the event a lower tower light might be mistaken for the top light.

[pilot#476398]

Sometimes its best not to fly at night unless you have already flown over that area in the day first. Silly question; Will a GPS show uncharted towers?