How many in this club?

gatt wrote :
I failed my Private because I used a private field as a waypoint in my
cross-country plan.

Eh? There is no requirement for a waypoint, other than it had
better be something you can identify enroute. There has to be more to
this story.

John Galban=====N4BQ (PA28-180)

wrote in message

Eh? There is no requirement for a waypoint, other than it had
better be something you can identify enroute. There has to be more to
this story.

Just related the whole details. In case you missed it, though; on the
abbreviated x-ctry I pointed out the window to an airstrip and said "there's
my waypoint." Turns out the airstrip indicated on the chart was across the
road. The DE knew the farmer, and knew that he just mowed a runway if he
wanted to fly. I don't know why the airstrip across the street wasn't
marked, but I was the first person to use it as a waypoint with that
particular examiner.

My CFI was less-than-pleased as well. The DE's point was, don't use
private airfields as waypoints.

-c

The DE's point was, don't use
private airfields as waypoints.

That's not what I'd take away from it. I'd take away "don't use
waypoints you can't identify". You in fact did not correctly identify
the waypoint. I bet you'd've passed had you pointed to the grassy
area rather than the paved strip.

Jose
(r.a.student retained, but I don't read that group; I replied from
r.a.piloting)
--
Freedom. It seemed like a good idea at the time.
for Email, make the obvious change in the address.

"Jose" wrote in message news:dF3yd.2108

The DE's point was, don't use private airfields as waypoints.

That's not what I'd take away from it. I'd take away "don't use
waypoints you can't identify". You in fact did not correctly identify
the waypoint. I bet you'd've passed had you pointed to the grassy
area rather than the paved strip.

Nope, 'cause the grass strip wasn't a strip; it was a square field that
hadn't been mowed in who knows how long (from 3,000 ft.) Had it not been
for the ashpalt strip, I'd not have found it AT ALL. (which was his point,
although in retrospect it may not have been cause of failure, as people are
pointing out.)

What he said, literally, is that you don't know what somebody's going to
call a "private airstrip" and unless you've actually been there and seen it
recently, you don't know whether it's a dirt road, somebody's back acreage
or an ultralight strip.

=c

gatt wrote:

Nope, 'cause the grass strip wasn't a strip; it was a square field that
hadn't been mowed in who knows how long (from 3,000 ft.) Had it not been
for the ashpalt strip, I'd not have found it AT ALL.

Okay, I think I did misunderstand the situation. Never mind what the
checkpoint was, you missed it (and mistook something else for it). Yes,
that's a Nasty.

I just did the 100 mile non-solo commercial XC this week, and it was back to
pilotage and ded reckoning (sp?) for me. Every checkpoint consisted of
multiple features. This is something I learned during my PPL. It makes
both mistaken identification and missed checkpoints less likely.

It's important to note that even charted features are not always visible
from the angle at which you approach them (or the season/daylight at the
time of your flight). It is also very useful to make note of additional
features along the way (if there are such features {8^). This way, you
always know where you are. It's not a matter of "finding your location"
every N minutes.

- Andrew