Technology is Incredible...

Mxsmanic wrote:
....

now of course, way back then, we would never have heard of
Mxsmanic.... every progress comes at a price. :-)

--Sylvain

On 10/30/06 2:20 PM, in article ,
"Mxsmanic" wrote:


Now compare that to the rate of change in aviation. What can you do
today in a cockpit that couldn't be done when you were born?

Join the Mile High Club.
--
Jeff 'The Wizard of Draws' Bucchino

Cartoons with a Touch of Magic�
http://www.wizardofdraws.com

More Cartoons with a Touch of Magic�
http://www.cartoonclipart.com

On 10/30/06 5:41 PM, in article ,
"Grumman-581" wrote:


Personally, I'm not so sure that having a GPS that does *everything* for
you is the best design... I prefer it to just be a source of coordinate
information and there to be another device that handles the database and
such... I guess I like a bit more distributed approach to the system...
Let's say that there are providers and displayers of information... One
could have GPS and LORAN both act as a provider and the moving map could
be the displayer... Of course, using this logic, perhaps the database
for the moving map should also be a provider subsystem so that other
subsystems could use it to lookup information...

You don't *have* to use all the bells and whistles if you don't want to. But
it's nice to have them at your fingertips if you want...or need.
--
Jeff 'The Wizard of Draws' Bucchino

Cartoons with a Touch of Magic�
http://www.wizardofdraws.com

More Cartoons with a Touch of Magic�
http://www.cartoonclipart.com

john smith writes:

Glass cockpit, color radar, gps... lots of stuff.

These aren't things you can do, they are just equipment. What things
can you do with this equipment that you could not do a few decades
ago? Just replacing a real instrument with a picture of an instrument
on a screen doesn't change much of anything, except the potential
failure modes.

--
Transpose mxsmanic and gmail to reach me by e-mail.

gatt writes:

Stare at a GPS display plugged into the cigarette lighter to view my actual
track, groundspeed, ETA, ATA and get other route information along a VFR
airway.

I thought the whole purpose of VFR was to look out the window.

After being in a 20-minute holding pattern in a cloud during my IFR
checkride, and then having the examiner look at his handheld GPS afterward
and say "Let's look at how well you held your racetrack pattern"...
*shudder*

That's after the flight, though.

My point is that however much computers and some other technologies
have changed or appeared, aviation has stayed very much the same.

--
Transpose mxsmanic and gmail to reach me by e-mail.

Jay Honeck writes:

When I first started flying, flight planning was laboriously done with
a sectional chart and a pencil. I would carefully plot my course,
figure out VOR frequencies, plan waypoints where I could triangulate my
position with multiple navaids, and make note of visual checkpoints. It
could take 20 minutes to plan a 1-hour flight. It could take DAYS to
plan a multi-day, truly "cross-country" trip.

Now, unless we're going somewhere far, far away, we hop in the plane,
punch in "Direct to" on our dual GPS's, and we've got more information
at our fingertips about where we are (and where we're going) than we
could possibly use. Every radio frequency, the runway diagrams, the
approaches, the restaurants on (and off) the field, where to spend the
night, phone numbers, the controlling airspace -- even the LIVE weather
-- is all there, for easy viewing. It's absolutely miraculous.

How does pressing "direct to" replace a detailed flight plan? What do
you do if the GPS fails?

The other thing that has changed dramatically is a revolution that
often goes unnoticed: ANR headsets. When I used to get back from a
long cross country flight, I'd be exhausted, and often had a headache
from all the noise. Now, I arrive fresh as a daisy, even after flying
all day, thanks to my Lightspeed headsets. It's another miracle of the
modern age.

Perhaps a greater miracle would be a cockpit quiet enough not to
require hearing protection.

All of this makes it so hard to watch GA gradually withering -- we've
FINALLY got flying to the point where it's really quite safe, simple
and enjoyable to fly cross country, just in time for no one to want to
do it.

It's more expensive and complicated than it has ever been, in many
respects, even if certain aspects of actually flying in the cockpit
have become easier.

--
Transpose mxsmanic and gmail to reach me by e-mail.

"Mxsmanic" wrote in message
news
How does pressing "direct to" replace a detailed flight plan? What do
you do if the GPS fails?

It's a non-issue. If the GPS failed before flight, then plan the flight the
same way we were trained using the charts. If it fails during flight, more
than likely you're heading in the general direction and have some idea where
you are and how far to your next waypoint/airport, just pull out the
chart...

I've had a GPS in my plane the last 4 years. When I sold the plane, the
buyer didn't want my GPS so I took it out. He wanted me to fly the plane to
an airport that I hadn't been to before about 45 miles NE of here. I took
off without the GPS, headed NE and compared the chart to what I was seeing
on the ground. Found the airport without any problems. It would have been
nice to have access to a GPS but we can still fly without one.

Perhaps a greater miracle would be a cockpit quiet enough not to
require hearing protection.

Soundproofing a plane is possible but the added weight isn't worth it. A lot
easier/cheaper to install and use (ANR) headsets.

It's more expensive and complicated than it has ever been, in many
respects, even if certain aspects of actually flying in the cockpit
have become easier.

There's planes that fly with only an airspeed indicator, compass, slip/skid
indicator, engine gauges, and an altimeter. They fly fine without all the
radios, GPS, transponder, electrical system, ANR, etc.

"Greg B" wrote in message
...
Soundproofing a plane is possible but the added weight isn't worth it. A
lot
easier/cheaper to install and use (ANR) headsets.

Too bad the commercial flights don't issue ANR headphones for the passengers
on some flights... Grace has been flying back and forth to Toronto lately in
a Embraer RJ145 and according to her, they're rather noisy... Noisy enough
that 31 dB earplugs are required in the passenger compartment... Noisy
enough that she had to cup her hands over her earphones so that she could
hear the music from her MP3 player...

"Mxsmanic" wrote in message
...
john smith writes:

Glass cockpit, color radar, gps... lots of stuff.

These aren't things you can do, they are just equipment. What things
can you do with this equipment that you could not do a few decades
ago?

Situational awareness, for non-retards, at a glance. Get over the idea that
more dumbed-down data is worse.

m

"Mxsmanic" wrote in message
gatt writes:

Stare at a GPS display plugged into the cigarette lighter to view my
actual
track, groundspeed, ETA, ATA and get other route information along a VFR
airway.

I thought the whole purpose of VFR was to look out the window.

Spoken like some idiot who has never flown anything.

VFR is IFR in a clock tick. People who actually fly (especially cargo IFR)
anywhere accept this. You don't understand because you live in a world
where every experience must adhere to some rule. Reality is almost always
unfriendly and wholly non-negotiable.

With few exceptions:

No student prefers ADF to GPS at first glance.

No hopeful airline pilot, newly flying boxes, ten years ago, would turn down
the gift of a new handheld GPS.

No minted IFR flyer, with hobby habits, would turn down a glass panel in
favour of a vintage panel.

I could be wrong, but I'm not.

All it takes is qualified people to post differently.

moo