Night VFR following highways

wrote in
:

On Feb 1, 1:51*pm, Bertie the Bunyip wrote:
Mxsmanic wrote
innews:9717q3lb3kndi6fsgoecrg5p2f2c4hn
:

writes:

Since there is no real traffic on your simulated highways with
real headlights, why would you care?

Actually, the sim does put traffic on the highways.

No it doesn't. it makes little colored pixtels.

Bertie

Actually, it simulates little colored pixels which simulate cars in a
simulated world so that people with nothing better to do can simulate
living their lives.


Really. I wonder where he's going to fly to tonight?


Bertie

writes:

Actually, it simulates little colored pixels which simulate cars in a
simulated world so that people with nothing better to do can simulate
living their lives.

That depends on the sim, the scenery used, and other things. At a minimum,
you get simulated headlights, which is all you need to follow the highway.

In rec.aviation.piloting wrote:

About the only reason to follow highways (other than it just happens to
go where you want to go) at night is you are guaranteed that there is
nothing directly above the highway (such as a mountain peak), which is
handy for going through things like passes on dark nights and areas
dotted with high peaks.

"Guaranteed" is a bit of a strong word. Don't forget about tunnels and
power lines.

--
Frank Stutzman
Bonanza N494B "Hula Girl"
Boise, ID

In rec.aviation.piloting Frank Stutzman wrote:
In rec.aviation.piloting wrote:

About the only reason to follow highways (other than it just happens to
go where you want to go) at night is you are guaranteed that there is
nothing directly above the highway (such as a mountain peak), which is
handy for going through things like passes on dark nights and areas
dotted with high peaks.

"Guaranteed" is a bit of a strong word. Don't forget about tunnels and
power lines.

Anyone flying at night low enough to worry about power lines in
route is an idiot.

Tunnels I'd have to think about; I can't think of any that aren't on
a twisty mountain road in terrain I would never fly in at night
anyway.

--
Jim Pennino

Remove .spam.sux to reply.

writes:

Anyone flying at night low enough to worry about power lines in
route is an idiot.

Here is the "idiot's" story:

http://www.aopa.org/pilot/never_again/2008/na0801.html

In rec.aviation.student Mxsmanic wrote:
writes:

Anyone flying at night low enough to worry about power lines in
route is an idiot.

Here is the "idiot's" story:

http://www.aopa.org/pilot/never_again/2008/na0801.html

It is rather strange to put "idiot" in quotes when the entire point of the
story was that this guy was, on that particular night, really, really
stupid.

--
Michael Ash
Rogue Amoeba Software

In rec.aviation.piloting Mxsmanic wrote:
writes:

Anyone flying at night low enough to worry about power lines in
route is an idiot.

Here is the "idiot's" story:

http://www.aopa.org/pilot/never_again/2008/na0801.html

Yeah, so?


--
Jim Pennino

Remove .spam.sux to reply.

Mxsmanic wrote in
:

writes:

Anyone flying at night low enough to worry about power lines in
route is an idiot.

Here is the "idiot's" story:

http://www.aopa.org/pilot/never_again/2008/na0801.html


So, you want to simulate idiocy now do you?

I got news for you, that is the one thing you do not need a sim for...


Bertie

In rec.aviation.piloting wrote:

Anyone flying at night low enough to worry about power lines in
route is an idiot.

Agreed. However, it doesn't take much of a lapse in judgement.

Case in point. I used to live in the Columbia River Gorge, about
an hour east of Portland, OR. In this part of the Gorge, the
river is about a mile wide and is at an elevation of about 300 msl.
There is steep terrain on both sides of the river that rapidly goes
to 3000 and (in a few places 5000). The south side has a 4 lane
freeway and the north side has a fairly busy 2 lane highway.

It is not uncommon for the weather to be realtively ok at both
ends of the gorge but have ceilings of below 1200 or so feet in the
middle. There are at least two places where there are cables
crossing the river that are about 500 feet or about 800 msl.

The temptation is to go down the gorge and continually be trying to
sneak under the clouds. Hey, the weather man says its clear in The
Dalles (eastern end of the gorge). We got good landmarks visible off
both wing tips. These low clouds can't last more than a few miles,
right?

I've gotten a cheap motel twice in Portland rather than attempting
to go down the gorge in the dark. However, I certainly can see how
someone could sucker themselfs into a really bad situation.I've done
a lot of dumb things in a plane that I said would never allow happen
to me. Fortunately, this situation is not one of them.


Tunnels I'd have to think about; I can't think of any that aren't on
a twisty mountain road in terrain I would never fly in at night
anyway.

Well, to be honest, me neither. I did a little googling, though.
The Big Walker Tunnel between Virgina and West Virgina is 4,200 feet
long and goes under a 3000 foot "mountain". I put mountain in quotes
because to this left coast boy, 3000 feet doesn't make much of a
mountain. But I have no experiance flying in that part of the country.

--
Frank Stutzman
Bonanza N494B "Hula Girl"
Boise, ID

On Feb 1, 1:35*pm, wrote:
In rec.aviation.piloting Mxsmanic wrote:

Is it a bad idea to fly VFR at night and navigate by following highways? *At
night outside large cities, there doesn't seem to be much else that's visible.
It seems to me that if you can clearly see the highway, it can guide you and
you can get a good idea of where you are with respect to terrain, so it should
work. *Are there hidden dangers in this? *Do night VFR pilots ever/often
navigate by following highways? *What other forms of visual navigation are
usable at night?

About the only reason to follow highways (other than it just happens to
go where you want to go) at night is you are guaranteed that there is
nothing directly above the highway (such as a mountain peak), which is
handy for going through things like passes on dark nights and areas
dotted with high peaks.

However, the only way one would know visually that they are really
over most highways at night is from the real lights of real traffic.

Since there is no real traffic on your simulated highways with real
headlights, why would you care?

--
Jim Pennino

Remove .spam.sux to reply.

Unless the highway goes through a tunnel....... : (