Can you navigate ?

all content copyright Paul Smyres, 2009, all rights reserved.   No copy and paste without full and proper credit to this author.    Please LINK to content, not copy.

         Being able to navigate is one of the most important skills a human being can have.      

Without navigation, not much can happen.

         Without accurate navigation there would be no civilization or trade.   Nobody could explore, escape from life-threatening locations, or meet new cultures.    Unfortunately, huge numbers of people living today have no clue how to navigate, either geographically, or mentally.    Learning to navigate brings a lot of clarity and confidence to life.    It is a rewarding challenge.

          History has been profoundly influenced by those who knew where they were and where they were going.    Sadly, it’s also been affected by people who had no clue whatsoever.    In the past, skillful navigators became very wealthy because they discovered whole worlds full of resources.    A single commodity, the tea trade, built the British Empire over a period of about 250 years, in India and China.

          The first thing we need to know before we go is where we are.   Otherwise we won’t be able to get where we need or want to be.   Discovering where we are is a very thought-provoking and humbling experience.    It makes us stop to think, look, reflect, and look around us.    Yet, it must be done, or we will not survive long.

           Aviation training is a great way to learn navigation.    Piloting an aircraft requires a lot of skill and part of that is learning to find one’s way through any conditions.    If  you can’t fly, find someone who has a plane and take a ride around your local area.    Find out where your town is in relation to famous places.    

           Learn to read maps.   Modern maps have loads of information in them.  Besides the roads, you can find sizes of towns, national landmarks, elevations, large parks, rivers, marinas, as well as longitude and latitude.    If you know anyone who has a plane, ask them for a ride.   Flying above the places near where you live will change your whole perspective.

 Ancient navigation — How did they do it? ( click on words )

Crichton Miller — Read about his amazing rediscovery of an ancient navigation device.   Click on words to follow link

Be redundant…be safe…

Important travel items. Could you remember every one ?

All content copyright Paul Smyres, 2009, all rights reserved.     No copy and paste without full and proper credit to this author.    Please LINK to content, not copy.

Use Checklists………   tips on managing activites

Being redundant can save your life.

       From the early days of aviation it became obvious that to assure safety, backup systems are necessary.    Even in aviation communication it’s apparent      For example …..” Do you copy ? “  ” readback correct”,  and the process of reading back with words connected to letters ( alpha, bravo, charlie, … zulu.. “)     All of that is to prevent mistakes.    

      Aircraft typically have 2 spark plugs, 2 batteries, two fuel pumps, and very often, 2 whole engines.   There’s also a co-pilot in many cases.   For instrument flying, there are generally 2 communication radios, two navigation radios, and an ALTERNATIVE airport for landing, plus reserve fuel.    It’s always, check, and re-check.    That’s why flying is still safer than driving.   People are paying attention.

That same approach can be applied to business and personal life management.

      If it’s important to get a task done, write it down.   It will help keep you on track.    A short pencil is better than a long memory.     Also, for effective communication about important matters, ask your audience, ” do you understand  ?     

     Create backup systems for the most important operations in your home and business.

Saving time; our greatest resource

We’re “flying” across America

All content on this site copyright Paul Smyres, 2009, all rights reserved.   Living Being Media.     Short quotes with proper reference and credits are acceptable.

Logged Sim flight across the United State, from Caribou, Maine, to San Diego, California, and beyond.   Follow along or try some of the flights, either in a real plane or simulator.  

Visit here for details    

Use Checklists   to save time and many problems.

   See our blog for tips and information about managing time, saving time, and more.

It’s a GREAT time to buy an aircraft

The federal government is offering big tax deductions in the current 2009 stimulus package.

              Many people don’t realize that now is about as good as it gets for buying an airplane.    Besides the big tax deductions and straight line depreciation write-offs allowed this year, the prices of aircraft for sale are dropping.   There are a LOT of eager sellers for several reasons.   One of course is the economy.    If the plane is not making money it can be a real burden.      Many owners find selling their plane becomes necessary, rather han try to maintain it.    Call an accountant and do some research.    It’s a great time to buy an airplane.      Well maintained aircraft can make good investments, if they are a classic, vintage, have special modifications, etc.   These planes are holding their prices even in tough times.

Abundance of good used aircraft on the market

            Another reason it’s a good time to buy is that there are SO many planes that have been built in the last 50 years, and they last a very long time.    They are maintained well by law, so there are plenty of perfectly good airplanes still flying after 40 years, or even much longer.    There are warbirds, for example, that are over 60 years old and many of those are in immaculate condition because of full restoration.    They are like new and can continue to fly for decades.     When a person becomes passionate about owning a plane, they keep them in great shape for years.

          Even further, a whole new industry is growing with light sport aircraft, or LSA.    All kinds of engineers and hobbyists are building amazing little planes, with lightweight composite materials and lightweight electronics.    

         Buying an aircraft is truly within reach of many people who don’t realize it.

        Do you think you need a million dollars to own a plane?    No way !    You can get a beautiful 2  person Light Sport Aircraft for less than the price of many cars.    A good quality used Cessna 172 is also within reach of many people.    

       A good airplane holds its value much better than a typical car, too, so you can sell it later if you lose interest.    You don’t even have to buy a “whole” airplane.   There are many options for owner partners, flying clubs, and flight school “lease-backs”.      

       If you’ve ever fantasized about owning an airplane, do some research now.   Your dream could easily come true.      There’s an airplane out there with your name on it.

            A great resource for more information.     AOPA   www.aopa.org

Practicing “flying” when not flying

You can retain more of what you learn in the air by using some techniques on the ground.

 

pilot visualizing an aerobatic performance, Marysville, Ohio 2009

           Between training flights, it’s a challenge to remember what you learned.    

        Flight time is expensive, too, so you want to learn as fast as you can.    Fortunately, there are a lot of great techniques you can use between flights to help reinforce your airtime.

        One thing you can do is visualize flying, while moving your body through a series of turns, banks, and control adjustments.    Developing good psycho-motor skills is greatly facilitated by moving the body through memorized movements.    You learn what you DO faster than what you READ, or just think.

      You can also do things in your car.   You can take special notice of speed and control adjustments, the feeling of weight shifting side to side and slowing down, for example.    Learn to gauge distance and timing.    Learn to calculate time enroute, fuel use, and map reading.    You can train yourself to scan the area around the road while driving.  ( you might save an animal’s life also )      All of these skills are very useful as a pilot.

     Another thing that’s very important in aviation is critical decision making.    That can be practiced in any arena of life and is extremely important as a pilot.    Learn to get information, know your “vehicle”, make effective decisions without fear.   You cannot fly without fear if you do not learn how to make critical decisions as a matter of routine.     Every minute in the air is full of decisions you need to make to arrive safely.

     What else?   how about something simple.   Stay healthy.    Take a week or so, and pretend you were going to fly 2 hours per day for the whole week.    I’ll bet you’ll get some exercise and rest, and eat good food, so you can be alert while flying.

Flight simulators as training aids.

         See our pages on flight simulators.  ( click link )   I find them incredibly useful.   Before I go on a flight, I rehearse it in the simulator.    And later, after the flight, I go through it again.   It really builds confidence, and today’s simulators are truly amazing.   For a few hundred dollars, you can do in your home what no professional pilots, short of military or huge aircraft,  ever did 20 years ago.    The graphics and speed capabilities of today’s home simulators is way beyond what was commonly available in the late 1980’s.    Even FAA certified flight simulators for small aircraft like the Cessna 172,  in the early 1990’s were not as good as what you can have in your home today.     Try Microsoft’s Flight Simulator Deluxe.

“Plane legs”

Pitts racer Aerobatic show, Ohio

Above:     International Aerobatic Club Chapter 34   Aerobatic Open, June 19-20 2009

To fly a plane, you need to use your legs.       by Paul Smyres

           An instructor once told me his best student had never driven a car, so she had no habits from driving that interfered with learning to fly.   She quickly adjusted to using her feet to steer the aircraft on the ground an to use the rudders properly in the air.    A common mistake of older student pilots is to not use the rudder enough.

              One exercise I use is to sit in the aircraft without the engine running, brake set, and close my eyes while I mentally go through maneuvering the plane and practicing with my legs, feeling the connection between my ams and legs as they work the controls.   You can do that on a good home simulator too, practice coordinated maneuvers.

               A good flight simulator setup is good for many reasons.   See our other pages about using a flight simulator for training.

              Flying an aerobatic taildragger like the Pitts racer in the photo above requires a good mastery of using pedals for taxiing, landing, and of course aerobatic maneuvers.

Great aerobatic air show, Ohio

    Marysville, Ohio, June 20, 2009.      Aerobatic competition.    More photos soon !

Pitts racer Aerobatic show, Ohio

            Aerobatic pilots have tremendous skill, courage, and confidence.    Go to a show and you’ll be amazed.      People wonder, “how can they do that ?”    It’s all precise and based on solid physics.     In contests, flights are planned very carefully and pilots stick to a series of maneuvers that lead one to the next in succession, ending with the landing.   They have to stay in a 3 dimensional space “box”  in the sky or lose points.

A Pitt's Racer takes off to start it's performance.

           Aerobatic aircraft must meet certain criteria to be certified.    

           They have to have special kinds of fuel pumps and oil pumps, for example, to keep the engine operating, and their wings are designed to facilitate rolling and other exotic maneuvers.   Many aerobatic airplanes are actually biplanes, like the one above.      That allows short wings with as much surface area as a single longer wing.      Large, heavy wings undergo tremendous stress in aerobatic maneuvers.

         Even though few pilots ever do an aerobatic maneuver such as a full barrel roll or multiple spin, they are trained to learn what they are and how to avoid them.   And, if they do happen, they are trained what to do to recover.

        If you never get a chance to fly a real aerobatic aircraft, try one in a simulator. You can learn to do rolls, spins, and loops in total safety. Take it seriously, read about how these moves are done, download some aerobatic planes, read about them, and try them out. Good luck

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