Knowing when you are overflying something

How do you know when you are exactly overflying a specific spot on the ground?
It's it just a matter of knowing your particular aircraft, or are there tricks
that can help to determine this? I know you can look off the tip of your wing
to see if you're abeam something (such as a runway), but how can you tell when
you're right over something? I presume there's no way to look straight down
from most aircraft, and it seems like the view over the nose is often several
miles away.

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Mxsmanic wrote:

How do you know when you are exactly overflying a specific spot on the ground?
It's it just a matter of knowing your particular aircraft, or are there tricks
that can help to determine this? I know you can look off the tip of your wing
to see if you're abeam something (such as a runway), but how can you tell when
you're right over something? I presume there's no way to look straight down
from most aircraft, and it seems like the view over the nose is often several
miles away.


Crossing mid-field, you guess. If you tell everyone that you're going
to cross mid-field at 2000' and you're off a bit, they don't shoot you
down. You're just telling everybody where (in general) you are so that
they know where to look.

If I really need to know if I'm directly over something, I take into
account the wind and my velocity and start dropping golf balls and watch
where they land. Of course, by the time they hit the ground, I've
probably moved a couple hundred feet or so which then requires more golf
balls. It's a never-ending battle.

If you are trying to find yourself, use the VORs and triangulate
yourself on the sectional. This won't tell you exactly where you are,
but it'll tell you pretty close to where you were when you took the angles.

Mxsmanic wrote in
:

How do you know when you are exactly overflying a specific spot on the
ground?

You look kdown and there is is, moron.

In article ,
Mxsmanic wrote:

How do you know when you are exactly overflying a specific spot on the ground?
It's it just a matter of knowing your particular aircraft, or are there tricks
that can help to determine this? I know you can look off the tip of your wing
to see if you're abeam something (such as a runway), but how can you tell when
you're right over something? I presume there's no way to look straight down
from most aircraft, and it seems like the view over the nose is often several
miles away.

You roll inverted and look straight "up". ;)

Orval Fairbairn wrote:
In article ,
Mxsmanic wrote:

How do you know when you are exactly overflying a specific spot on the ground?
It's it just a matter of knowing your particular aircraft, or are there tricks
that can help to determine this? I know you can look off the tip of your wing
to see if you're abeam something (such as a runway), but how can you tell when
you're right over something? I presume there's no way to look straight down
from most aircraft, and it seems like the view over the nose is often several
miles away.

You roll inverted and look straight "up". ;)

LOL. I nominate this as the "best reply to Anthony"
for the week.

Mxsmanic wrote:
How do you know when you are exactly overflying a specific spot on
the ground? It's it just a matter of knowing your particular
aircraft, or are there tricks that can help to determine this? I
know you can look off the tip of your wing to see if you're abeam
something (such as a runway), but how can you tell when you're right
over something? I presume there's no way to look straight down from
most aircraft, and it seems like the view over the nose is often
several miles away.

I know you aren't going to like this answer Anthony but it just isn't that
critical that you pass over a specific point. Close enough is good enough.

So how do you get close enough you ask. Let's say you are flying from A to C
you want to pass over B. As you are approaching B you notice that D is
pretty much perpendicular to your course in line with B. So you head towards
B and keep D the same distance away.

Now there are special situations like aerial mapping or non-guided munitions
that will require better positioning but in those cases you would have
specialized equipment.

"Mxsmanic" wrote in message
...
How do you know when you are exactly overflying a specific spot on the
ground?
It's it just a matter of knowing your particular aircraft, or are there
tricks
that can help to determine this? I know you can look off the tip of your
wing
to see if you're abeam something (such as a runway), but how can you tell
when
you're right over something? I presume there's no way to look straight
down
from most aircraft, and it seems like the view over the nose is often
several
miles away.


Why would a pilot care?

Jim Stewart wrote in
:

Orval Fairbairn wrote:
In article ,
Mxsmanic wrote:

How do you know when you are exactly overflying a specific spot on
the ground? It's it just a matter of knowing your particular
aircraft, or are there tricks that can help to determine this? I
know you can look off the tip of your wing to see if you're abeam
something (such as a runway), but how can you tell when you're right
over something? I presume there's no way to look straight down
from most aircraft, and it seems like the view over the nose is
often several miles away.

You roll inverted and look straight "up". ;)

LOL. I nominate this as the "best reply to Anthony"
for the week.


Do you think he's standging on his head with his little rudder pedals
balanced on his feet?

Erik writes:

If I really need to know if I'm directly over something, I take into
account the wind and my velocity and start dropping golf balls and watch
where they land. Of course, by the time they hit the ground, I've
probably moved a couple hundred feet or so which then requires more golf
balls. It's a never-ending battle.

Seriously?

--
Transpose mxsmanic and gmail to reach me by e-mail.

Maxwell wrote:
"Mxsmanic" wrote in message
...

How do you know when you are exactly overflying a specific spot on the
ground?
It's it just a matter of knowing your particular aircraft, or are there
tricks
that can help to determine this? I know you can look off the tip of your
wing
to see if you're abeam something (such as a runway), but how can you tell
when
you're right over something? I presume there's no way to look straight
down
from most aircraft, and it seems like the view over the nose is often
several
miles away.



Why would a pilot care?



You don't want to pelt noncombatants with errant golf balls!