Common instruments on small aircraft

"Bart" wrote in message
oups.com...
We still have to wait on the battery to be ordered which takes at least
a day. And assuming the best case scenario of it getting put in
sometime tomorrow, I will then be forced two wait at least another two
days due to weather.

Depending upon what type of plane we're talking about and whether the plane
is close by and the flight can be made in daylight, one option might be to
jumpstart or hand prop the aircraft and fly it back to your home field... Or
grab a battery out of another plane and take it there for temporary use to
get back to your home airport... I've had a battery die (or drain because of
leaving something on) before and I just hand propped it and flew it back...

Bart writes:

To make my point even further, I just recieved an email from a member
of my flying club that battery in our plane is dead.

If this were a car it would be no big deal since I could go to an auto
parts store and replace the battery myself. But since we need a
licensed A&P mechanic to do the job, and there's not exactly one on
every corner, we'll have to wait in line to get the job done.

There's your 'ole reliable GA!

Flight rescheduled.... *again*.

Safety isn't free. And you need lots of safety in an environment as
unforgiving as the skies. But it is true that this is part of what
makes GA impractical for any type of regular transportation.

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"Bart" wrote in message
oups.com...
To make my point even further, I just recieved an email from a member
of my flying club that battery in our plane is dead.

If this were a car it would be no big deal since I could go to an auto
parts store and replace the battery myself. But since we need a
licensed A&P mechanic to do the job, and there's not exactly one on
every corner, we'll have to wait in line to get the job done.

You've got to be kidding... Batteries are as user replaceable as landing
lights...

"Bart" wrote in news:1162078725.590455.253850
@e64g2000cwd.googlegroups.com:

Weather limitations are greatly over-rated. As others have pointed
out, the inconvenience of waiting out weather can be less than an
hour, and most of the time less than a day.

When the meeting is at 10 AM, that's a show-stopper.

People who "must be there" at a particular time miss a lot of meetings,
regardless of their mode of transportation.

But you're much more likely to miss it if you're depending on GA.

Bad weather affects nearly all modes of transportation. It creates traffic
and accidents on the roads. It delays commercial airliners. And it can
cause delays for GA. However, I would point out that if you are instrument
rated and current, and not flying into a major metro airport like EWR, IAD,
ORD, or LAX, you will likely suffer fewer and shorter delays in a single
engine spam can than you will in a CRJ or 737 flying to one of the major
metros...

The commercial flight can generally be relied upon; the GA flight
cannot. Commercial aviation has spent decades and billions of dollars
to ensure that airliners can fly in all but the worst weather.

That is not my experience at all. Within the last 5 months, my wife and
have missed connecting flights due to airline issues 2 out of 2 times. I
have yet to miss my arrival times flying GA.

I haven't missed a connecting flight for about the last 20 times I've
flown commercially. On average, many more people make their connecting
flights than not.

I think it may depend on the connection, but I also think you are mistaken.
Again, the above airports, which are the hubs for many airlines, have the
worst records.

As for GA, I've been trying to make a trip for two weeks now, but
haven't been able due to weather. If I had needed to, I could have made
the trip in a car and been back home the same day two weeks ago. I put
it off because I'm using it as an excuse to fly - which I believe is
what most GA pilots probably do.

Are you instrument rated? If you are not instrument rated, then I agree
that flying GA is not dependable. Get your Instrument Rating and you will
see a whole other level of practicality to GA.

Judah writes:

Are you instrument rated? If you are not instrument rated, then I agree
that flying GA is not dependable. Get your Instrument Rating and you will
see a whole other level of practicality to GA.

Just out of curiosity, what percentage of private general aviation
pilots have an instrument rating?

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Mxsmanic wrote:
Judah writes:

Are you instrument rated? If you are not instrument rated, then I
agree that flying GA is not dependable. Get your Instrument Rating
and you will see a whole other level of practicality to GA.

Just out of curiosity, what percentage of private general aviation
pilots have an instrument rating?

For the U.S., that information is available on the FAA web site.

Jim Logajan writes:

For the U.S., that information is available on the FAA web site.

I've no doubt that it's available somewhere, so you've contributed
nothing by pointing this out.

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Mxsmanic wrote:
Jim Logajan writes:

For the U.S., that information is available on the FAA web site.

I've no doubt that it's available somewhere, so you've contributed
nothing by pointing this out.

Once I pointed out which agency's web site had the information I presumed
it would trivial for a person of average intelligence to locate it and
follow the obvious links.

Here's the web site: http://www.faa.gov

This way you can determine the information authoritatively - otherwise if I
claimed, say, that half of all pilots were instrument rated you'd have no
way of validating this information.

Mxsmanic wrote:
Jim Logajan writes:

For the U.S., that information is available on the FAA web site.

I've no doubt that it's available somewhere, so you've contributed
nothing by pointing this out.

I think he contributed the point that you should occasionally try
looking something up on your own instead of asking someone else to look
it up for you. He even told you where to look.

Mxsmanic wrote in
:

Judah writes:

Are you instrument rated? If you are not instrument rated, then I agree
that flying GA is not dependable. Get your Instrument Rating and you will
see a whole other level of practicality to GA.

Just out of curiosity, what percentage of private general aviation
pilots have an instrument rating?


I don't know off the top of my head.

What percentage of licensed drivers have CDLs?