Pietenpol-List: Charts, GPS, Flying Story - (long post)

[matronics]

Original Posted By: Rcaprd(at)aol.com
Subject: Pietenpol-List: Charts, GPS, Flying Story - (long post)On the return flight from Brodhead / Oshkosh In '03, I landed at Galesburg, where they have the annual Bi-Plane Fly In. An ol' Sterman man told me I should always have Two charts for the area I was flying...just in case the oneyou're folding should blow out. This advise was even more prevalent In the daysbefore GPS, as well as my present situation where my battery powered GPS crapped out on me THREE times in the beginning of the trip...so I flew the restof the trip (to & from) using Pilotage Navigation. Charts, Pilotage, Dead Reckoning vs. GPS When flying a Pietenpol, its best if you play the part wearing a leather helmet, goggles, and long white silk scarf. It gives you a much better relationship with the way our Forefathers did it in the early days. Using a GPSin a Pietenpol, to me, seemed like contradiction in terms. GPS is for sissies...I don't need one, and I don't want one. However, Doug Bryant insisted I take hisGPS along with me, and just try it out. It's a Magellan SkyBlazer XL. All the guys at Benton said "GPS is the best thing that's happened since ailerons". Well, I guess I had to go along with the majority. After some experimentation, we found the best place to mount the antenna was on the trailingedge, just above the pilot seat. I had to drill holes in the trailing edge to mountthe thing...I HATE drilling useless holes in my plane. Mike (at Benton) was familiar with a similar model, and was showing me some of the features of thislittle 1" x 3 1/2 x 6 1/2 box, while I was trying desperately to do final preparations on my plane before the trip. I also scanned through the thick instruction manual. I do, sometimes, read directions !! Now I have another chore,of building some kind of bracket to hold this thing. Real Estate, as you know, is very limited in the cockpit. I already had to make a bracket for theCom radio, on the right longeron, to allow the antenna to point up, just to the right side of the windshield. I also had to get another flying helmet, to accommodate the headset I wore, and also had a wire going to the 'PTT' (push totalk) on the control stick. I finally opted to just make a sling, our of someduct tape, and wear the GPS around my neck...just not enough time to develop asuitable bracket. It felt like a bowling ball. I hate all this wiring, and EELECTRONIC crap !! The first time I actually used it, was on the first leg of my journey. It showed ground speed, direction to the airport, distance to the airport, heading, CDI, and some other stuff, too. All right, that's kinda cool. Duringthe second leg, the thing said 'Battery Power', then crapped out. After I landed at Ottowa, took on some fuel, talked with the locals about where I'm coming from and going to, I replaced the THREE batteries that are in this electronic marvel. During the fourth leg, the thing said 'Battery Power', and once again...crapped out !! I wasn't even a quarter of the way there, yet. I wouldhave thrown this thing overboard, but it had a sling around my neck !! This thing eats batteries, like a teenager with the munchies !! I assumed the best way touse it, was to turn it on just to double check my heading, or the remote possibility - if I got lost. At the next fuel stop, I replenished the batteries,stowed it next to my left hip, and never turned it on again...until I was halfway back on my return trip. Studying the scenery, using pilotage to maintain position, is truly the most enjoyable method of navigation. The panoramic view, offered in an open cockpit, is unparalleled. Watching all those 'Grounders' (folks who never fly),I kind of feel sorry for them, for they will never know what they are missing. It really gives you a chance to appreciate the countryside. Once, I saw a back yard swimming pool, and yes, there were a couple of bikini clad girls downthere !! I pulled power, and dropped down for a closer look. On my second laparound the pool, they both started waving their arms at me !! I gave 'em a good wing wave back, hoping they were from the 'Girls Gone Wild' video, but nosuch luck. Gave 'em another wing wave, and took up a northeast heading. An afterthought, was to holler down to them, my request...I'll do that next time !! On the return trip, Saturday evening, at the end of my third long leg of flying, I had spent over 7 hours in the sky. Except for a sore butt, I reallydidn't feel fatigued. I came up on a stretch of forest, where there were justno distinguishable features, so I just checked one of the VOR's on the chart, noted the direction I needed to fly, and flew compass heading for a while. Twenty minutes later, I finally came upon a small town, but couldn't find it onthe chart. Then I thought...damn...I didn't correct for wind. OK, there's another town in the distance, and it has a water tower on the West side of town.As I looked at how the roads and railroads laid, I still didn't find it on the chart. OK, pull power, drop down to have a look at the name on the water tower. Turned out this was a small water tower, the kind that looks like a golfball on a tee, and it was evidently one that just fed the needs of a farm, and didn't have a name on it. OK, it's only 7:30, still lots of daylight left,and I have plenty of fuel onboard. Should I go in this direction, or that direction. I zig zagged to two more towns, but couldn't find them on the charteither. I wasn't really lost...I mean I knew what area I was in, I just didn'tknow my position. Well, as I began to look for a suitable landing area, I went over in my mind how I would do it: Do three of four low fly-bys, checkingfor spider webs (electric & telephone wires), and dropping a little lower on each pass. Then do a couple of touch & goes, just to test the soil, or the road, and wondering how I would explain this to the neighbors that I would haveto encounter. However, I do have another option: program the GPS. I hesitated calling it my 'Ace in the Hole'. I had to program this unfamiliar gadget,with the 'from' and 'to' identifiers I found on the chart, MPZ to IRK, while Iwas looking for landmarks or a place to land, and most of all - Fly the Plane !! With my head in the cockpit, it seamed each time I looked back up, the nose was way high, or a wing was way high. I double checked each letter I putin the GPS, because I didn't want to put the wrong identifier in. Finally...WA LAA !! It showed me what heading to take up, and Kirksville was just nine miles away !! I noted the heading, and turned the GPS back off, to conserve those three tiny batteries. Turned it back on when I was about three miles out,then spotted the airport. I turned on the COM radio to enter the class D airspace, and when I broadcast my position and intention, the 'Battery' light wasflashing on the COM radio !! I still don't like this battery stuff, and electronic crap, but I guess I've come to terms with the fact that we live in adifferent time. Kirksville has a nice East / West grass runway, and I greased'er on with at least 15 minutes of daylight left. After taxiing in to where thepumps were, nobody around, I was glad to see it was the credit card type pumps. Had to kind of pry my body out of the cockpit, stretch all the kinks out,and fuel 'er up. Pushed 'er over to a tie down area, secured my trusty pair of wings, unpacked a few things and headed over to the big glass doors of the building...locked. No phone around. Walked around the side of the building towhere it said 'Pilot Brief', and the door was unlocked. Hummmm....vending machines and a couch !! I had three bags of corn chips, two bags of skittles,& two cans or root beer for supper, and got a good nights sleep on the couch !!! Just doesn't get any better than this !!Chuck GantzerNX770CG________________________________________________________________________________

[matronics]

Original Posted By: Rcaprd(at)aol.com
Chuck,What a great story!! This is what flying a Piet is all about. My trip (Thomasville, Ga to Camden, Tn) went very much the same. The really only difference was the little cheap ($130) GPS, I carried for a back up, has a button that when pressed will show you all the nearest airports sorted by distance, up to 50 miles. I will admit it gave me great confidence in my DR navigation, knowing that at anytime I could turn it on and find the nearest airport (Just like they did in the old days.) Finding my intended airport without using the GPS just added to the great pleasure of my trip. I had just purchased my Piet and it was a great way to get to know her. What a blast!GeneOriginal Message -----