Navigation/Lost procedures

[Hovergirl]

Hi guys,

 

I've started my commercial cross-country building, so lots of navigating out to remote airports, and lots of finding myself thinking "I think we're here, no actually maybe there, wait, is that this power line, or that power line...." I've never been too good at reading a landscape, and it always seems to me that I either see loads of roads and power lines on the ground that are NOT on my chart, or my chart shows towers, rivers and airports that are NOT on the ground. And why is it everyone in who lives in the country has a big warehouse that looks like a hangar and a long, rectangular green field in front of it?!

 

Anyways, any tips on how to keep myself oriented or find myself when I'm lost? I'm doing all the standard stuff, and I think I'm getting better, but SO slowly, and it's really frustrating...

 

HVG

[Trol]

Use an updated sectional. I'm just kidding. But seriously, try using google earth to fly a route and see how it looks. It is a very nice tool to use to get a look of the route.

[romanweel]

Learning pilotage is a little like learning to hover, I think. I had the same kind of experience, and it caused a lot of headache and anxiety. And like hovering, two big things seemed to help me (well, plain old practice and time helped a lot, but anyways...):

 

First, look up and focus out. If the little landmarks drive you crazy and you start feeling lost, look for something bigger. I trained in Dallas, so downtown became a major point of orientation for me; I could see it at all times during all but my most distant Xcountries. If you're near the ocean, a several-miles-big lake, mountains, anything like that, use it. It'll help in those moments of panic ("I'm still east of downtown, I can't be that lost").

Second, put in your "corrections" (heading and time), then wait. If you did a flight plan (um, you did a flight plan, right?), fly your headings, time your legs, and look for your landmarks, but if you can't pinpoint your exact location at any given moment, don't sweat it too much. That'll come with time. Check that you're on the correct heading, check your time, and start looking for the next mark (and don't panic). Until you get comfortable with reading the landscape, trust your calculations a little more and your "oh no" instinct a little less.

This is why we train in both pilotage and dead reckoning: you have to use both. Your flight plan will get you generally where you wanna be, then pilotage allows you to pinpoint your location. But pinpointing at altitude takes getting used to, and that's just practice and time (google earth does help, but satellite pictures = no depth). Until then, don't worry so much. So you missed that 300'AGL tower you were looking for (you might want to pick taller ones, btw), you're probably not lost at this point, but if you start climbing and circling immediately, you might just disorient yourself to the point where you actually become lost. And yes, cussing definitely helps in those situations.

As for finding airports, recommended procedure at unfamiliar airports is to initially overfly midfield anyway, so if you don't see the strip and you're on CTAF, announce a midfield crossing, climb, and scan the ground. Or if other pilots are in the pattern, look for them or ask if they can see you. Of course, if you have ATC you can always request vectors (magic word "student" or "unfamiliar").

 

Hope this helps at all. It's frustrating, I know, and scary when you can't find what you think should be right under you. But your chart isn't lying, and the ground isn't either (unless, of course, malicious farmers are shifting power lines nightly just to throw you off), and unless a front passed through right before you took off, your planned headings and times won't put you ten miles off-course (unless you're not flying them or you're flying a slower A/S than planned). Get with someone who knows the area by feel (your instructor?), and ask them what they use for landmarks.

[Witch]

That's what's neat of having an aircraft that actually has instruments that actually work.

 

Sherman, set the wayback to October 1987. A solo cross country was required by my flight instructor, a crusty old man that had retired. He told me to plan to fly to Reno-my home base was Travis Aero. So, Tuesday comes and Bob tells me that I'm actually going to fly to Reno. Crap! I was figuring he'd have me go somewhere else. So, I fly to Reno.

 

The best way to do that is via VorTacs. Fly to one VorTac, then the next, then the one at the airport.

 

On the way back, I said to heck with it and followed I-80 back to Travis.

 

Anyhow, I have gotten "lost" many times. Don't let it bother you too much, as the most probable cause is due to the perception of time. It seems that it takes soooo long to get to a point than it's actually supposed to. Continue along your course and eventually you'll end up at your destination. If you ever get down this way...wait, you're in Seattle ain't ya. That'd be a long flight. Nevermind.

 

Another trick is to take a map with you. State map, county map, city map... even one of those Gazetter atlas' will work. I had a state map for that cross country to Reno, and it helped a bit. Anyhow, I've used those, and I know many others use them too.

 

If you can get yourself one of those handheld radios that have a navigation channel that has a CDI, that'll help.

 

And of course, we have the ubiquidious GPS. Get yourself one of those. You don't need one of those fancy ones like in a 767, any handheld will do as long as it has a map display. Mine is the Magellan SporTrak color handheld. It gives me a good idea where I am if I'm not sure.

 

But you want to practice without radio navigation and GPS? Do it, just have the other as a back-up. If you think you're lost, check the GPS.

 

Most of all, DON'T SECOND GUESS YOURSELF!!!

 

And have fun dammit

 

Later

Edited May 23, 2008 by Witch

[Goldy]

I think its climb, circle, cuss, confess, and cuss some more.

 

I use Google Earth as well...its also an excellent way to figure out the mileage between airports to make sure you didnt underestimate that 50 miles by .00001

[helonorth]

Try buying a small, cheap GPS like a Garmin Geko (about $100) If you can get coordinates

along your route, enter them as user waypoints. If you get unsure of your position (never lost!)

go to the "nearest" function and you should get a pretty good idea where you are, within a few

miles. Otherwise, use the biggest landmarks you can find. Try navigating without any GPS at

times. It takes a while, but you'll get the hang of it.

[rick1128]

Pilotage is an important skill to learn. Batteries die, electrical systems fail and so on. Remember that Sectional and WAC charts only show major details. Sometimes that is a help and sometimes not. It is important to look for major fixtures along your route. The worst the visibility the closer the fix. Topographical maps are also useful for helicopters, however, be aware the chart may be based on old information.

 

As for getting lost, DON'T PANIC. That is the worst thing you can do. Confess early and get help. Not when you are about to run out of fuel.

[slick1537]

I had the examiner on my private check ride explain to me that cell phone towers are not depicted on sectionals because of their height. Always something good to remember. I think pilotage is one of those things that comes with practice. My first few times I picked horrible checkpoints that you couldn't see from the air. Try to group 3 things together when you make a checkpoint, say, two interstates crossing, near a small lake, or two towers near a railroad. That way you can be pretty sure the checkpoint on the ground is infact the checkpoint you mean to find and not some other random road or tower. If you have a GPS in your aircraft I would have your instructor take a few minutes to go over it with you and make sure you know how to enter a destination and read the display mode. Also, there was a student at my school who got a little lost recently, and couldn't figure out the GPS. Another one of our aircrafts just told him call approach control at a near by class C and they gave him vectors right back to our little airport so that is always an option.

[Gomer Pylot]

Water towers are your friend. Almost all of them have the town name painted on the side. Altitude is also your friend, because you can see much further the higher you go. Powerlines and warehouses are poor position indicators, as you learned, because there are so many of them and they all look pretty much alike. Towns, railroad junctions, lakes, and water towers are much better, but even they can be confusing. Navigation is another skill that has to be learned. There is a good reason for requiring those cross-country flights. A GPS will help with your peace of mind, but learn to navigate using pilotage, with the GPS just for emergency use. It's important.

[Tenacious T]

Hi guys,

 

I've started my commercial cross-country building, so lots of navigating out to remote airports, and lots of finding myself thinking "I think we're here, no actually maybe there, wait, is that this power line, or that power line...." I've never been too good at reading a landscape, and it always seems to me that I either see loads of roads and power lines on the ground that are NOT on my chart, or my chart shows towers, rivers and airports that are NOT on the ground. And why is it everyone in who lives in the country has a big warehouse that looks like a hangar and a long, rectangular green field in front of it?!

 

Anyways, any tips on how to keep myself oriented or find myself when I'm lost? I'm doing all the standard stuff, and I think I'm getting better, but SO slowly, and it's really frustrating...

 

HVG

 

It's just like every other new phase of helicopter training, it seems overwhelming at first but with practice it becomes second nature. I think it seems more difficult then it is at an early point in your training because you're still struggling to fly the aircraft and that is using up mental resources.

[Untouchable]

Guys, I'm pretty sure these are the 5 C's...

 

1. Climb

 

2. Cuss

 

3. Chuck sectional and/or CFI out the door

 

4. Cry

 

5. Crash

[kodoz]

1. I look at navigation as hypothesis testing: I see X and Y, so I think I'm here. If that's the case, about 2 miles off I'll see Z. Ok, I see Z, that means A should be right off my nose in the distance. No? Keep flying, gather more data.
   
2. Triangulate during your planning. Pick landmarks that will tell you your North/South and East/West position. An intersection of 2 major highways/roads/powerlines/RR tracks/etc is easy to use, but you can also do the same by lining up with a feature, then looking for an intersecting landmark (eg, if you're following powerlines north, you can check your progress by lining up with a town in the distance off to the west).
   
3. "Reckon" is synonymous with "suppose", so don't get perturbed if you don't know exactly where you are. Pick a level of precision that is appropriate for where you are in the flight.
   
4. Use your on-board GPS now to help you learn. If you can't find an airport, look where the GPS says it is: 3 miles out bearing 340. Look there, and now you know what 3 miles looks like from the air.
   
5. Always have a failsafe. When you're hiking up a hill, you always know you can go downhill to get back to the valley. Same for flying: know that "as long as I stay N of the highway... or if I don't cross 5000 foot mountains... or as long as I can see the lake in the distance...
   
6. The times on your flight planner are usually pretty close. If you get to your next waypoint 10 mins early and don't have a good explanation for why, that's probably not your waypoint.
   

[C.R.O.]

Over the forests, I tend to use the contours, watching the mountain peaks and valleys, and rivers as well. The peaks especially are usually pretty easy to see, so I use those a lot.

 

Over the willamette valley, I use railroad tracks, rivers, small towns. When in doubt about which town I am over, I look for other details that might be on a sectional.

 

Lumber mills and smoke stacks are often big help, and I have used a high school stadium or two to find my way as well. Sometimes they have the town name on the football field.

[Hovergirl]

Thanks for all the advice. I actually did a pretty good job of getting us there yesterday, primarily because my CFI was doing all the flying while I stared at my chart/the ground. So in part it's just because I'm new, slow, and still figuring it out and can't do this and fly at the same time.

 

Yes I'm doing a flight plan which is getting us there, but that last moment of actually seeing where we are is tough for me and that's where all your advice about multiple landmarks, what to rely on (or not) is helpful. I think I also have a tendency to focus in too close when I think we should be there. I expect the airport to be on my right about 2 nm away, so I'm staring that spot down willing that warehouse to have a windsock, when my instructor says "hey, look at my 9:00!" and there it is.

 

Perhaps because this seeing is the hardest aspect for me to learn, we've been doing a lot of diversions and flying off of the flight plan. That's where the fun starts. Step 1, where are we now, step 2, which way do we go... you have the controls...

 

And I love Google earth, which I print out shots of when I can, but sometimes even that ain't enough when I'm second guessing my numbers, especially time enroute.

 

I'll get out and practice some more when the clouds get above 1000 ft.

 

HVG

 

HVG

[Helo-Pilot]

We all know that a girl cant read a map !

 

 

 

JUST KIDDING ! ! ! !

 

 

Be patient. Also, remember that you are flying a helicopter. You can get low, or even land close enough to a road sign and read it. When you flying your x-countries, be sure you pick out obvious landmarks. Try working off of the KISS rule, even if it means going out of your way a nit.

[Hovergirl]

We all know that a girl cant read a map !

 

Been years since I was a girl, kid.

 

[Witch]

Another trick is to go IFR.

I

Follow

Roads

 

Really, if you're going in the general direction of an interstate or other highway, then follow it. You don't have to follow every curve, just general direction.

 

One more then I'll shut up. For diversions, make a bunch of 5 mile marks on a pencil. Use that pencil as a measure when you need to figure out how far you are to a different point not on the route. I'm sure your CFI will know what I'm talking about.

 

Later

 

By the way, when I was driving truck, my co-driver, I figured out, couldn't read a map. Never mind he was teaching me and had been driving for more than ten years. It kinda made me wonder how he was able to navigate across the country.

Edited May 24, 2008 by Witch

[ADRidge]

Do you ever get that feeling when you're driving somewhere you've never driven before where you THINK you just missed your turn? Do you ever drive for another five minutes and find your turn?

 

Try that in the air. I've been "lost" trying to find this one grass airstrip our examiners LOVE to divert us to, and it can be hectic. I guess that's the only bit I can give that wouldn't be overly repetitive.

[Helo-Pilot]

Witch, I likw the pencil idea. I have never heard that before. I'll have to see how well that works on a mechanical one though.

 

Hovergirl, thats sweet of you to call me 'Kid". The only time I hear that anymore is when I stop by the liquer store. "Hey kid, let me see some ID !", (at 37).

[RotorRunner]

Hovergirl,

 

You have been given some great advise. I'd like to ad my $.02. These are just things to take some pressure off until you get comfortable at pilotage. Remember, you are flying a helicopter. You don't need an airport! If fuel is getting low, find a nice field to set down in. Invest in a good handheld aviation GPS like a Garmin 96C. Wear cargo pants and put the GPS in a pocket that is easily accessable. Have your route already programmed in and have the GPS running in your pocket. Before panic sets in, take it out and see where you are. But panic will be a lot further off knowing that your GPS is already up and running in your pocket. If you can see your GPS you'll likely rely on it and not really learn pilotage, so keep it out of site unless you really need it. By having a handheld GPS, you can play with it at home and get used to it. You can also program it at home and not have to worry about it at the airport or in the helicopter. Hope this helps a little. Good luck, fly safe.

 

RR

Edited May 28, 2008 by RotorRunner

[justfly]

...For diversions, make a bunch of 5 mile marks on a pencil. Use that pencil as a measure when you need to figure out how far you are to a different point not on the route...

One checkride tactic is the examiner informs you the destination has just become unavailable and requires you to inform him of the heading and distance to his new selection, without using a plotter. My examiner hadn't noticed to that point my "highly calibrated diversionary pencil ™". Lay it on the chart noting the distance, and maintaining angular reference, slide it over to a VOR rose noting heading. VOILA!

 

Ahh... be prepared for the ensuing, slightly annoyed, time-speed-distance grilling!

[Witch]

As for the mechanical pencil, put tape on one side and mark it up.

 

The GPS thingy, I put mine in the window, but the problem is I can't see it very well.

 

I can't wait for the next flight because I got me a navcom radio. Time to try radio navigation.

 

Later