GPS vs. map

Even if VFR a map is a must, never trust any electronic gadget 100%. Even with
redundant systems there is a potential loss of electrical power.

DeltaDeltaDelta wrote:

Do you people with GPS units (either panel mounted or portable) use only
them when you fly, or do you plan the same route on a map as well and plot
your position in flight, for backup in case the unit looses pickup? I've
recently seen the SR-22 panel and some Lancair models and it got me
wondering whether aside from all these hi-tech gadgets people still use the
good old roadmap.

Triple Delta

Amen. I had an alternator failure a couple of years back and the first of
the electronics to bug out was the GPS. I was very happy to have all the
usual pilotage tools in my lap and properly marked up. I completed the
flight with no functioning radios.

Seth
Comanche N8100R

"Sydney Hoeltzli" wrote in message
...
DeltaDeltaDelta wrote:
Do you people with GPS units (either panel mounted or portable) use only
them when you fly, or do you plan the same route on a map as well and
plot
your position in flight, for backup in case the unit looses pickup?

It's not just "for backup in case the unit loses pickup".

Today, the vast majority of GPS units in use lack a vital ingredient
for proper flight planning:

**TERRAIN INFORMATION**

Certain accidents used to be described as having "the Mark of Loran
Guided Death"

These are accidents where a plane, on the exact centerline of a
direct route from "here" to "there", flew into terrain or obstructions
in crappy wx.

Often terrain or obstructions which they could have avoided, had
they only perused a chart and observed that detouring 3 miles east
would allow them to follow a road through a valley.

The phrase could be updated to "the Mark of GPS-Guided Death".

My point is:
*safe flight is a 4 dimensional problem
*most GPS units only address 3 of these 4 dimensions
*unless you're flying with a GPS/Moving map system which addresses
all 4, better keep your charts and know where you are and what
the terrain along your route looks like
*even if you are, if the power fails or signal is lost, what then?

Sydney (1 panel-mount GPS, 1 handheld GPS, 2 full sets of charts with
a courseline on at least 1 of them)

Peter R. wrote:

At 9,500ft I opened a very soft plastic bottle of water without allowing it
to slowly equalize first. The damn thing sprayed water all over my
avionics console, temporarily shorting out the MSG button on the GPS.
Every time I attempted to place the unit in the Flight Plan chapter, it
went right back to the message display.

LOL! Haven't done that one, but I well remember the time I thought
those little boxes of juice would be just the thing for in-flight
toddler snacks.

Once.

Cheers,
Sydney