Eric Greenwell wrote:

I assume Winpilot's database has these same closed airports, so how do
you deal with those? Can you delete or modify them in the database? Is
there a listing of these errors somewhere so every pilot doesn't have to
do each bad airport listing by hand?


This is actually a big reason why I switched from Winpilot to SeeYou
Mobile. I can edit my SYM turnpoint/airport database for my local
area, removing "ghost" airports and adding non-charted landing areas.
Not easy to do in Winpilot (at least I couldn't find an easy way to do
it!).

It does take a little work during the off season, or when preparing for
a safari, but I like the result. Plus it doesn't overlap airports and
co-located turnpoints (I can make them the same point, with unique
symbol).

It would be nice if we had updated US-wide lists of actual,
seen-with-eyeballs-from-the-ground, useable airports/airstrips. With
the current GPS navigation/mapping equipment available, it would make
off-airport (or known landable location) landouts a much rarer event.

I've made several straight in final glides to airports that I had never
been to before, using my GPS, getting there just high enough to put the
gear down and land. So far, every time it has been a good airport
(again, using carefully "vetted" local turnpoint data). I would be
leery of doing that to a private strip on a sectional, though - too
often I've overflown them to find them long gone!

Wasn't there a project in the West US a few years ago to document known
landout locations?

Final suggestion - if each glider operation documented all the landable
airports within reasonable XC distance and used them for turnpoints
exclusively, it might be a start. With AATs becoming the norm for
tasking, it makes sense to use only landable locations for turnpoints,
IMHO.

Kirk
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