Ever wanted to be a Cirrus owner, but the economics of being a single owner just don’t make sense for you? If you’re in the San Marcos/New Braunfels/Austin area, you now have a chance to join a Cirrus SR20 partnership at the San Marcos Municipal airport, KHYI.
The Cirrus SR20 partnership group is looking for 2-4 more members to buy in to a 2006 or 2007 Cirrus SR20 GTS. The plane will be kept at KHYI and the group already has a hangar for it.
The Garmin GTN 750 is an awesome piece of equipment. Garmin tried to make the user interface with the touch screen as simple as possible (though there still is a bit of a learning curve when moving up from a Garmin 530W). Garmin also integrated several key features that the 530W did not have that makes flying with a Garmin GTN 750 in IFR all that much better.
The two features of the Garmin GTN 750 I want to focus on today are the “Load Airway” feature and the “Hold at Waypoint” feature. If a pilot isn’t looking for these specifically, they can actually be a bit hard to find. The “Load Airway” feature is especially handy when flying IFR long distances with several airways as part of the clearance. Here’s how to utilize both.
Load Airway
On your flight plan page, insert the waypoint that you will be joining the airway, or, if your clearance was radar vectors to join an airway, then insert the waypoint on the airway that begins the leg you will be joining on.
Tap the waypoint you just inserted.
A menu will pop up. Tap Load Airway.
Select the Airway you want from the next menu that pops up.
Then, a list of waypoints will display to exit the airway. Select the waypoint where you will be exiting the airway.
Note: Garmin defaults to listing these waypoints alphabetically. If you unselect the “Sort Alpha” option, it will sort the waypoints by direction and distance from the entry waypoint. This is a little more practical, easier to work with, and how I recommend doing it. This way you can either scroll up or down depending on the direction of travel on the airway and find your exit waypoint.
Tap Load.
The Airway and all the waypoints in between your entry and exit waypoints appear in your flight plan.
If you are getting vectors to join the airway, you’ll need to use the Activate Leg function to activate the leg you will be joining the airway on.
On the Flight Plan page, tap the waypoint that ends the leg you want to activate.
On the menu that pops up, tap Activate Leg.
Hold At Waypoint
The Garmin GTN 750 allows pilots to place a holding pattern at any waypoint that is in the Nav Database (or any user created waypoint). Here’s how to do it.
On the Flight Plan page, tap the Waypoint that you want to hold at.
On the menu that pops up, tap Hold At Waypoint
On the next menu that pops up, input either the inbound or outbound course, right or left turns, leg time or distance, and the EFC time, then tap Load.
You will see the hold now as a Waypoint in your flight plan.
Once the hold is entered, the GPS will go into Suspend mode, suspending the Flight Plan Waypoint Sequencing. Once you are ready to depart the hold, you will have to tap Unsuspend before crossing the holding point on the inbound leg, then the GPS will resume normal waypoint sequencing.
These are 2 of the really cool, gee-wiz features of the Garmin GTN 750. Following the above steps will make IFR flying much easier for the pilot, as well as much more enjoyable!
The Malibu and M-Class Owner’s and Pilot’s Association (MMOPA) announced new Safety Foundation Training videos in September. The videos are aimed at both new Piper PA46 pilots and existing Piper PA46 pilots, all in the effort to fly the Piper PA46 to the highest and safest standards.
Six videos have been released thus far, with the promise of more to come. The topics of the first videos are:
Instrument Approach
Visual Approach
Manual Gear Extension
Emergency Descent
Descent Planning
Takeoff and Climb
Eventually, the goal is to release high quality training videos encompassing all aspects of Piper PA46 flying.
To view the videos, you will need an MMOPA membership. The link to the MMOPA Safety and Education Foundation video page is: https://www.mmopasafety.org/education/
When flying a WAAS GPS approach, there are several different levels of WAAS signal that a GPS receiver can get. The most precise is an LPV signal. LPV stands for Localizer Performance with Vertical guidance. An LPV approach has the lowest minimums of all the WAAS GPS approaches, typically in the range of 200-300 feet AGL. A GPS glide path (GP) is guaranteed with an LPV approach and the minimum altitude is a decision altitude (DA).
Just like a localizer, an LPV course width get’s tighter and the CDI becomes more sensitive the closer the plane get’s to the runway. Even though the LPV approach minimums are so low and the approach is down to a DA, they still aren’t considered precision approaches by the FAA (which leads to some extra planning when selecting an airport as an alternate that only has GPS approaches, since the AIM specifies only the LNAV minimum are to be considered if an alternate airport only has GPS approaches, bringing the 800 foot ceiling requirement to bear)
An LNAV/VNAV approach is still a WAAS approach that has a GPS glidepath, but is slightly different than an LPV approach. An LNAV/VNAV final approach course does not get more sensitive the closer the plane gets to the runway. The smallest course width on an LNAV/VNAV approach is 0.3 miles either side of center. LNAV/VNAV approaches will, most of the time, have higher minimums than LPV approaches and can have minimums no lower than 250′ AGL.
The third type of WAAS approach is strictly a non-precision approach with a Minimum Descent Altitude (MDA). These are designated LP approaches, which stands for Localizer Performance. These are like old school Localizer only approaches that, similar to the lateral portion of an LPV approach, the course width tightens the closer to the runway that a pilot is. There is no glide path by definition of an LP approach, though there is a caveat.
Now, by looking at an approach plate that is a WAAS approach, but only has LP minimums listed, a pilot would assume there would be no glide path. Depending on what type of GPS unit the airplane has, that pilot could be wrong. Garmin Perspective units (Cirrus G1000), all GTN 750s and GTN 650s, All G1000 NXi units, most Garmin 430W and 530W, and all Avidyne IFD 550/540 and 440 units will display an advisory glide path on an LP approach, designated LP+V.
What does LP+V indicate? An advisory glide path is just advisory, but it is totally legal to follow down on a non-precision LP approach. The kicker is obstacle clearance is not guaranteed and the pilot needs to keep an eye on minimum altitudes at the different waypoints on the approach. The big thing I tell people is, when you arrive at the MDA and the runway is in sight, following the advisory glide path below the MDA could get you in trouble with obstacles. Don’t just hone in on your instruments when you break out of the clouds. Look out the windscreen and make sure you won’t hit anything.
If you arrive at the MDA on the advisory glide path and the runway isn’t in sight, DON’T GO BELOW THE MDA! Most autopilots won’t level off at the MDA, even if that altitude is set in the altitude pre-select, so this will involve turning off the autopilot before the MDA and manually leveling off, or engaging the altitude mode of your autopilot at the MDA.
One other type of GPS approach that you will encounter is an LNAV approach. This is a non-WAAS approach down to an MDA, but your GPS unit may still give you a +V. Most modern ones will.
When is the last time you talked to the Flight Service Station?
Believe it or not, FSS is still in existence. Over the past 10 years, they went from FAA run, the being bought by Lockheed Martin, to now being privately run by a company called Leidos. 1-800-WX Brief will get you connected with a weather briefer, but you’ll hear “Leidos Flight Service Station” now when the briefer picks up.
Since the advent of Foreflight, most pilots these days get their weather briefings digitally on the iPad. Foreflight has come a long way since it’s inception. The briefing part of their Flights page is quite comprehensive, with lots of information, and counts as a legal weather briefing (which pilots are still required to get before a flight).
Why does a pilot even need to call Flight Service? Well, when’s the last time you tried to interpret everything the Briefing on Foreflight told you? As I said before, it’s a lot of information and a lot of it can be confusing. Pilots are not fully trained on interpreting Prog Charts and getting an overall weather picture for a flight. A weather briefer is.
I have over 5,000 hours and I still call a weather briefer before almost every flight. On the way to the airport is a great opportunity to get a weather briefing. I get a great picture of what’s going on in my area or over my route, frontal movement, bad weather areas, and whether or not it’s a good idea to even take off. Calling in the car alleviates the main complaint I hear about calling the Flight Service Station, which is it’s inconvenient and causes a delay since you have to call them on the phone.
I don’t do much private pilot training anymore, but when I do, I always teach my students how to get a weather briefing from the Flight Service Station. I’ll show them how to get the briefing on Foreflight too, but usually their eyes bug out of their heads when they start trying to read everything. A breathe of relief is released when I tell them there is a trained professional just a phone call away who can clear everything up.
The other thing that the Flight Service Station provides that is important to a lot of folks are PIREPs. It’s vital in sketchy weather areas for the FSS to get a report of what’s actually going on in the air. This helps other pilots out greatly as they are getting information about icing, cloud bases and tops, turbulence and a myriad of other things from airplanes who are actually in the conditions.
Finally, the most used portion of the Flight Service Station is the Clearance Delivery line (888-766-8267). At airports without a tower or a clearance delivery frequency, with IFR conditions present, the only way to get your IFR clearance is to call Clearance Delivery. Yes, it can take a little time sometimes, but you will get a clearance every time, unlike taking off and trying to dodge the clouds without hitting anything, while trying to call Center on the radio (which isn’t safe or legal).
Been a while since you’ve talked to the Flight Service Station? Give them a call, either on the phone or on the radio. Odds are, they are bored and just wanting someone to talk to, just like you are on that long cross country flight!
Checkout 1800WXBrief.com to see all the cool stuff the Flight Service Station does.
Figuring out the pattern altitude at an airport should be pretty simple, right? But, in this day of helpful technology, most pilots actually get it wrong. How can you always get it right? Well, it just takes about an extra 15 seconds. Here’s how.
John Wayne Airport Traffic Patterns
As outlined in the Aeronautical Information Manual, section 4-3-3, “traffic pattern altitudes for propeller-driven aircraft generally extend from 600 feet to as high as 1,500 feet above the ground.” Further, in the Pilot’s Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge on page 13-10, it states: “1,000 AGL is recommended pattern altitude unless established otherwise.”
Okay, so for piston driver’s, we’ve got it narrowed down to 1,000 AGL (Above Ground Level for those who don’t like acronyms). But wait! There’s that very important phrase at the end of the last quote: “unless established otherwise.” That means not all airports have traffic pattern altitudes of 1,000 AGL, or else they wouldn’t put that line in there!
How do you find out what the TPA (Traffic Pattern Altitude) is for a certain airport if it’s not 1,000 AGL? Great question! Your first guess is probably to look on Foreflight. Though this is a good start, it is not the full answer.
Let’s use an example. Look up KAQO, the Llano Airport on Foreflight. At the top of the page, the airport elevation is stated as 1,101′ MSL and the pattern altitude is stated as 1,902′ MSL. From what we just learned, 1,902′ MSL is not 1,000 AGL, so is 1,902′ MSL otherwise established?
On the Airports page with KAQO pulled up, tap the A/FD tab, second to last on the left. Scroll down to Llano Muni. Read the whole entry. Does it state in the entry that pattern altitude is different than 1,000 AGL? It sure doesn’t. So, because it is not otherwise established, pattern altitude at KAQO is 2,102′ MSL not 1,902′ MSL.
Where did Foreflight get that? I have no idea. Too often, though, pilots look at the Foreflight pattern altitude and don’t actually check the Airport Facilities Directory (A/FD). Then, they get the pattern altitude wrong.
What does it look like when pattern altitude is otherwise established? Look up KSGR, Sugar Land Regional, on your Foreflight app. Foreflight states the elevation as 82′ MSL and the Pattern Altitude as 1,000′ MSL. Is this correct? Well, tap that A/FD button again and let’s find out.
On the second line of the A/FD entry, it says TPA-See Remarks. Down in the remarks section, we find the following:
TPA-1000 (918) single engine piston acft, TPA-1500 (1418) for twin and turbojet acft, TPA-500 (418) for helicopters within 2NM.
Foreflight got it right this time for single engine pistons, but if you are in a twin, the pattern altitude is different. What’s the lesson here? Always check the A/FD and don’t always go by what Foreflight says. The A/FD is always right and usually has a little more detail to help set you straight.
One last thing. Both the AIM and the Pilot’s Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge, when talking about pattern altitude, state, “When operating at an airport, traffic pattern altitudes should be maintained unless otherwise required by the applicable distance from cloud criteria in…section 91.155.” 91.155 defines basic VFR weather minimums. So, to fully interpret what the AIM is saying, we have to take into account the type of airspace we are in to determine if we can safely and legally operate at pattern altitude at a particular airport.
For example, let’s say we are at KCVB, the Castroville Airport. Pattern altitude there is 1,602 feet, which is 829 AGL. CVB is Class G airspace up to 700 AGL, then Class E above that. Let’s say there is a 700 AGL broken cloud layer. Pattern altitude is 829 AGL, so you won’t be able to get up that high with a broken ceiling. What altitude can you do pattern work at to stay legal?
Class G VFR weather minimums during the day below 1,200 AGL is 1 SM visibility and clear of clouds. So, legally, you could fly at 699 AGL (which at CVB would be 1,472 MSL) while in the pattern and be legal. Safe? Maybe, but probably not if you are skimming the base of the clouds. Is 1300 MSL a safer pattern altitude in this example? Well, that is 527 AGL, so probably not, since towers tend to stick up that high sometimes.
Let’s go back to KSGR and put a 1,000 AGL overcast ceiling there. SGR is Class D airspace and we already determined pattern altitude there was 1,000 MSL for piston singles. VFR visibility and cloud clearance requirements in Class D airspace are 1,000 feet above clouds, 500 feet below clouds, and 2,000 feet horizontally from the clouds with 3 SM visibility. In order to stay 500 feet below the clouds, you would be flying a 582 MSL pattern. Safe? Probably not, though it is legal.
To summarize, don’t take Foreflight’s word for pattern altitude. Cross reference the A/FD (it only takes 15 seconds at the most) to verify. If it’s cloudy, it’s really best to stay on the ground, but if you want to find out your legal pattern altitude with a cloud deck, cross reference 91.155. I don’t recommend flying below pattern altitude because it is there for a reason.
Raise your hand if, after you have officially become a pilot by passing your private pilot check ride, you consistently file VFR flight plans with Flight Service.
Anybody?
Okay, let’s revise the question. Raise your hand if you have filed VFR flight plans at least 5 times in the last year.
Okay, one or two hands go up.
That’s it?
To be perfectly honest, I have filed VFR Flight Plans twice (I think) in the last year. The only reason I did was because I was flying in an area that had poor radar/radio communications and I wanted someone to know where I was (I was ferrying an airplane through southern Oregon and northern Nevada which is mountainous and is hard to get coverage into at lower altitudes). I was so unaccustomed to doing it that I nearly forgot to call and close my flight plan.
This is a common complaint amongst pilots concerning VFR flight plans. It’s extremely easy to get to your destination, hop in the car and completely forget to close your VFR flight plans. Thankfully, now a days, the Flight Service Station will typically call the number you put in your VFR flight plans (your cell phone number most of the time) to make sure you are on the ground before initiating search and rescue services.
Another complaint is that it is cumbersome to call the Flight Service Station after departing to open the VFR flight plans. This is especially true in a busy airspace area or if the pilot is getting a VFR Flight Following and talking to ATC on a different frequency.
I still think it is a great idea to file and utilize VFR flight plans. If you don’t show up at your destination, someone will come looking for you which could mean the difference between getting stranded after an off airport landing and getting a warm cup of coffee at the end of the day. Even if the you get flight following from ATC, it’s still good to file a flight plan.
Lockheed Martin, who runs all the Flight Service Stations across the US, heard these complaints from pilots and decided to come into the modern age and make it easier to open and close flight plans. They developed EasyActivate and EasyClose.
File your VFR flight plans first, through calling the FSS or on your favorite iPad app. Then, for EasyActivate, you’ll receive an email 30 minutes prior to your ETD with a link in it. Simply click/tap on the link and your flight plan is activated. No having to call FSS in the air, no having to try to get them on the ground. Just tap the link and you’re good to go.
For EasyClose, you’ll receive an email 30 minutes prior to your ETA at your destination. When you get on the ground, you’ll see the email in your phone or iPad and you just tap the link and your flight plan is closed. Since we all have our phones and iPads with us constantly, there will be no more forgetting to close the flight plan and getting that angry call from the FSS.
Sign up is quick and easy. All Lockheed Martin needs is your email address, last name and phone number. They’ll send you the password to set up your account. Log in (they will have you change your password immediately), then just click on EasyActivate/EasyClose up at the top. You have to register the email address you want (you can also put in a phone number to receive a text message, and you can put multiple email addresses and phone numbers if you’d like), then you are all set to go.
