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Thread: Ain't New Technogy Great, No It Ain't

  1. #11
    Mayhemxpc's Avatar
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    The reality is that we don't have AN Radio legs, NDBs in the lower 48 are almost unheard of and VORs are not being replaced as they need repair. HIWAS is also gone. If your aircraft is just flying for fun away from congested airspace and not too far from home, than none of that matters to you. For anyone else, however, some degree of modern avionics is all but essential -- when such devices are not required. This includes people like me whose airplanes reside in the DC SFRA. If I am just flying in the local flying area, I can mostly just make sure the transponders and radios are on, and use them as required. Most everything else is on, but not a part of my flying. The exceptions are traffic information (in the DC area, "see and avoid" is not enough for safe flight!) and a good moving map display (one or two) to ensure there is no inadvertent penetration of the SFRA or other restricted areas that are prevalent in my area. Could I remain clear by referring to paper charts and ground reference? Certainly. Do I want to be my certificate on it? Certainly not.

    As Sam brings out, training and recurrence on installed systems are essential.
    Chris Mayer
    N424AF
    www.o2cricket.com

  2. #12

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    Chris Mayer there are now restricted areas around DC more than in years past. Therefore all the techno stuff you have must be essential. It was some years ago but when I flew at Pax River Md Naval Air Station, I didn't have all those gadgets. In fact I had some intercom installation done at Manasas Virginia avionics shop. I had charts, same as when I flew down the Hudson and around the Statue of Liberty. Maybe I was just lucky.
    And I never wrote that my friend should not have or use all that $100k of screens in his Cirrus, just that maybe he could also carry the free sectional that I offered him. You might be amazed, that right there on every sectional that I have ever seen next to the airport is the critical info. elevation, runway length, and radio frequencies. Of course it is probably in your technolgy in your panel also.
    I know people who would go out without there shoes on before leaving their cell phone or ipad. It is just essential, isn't it? What did they do the year before the cell phone was invented?
    And of course I never go anywhere, I only fly right here locally in the county. Except for 35 years of going to Oshkosh and flying in Hawaii, Canada and England and Bahamas and Puerto Rico among others.
    I had a friend Linda Finch who flew around the world on the Amelia Earhart route. The two brand new old design radial engines Pratt and Whitey build for her worked flawlessly, then new radios and avionics gave trouble in places.
    Last edited by Bill Greenwood; 02-03-2020 at 06:20 PM.

  3. #13
    Airmutt's Avatar
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    Well it’s basically tough for us to assimilate new technologies. We are creatures of habit and want to insert our past experiences and expectations. The law of primacy states that which is learned first is best learned. It doesn’t help that the various HW and SW vendors have their own approaches. It’s all about the training.
    Your friend probably paid a lot of money for his Cirrus and is obviously not getting his money worth’s. He either got short changed on his systems training or he slept thru it.
    Dave Shaw
    EAA 67180 Lifetime
    Learn to Build, Build to Fly, Fly for Fun

  4. #14
    Auburntsts's Avatar
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    I don’t think there’s any argument that flights can be conducted without the latest electronics or computers as we all know they can. I got my ticket in 1986 so been there done that. I think the question is why are you seemly so against the tech? You seem to be advocating that reverting back to a simpler way is somehow superior. I fly an IFR cruiser similar in capability to your friends Cirrus and I believe that the tech enhances that mission. I also want to build a Pietenpol which as you know is on the other end of the spectrum—about as basic as it gets. There’s no right or wrong with either approach, it’s mainly a matter of pilot preference although I’d argue that tech can be a double edge sword in that it can provide fantastic capabilities but also create problems if the user isn’t versed in its operation.
    Todd “I drink and know things” Stovall
    PP ASEL - IA
    RV-10 N728TT - Flying
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    WAR DAMN EAGLE!

  5. #15

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    I imagine that, when the slip/skid ball indicator first was introduced, some pilots were heard to say, “If you can’t feel it in the seat of your pants, you shouldn’t be flying.” Technology will continue to provide new options. Usage is up to each individual.


    BJC

  6. #16
    rwanttaja's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by BJC View Post
    I imagine that, when the slip/skid ball indicator first was introduced, some pilots were heard to say, “If you can’t feel it in the seat of your pants, you shouldn’t be flying.” Technology will continue to provide new options. Usage is up to each individual.
    There was resistance to closed cabins for exactly that reason. Many of the early transport aircraft had a cabin for passengers, but still put the pilots in the open because it was felt they needed to feel the wind.

    Mind you, they were right....:-)





    Also, the first Stout-designed prototype of the Ford Trimotor had the pilots in the open.

    Ron Wanttaja

  7. #17

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    Todd, never underestimate technology, and the newer and more unneeded and unproven the cooler. In that vein I have got a deal for you. Its a new ap to count votes in a state election. Does it do anything not done by actual people for 70 years? Does it work? Is it proven?
    Hey, it's not cool to ask those questions, just ask the emperor where he got those spiffy new clothes?
    Just send me, say $2 million and you too can have the latest ap. And I'll throw in my phone number in case you can't find atc radio frequencies and need to call me.

  8. #18
    Auburntsts's Avatar
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    Bill, I never said tech is a panacea and I typically heed sage advice like never adopt the beta version of anything. Failed caucus apps aside, if the tech is proven, like my EFB or my IFR GPS navigator, I see no issue with adopting tech if it adds value. For me lots of tech in the cockpit, for my mission, definitely does. You are free to use tech if you want to or not, but I just don't share your seemingly luddite views on the subject.
    Todd “I drink and know things” Stovall
    PP ASEL - IA
    RV-10 N728TT - Flying
    EAA Lifetime Member
    WAR DAMN EAGLE!

  9. #19

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    You know, I do not miss trying to refold a sectional chart while the Pitts attempts to roll inverted with my hand off the stick. The moving map software in the tablet strapped to my knee makes life much easier. And in any open cockpit aircraft, keeping paper charts under control is an activity not missed. That said, I have a Garmin portable as backup in case the tablet has a momentary issue.

    Having flown coast-to-coast in little airplanes with a pencil line on a paper chart, I enthusiastically embrace modern navigational technology. If you can run a smart-phone, you're smart enough to learn to run a glass-cockpit. Its another excuse to get in the airplane and fly. Which is what this is all about right? Just don't forget to enjoy the view out the window.

    Best of luck,

    Wes

  10. #20
    Airmutt's Avatar
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    I don’t know Wes paper has its benefits....
    Paper is neither an EMI source or victim.
    It folds up nicely to shield the sun.
    Keeps the peanut butter & jelly or mustard from dripping on my lap.
    Doesn't require batteries an overpriced mount or an A&P to install.
    Don’t have to get an expensive piece of glass replaced when it falls from the mount or gets dropped.
    It’s sunlight readable.
    Don't have to clean someone’s grubby fingerprints from the glass.

    But boy glass sure makes life easier and more time to enjoy the view.
    Dave Shaw
    EAA 67180 Lifetime
    Learn to Build, Build to Fly, Fly for Fun

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