Reminds me of a story a friend of mine told me about..

A few years ago, he was taking some sort of check ride, and was asked where
he would land if he had an engine out.

He proudly pointed out a cotton field, an interstate highway, and several
other locations.

The check pilot told him that was very good, and asked him what was wrong
with the airport that was right under them.

My buddy looked out the window, and there was a beautiful little airport
right below.

Needless to say, from then on he always flew with a sectional and a plotter
on his lap...



Scott D. wrote in message
...
On 1 Mar 2005 11:03:36 -0800, "Bravo8500"
wrote:

They all have nearest, but I've never seen one with steepest descent.
It may not be so trivial to provide steepest descent with no
obstructions on the path.


But, as the OP stated, he was flying in Colorado. Being based out of
Colorado, that "nearest" feature may not be your saviour. The nearest
airport maybe on the other side of that mountain. So if you have lost
power, you may not be able to make it over that mountain to get to
that airport. So it is always best to know where you are and where
your outs are. We are constantaly playing the "what if" game when we
cross over the range. I want to know, not only where the nearest
airport is, but the nearest VFR airport, the valleys and the lowest
terrain. Hopefully, we leave nothing to chance while we are in the
mountains.


Scott D

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