A combination of the two.
For flights where I'm actually going somewhere:
For local bimbles (which I still occasionally do, either to take someone up who's not been before or because I want to do PFLs or something) then I don't tend to plan a route. I just take the chart and rely on Mk 1 eyeball to orientate myself. If I lose my bearings then my primary backup is the GNS430 and my secondary is the use of radio navaids to get a fix on the chart.
Like italianjon, I also get a nice feeling from being able to do every thing by hand using the whizz wheel and dead reckoning. From time to time I plan and execute a flight like this, just because I can.
I always begin on paper, because I like to see all the details even while working out the global lines. And those big PC screens are so very expensive... When the route has been decided, I create it in my homebrew gps and (hopefully) fly it.
As for wind corrections, I have never really done them. Closest I got was a thought like "hm, I DO seem to need steering more westerly than calculated". But the magnetic compass is so crude that I only use it to get the general idea; precision comes from electronics, these days.
And of course the compass and paper chart MUST be available as a backup navigation system.
RocketRoute for planning and filing, also for sourcing AIP, AD charts, APCH charts, NOTAMs. G1000 in the plane, so that's the operational navigation tool. The log is on the iPad, but also punched into the FMS. But... I always have the Jeppesen VFR+GPS charts with me on paper (or corresponding country charts if the Jepps are not available). I also almost always draw the lines on the map in pencil for any longer navigation, unless it is a very, very familiar route. I just like to be able to read along on the chart as the trip progresses. It's good VFR practice to be oriented in the surroundings and be able to fly to a landing if all the electronic tools fail you. So, paper maps.
I use both. I will plan on paper and fly using both the chart and the basic AWARE GPS. I tend to try and follow the chart and just use the GPS as back up, but the temptation is always too great to have a little peep and confirm your position. IPAD and Skydemon appear to be the perfect combination, but at the moment I cannot justify one for the few times I would use it. Paul
Until now, I only used paper on board. But paper is heavy and not easy to manipulate, and can get lost. Also, in France, we receive the VFR Charts in an envelope and it takes me an hour each month to sort out which has to be replaced in the binders and that’s a lot of work for nothing when you know that the same documentation is available in PDF format only, for free.
So I decided to go for something different. I’m not fond of iPads, and knowing that it can get hot, and the iPad can shutdown at any time, or just that you can’t see much if the sun is shining too much put me out. I know only one thing that can sustend bright sunlight and be electronic, and that’s e-ink.
So I am now flying with an A5 e-ink pad. There is no map and no GPS in it, it’s black and white, but I get all the documentation in one pad, downloaded and sorted before I fly, so I can keep preparing the flights the way I do, and I can also prepare my flight on a spreadsheet and upload it in the pad in PDF format. That pad enables me to write notes with a stylus on it, so I can fill up my navigation log as I go.
That suits me. It’s not the official Jeppensen SolidFX 8 or 10 , which does the same thing at a much higher cost as it includes all Jeppensen documentation, but it’s a simple Onyx Boox M96
So I still use paper maps, but nav log and VFR charts on this electronic board.
What do you use ? Do you have an iPad or any other official or practical systems to use electronic documentation in easy to use format ?
Thanks for your feedback
Until now, I only used paper on board. But paper is heavy and not easy to manipulate, and can get lost. Also, in France, we receive the VFR Charts in an envelope and it takes me an hour each month to sort out which has to be replaced in the binders and that’s a lot of work for nothing when you know that the same documentation is available in PDF format only, for free.
Sorting AIP papers is a thing of the past. Nobody really has the time to do it. On electronic devices, it is one click of a button. Time to go with the change.
So I decided to go for something different. I’m not fond of iPads, and knowing that it can get hot, and the iPad can shutdown at any time, or just that you can’t see much if the sun is shining too much put me out.
Ipads don’t overheat unless you continually expose it to the sunlight. Just pay a biz of attention and nothing bad will happen. Also, even in the remote case that you might lose your ipad, under VFR, the loss of the charts is not reallya problem. Let ATC know and they will instruct you in.
Flying with paper charts has practically become almost impossible if touring Europe. Ipad solutions (Jepp MFDVFR, Skydemon, EasyVFR) give you:
I know, you might have been instructed otherwise during your training, but time to move ahead (from paper to electronics).
-always up-to-date aeronautical data (as opposed to “current” paper charts)
Well, only official data is official. Many of them, Skydemon and EasyVFR simply cannot get the airspaces right, they mix C and D and are generally 1 – 2 years behind the official charts. It makes you wonder where they get their data from. I have no intention telling them this is wrong and that is wrong, when they are payed subscriptions. I think EasyVFR and Skydemon are great, but do not expect their data to be current or valid.
I don’t mind my training, it was 7 years ago, and I’m ready to move forward. I just haven’t found the best way yet, I’m looking for something that I want to work with.
I don’t like iPads (some people do, I don’t) so I’m not going to purchase an iPad just to fly, at least not now.
However I’m also looking at GPS like Garmin 695 or 795.
The question I’m currently trying to answer is : I don’t want to use an iPad, I want to use something dedicated to flying. Appart from the iPad, what do you use ? What’s available and practical to fly accross Europe ?
However I’m also looking at GPS like Garmin 695 or 795
Unfortunately, dedicated Garmin GPS boxes – while very reliable – do not have the same functionality as for example an ipad. Their databases are not as detailed and frankly, I wouldn’t use one as my only aeronautical chart on board.
BTW, you don’t have to get an ipad. You can do with an Android tablet as well. Only downside: with an Android, you can’t use Jeppesen, since they only cater for the ipad. Skydemon workls with both IOS and
Android.
Many of them, Skydemon and EasyVFR simply cannot get the airspaces right, they mix C and D and are generally 1 – 2 years behind the official charts. It makes you wonder where they get their data from. I have no intention telling them this is wrong and that is wrong, when they are payed subscriptions. I think EasyVFR and Skydemon are great, but do not expect their data to be current or valid.
I can only speak for EasyVFR, but that is certainly not correct, at least not intentionally. Classes C & D have their own entries in our database, and are not mixed up or used interchangeably. The airspace data is maintained on a 28 day cycle in accordance with the AIRAC cycle and is certainly not 1-2 years behind the official charts. That’s simply not the case.
I’m not saying that an error never ever occurs. Very occasionally one if found. But the reports of airspace errors, which subsequently prove to be genuine errors (as distinct from the user’s knowledge of the airspace being out of date) are very very rare these days. They are in the order of one every few years.
As for where we get our data from, it comes from the AIP on the AIRAC cycle. We maintain all our own databases, as it’s the only way to be sure of the quality.
I suspect you may be thinking of another competitor product not mentioned in this post, when you’re thinking of database issues.
