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Thread: How to fly into a control towered airport

  1. #21

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    Bill/Sam, what's an "I pad"? Ain't that one of those things pirates wear? I think that would mess up your depth perception- that's critical when landing! Just kidding guys, I'm with you though Bill. I too started flying in the last century; sometime around when electronic slide rules came out (that's a "calculator" to all you kids). I too have yet to encounter a dead chart battery. Although, I did borrow one of those GPS gadgets when I brought my latest plane home. I found the "moving map" and airspace display extremely useful. It did help with comm between approach etc. since I knew exactly where I was and where I was supposed to go. Despite the congested, fast traffic I encountered in the Pensacola area I found comm with ATC very easy with the tech help. So, despite being a minimalist I do like the tech stuff too. But with regard to ATC communication, stick to the basics and just talk. They'll just talk back. It isn't anything more than that. I was taught and remember the old "who you are, where you are, what do you want to do" format. Works every time!

  2. #22
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    I don't need an I-Pad, I don't need Foreflight, I don't even need Google...................My wife knows everything!

    My problem is she doesn't like flying in single engine airplanes so I can't defer to her. So I'm back to needing the above things.

  3. #23
    Sam Buchanan's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Bill Greenwood View Post
    Sam, believe it or not there are some of us old guys who don't own an I pad and can make it through a whole day without massaging my ear with a cell phone.
    And if I had an I pad, the only thing likely to be on it would be dust since I don't know how to operate one. In my defense, I have never had the batteries run down in my sectional or wac chart and I have flown all over the U S, and parts of Canada, Bahamas with real paper maps over 34 years and about dozen airplanes.

    Now, I know you are the tech guy and if there wasn't some new tech you might not have a job. <snip>

    Maybe this year at Oshkosh you can teach me how to use an I pad, just before they come out with something to make them obsolete.
    Bill, you have me confused with someone else, I'm not "the tech guy" (not sure who that is...I'm a retired photographer who now teaches high school Chemistry...). I have absolutely no problems with someone using a sectional, I've got one in my RV-6 but <gasp> I don't own an iPad. I too learned to fly in the previous century (my students insist it was the previous millennium...), even got my instrument rating with paper approach plates, but we did have a leading edge.....Loran! (I've been flying nearly as long as you have.)

    But.....there is no reason to denigrate pilots who do use technology....even if you don't personally understand it.

    When a good pilot decides to use tech, his stick and rudder skills don't automatically disappear, and he doesn't forget how to use a radio. The pros have figured out that tablets are now the way it is done because many carriers no longer use paper products. And don't be surprised when paper charts disappear from the market in a few years....possibly even sooner than many of us expect.

    By the way, I don't even use a sectional in my Legal Eagle...don't even have much in the way of instruments! I hold my thumb and forefinger about 1/2" apart and when the cows are that big I'm at cruising altitude. So I can out old-tech you. But the RV-6 has some really neat toys in it that add great functionality to the plane....and this old pilot.
    Last edited by Sam Buchanan; 12-27-2013 at 11:11 PM.
    Sam Buchanan
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  4. #24

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    Sam, first of all my post was aimed at the guy who is nervous about flying into a tower airport, so probably a beginner, and who should have a chart, not the high tech average R V owner, who may need every vfr and ifr chart all over the country. Or maybe he doesn't really need all those, any more than every housewife needs a granite countertop, but he sure wants them, especially if the guy in the next hangar has them.
    Next my line about ipad genius was meant to have some humor in it. BUT you apparently took it very seriously. Have you met Ron, you guys both have something in common, the ability to pick out one line of a topic that I write and focus your attention on that rather than the overall point of what I was writing.
    You write "I'm not the tech guy". Now how did I get that mistaken idea? Well down at the bottom of your post, right under your name it says, "EAA technical counselor", so I took you at your word. I also looked at the photos of your RV, beautiful but with a cockpit that only a space alien could likely fly , no gages at all. One good thing is it keeps old guys like me from asking if I can fly your plane.

    Why don't you start a topic, ie Charts or iPads ? and let's discuss the pros and cons.

    P S, I can tell you probably are an old guy since you, like me put your real name on your post and don't hide behind an alias.
    Last edited by Bill Greenwood; 12-28-2013 at 10:13 AM.

  5. #25
    Sam Buchanan's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Bill Greenwood View Post
    Sam, first of all my post was aimed at the guy who is nervous about flying into a tower airport, so probably a beginner, and who should have a chart, not the high tech average R V owner, who may need every vfr and ifr chart all over the country. Or maybe he doesn't really need all those, any more than every housewife needs a granite countertop, but he sure wants them, especially if the guy in the next hangar has them.
    Next my line about ipad genius was meant to have some humor in it. BUT you apparently took it very seriously. Have you met Ron, you guys both have something in common, the ability to pick out one line of a topic that I write and focus your attention on that rather than the overall point of what I was writing.
    You write "I'm not the tech guy". Now how did I get that mistaken idea? Well down at the bottom of your post, right under your name it says, "EAA technical counselor", so I took you at your word. I also looked at the photos of your RV, beautiful but with a cockpit that only a space alien could likely fly , no gages at all. One good thing is it keeps old guys like me from asking if I can fly your plane.

    Why don't you start a topic, ie Charts or iPads ? and let's discuss the pros and cons.

    P S, I can tell you probably are an old guy since you, like me put your real name on your post and don't hide behind an alias.
    Fair enough, Bill, sorry I misunderstood your intent. And I didn't take anything personally, just responding so others who also might have misunderstood your post would have something to think about.

    We have to keep in mind that whenever we post anything in a forum....we are fair game. Forums are sometimes a full-contact sport.

    Best wishes for a safe and enjoyable 2014!
    Last edited by Sam Buchanan; 12-28-2013 at 03:01 PM.
    Sam Buchanan
    The RV Journal RV-6 build log
    Fokker D.VII semi-replica build log

  6. #26

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    In regards to talking to ATC, as has been said, who are you, where are you, what do you want, it is that simple. If ATC is too fast for you or you need clearer instruction and they don't seem to be slowing down for you, just say "student pilot" regardless whether you are or not. That phrase is clear and they will slow down, be clear, and not expect you to be precise or even correct with everything, it gives you time. As to electronics I use this desk-top PC, but do have a short story about the airplane. The return trip from the Blakesburg fly-in two years ago my passengers I-pad went black, then the I-phone, both with fore flight. My battery died in the portable intercom. Since I am writing this we did survive, the Bendix compass pointed the way, the paper charts kept working,the E-6B kept computing,and the Eisman magnetos kept sparking. My Champ nor the air over the north woods of Wisconsin and Michigan did not know that it was not 1946 and we got home without a problem. Are the electronics nice? definitely, necessary? no. Have a great 2014 every one and remember fly the plane, first last and always!

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