The Transactional Pilot

I tap on a location I observe to be free of obstructions, offering a clear approach corridor and suitable landing surface, and after I get the dot on my apps chart, I change its name to an approach course, e.g., like F17, or G18, and use those designators (you can make up any letter/number you wish), as Field/Approach 170 degrees, or for the other as Grass/Approach 180 degrees. The letters can be for road, crop, highway or water, or whatever looks better-as always, the closer to roads, the better for emergency services access.

Editorial Staff

Wednesday, April 24, 2019 at 12:00 AM ET

Verified

Key Takeaways:

Pilots can enhance safety, especially during night flights over unfamiliar areas, by proactively identifying and marking potential emergency landing sites using EFB apps, and should thoroughly know and practice procedures for redundant aircraft systems.
Class G airspace is increasingly hazardous due to obstructions like cell towers and wind turbines, leading to a recommendation to avoid it in fixed-wing aircraft except for takeoff, landing, or specific trained operations.
The effectiveness of backup flight instruments, particularly in glass cockpits, is compromised by suboptimal placement in many aircraft, highlighting a need for better ergonomic design to prevent pilot disorientation during primary instrument failures.

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I read Mike Hart’s article “The Transactional Pilot” in April’s issue with much interest, especially regarding his night-flight concerns since I really enjoy night flying in familiar territory; it is those flights over the unfamiliar space that raises concerns. Enter the EFB app and its ability to locate possible emergency sites during the daylight leg(s), by entering those locals as custom or user waypoints.

I tap on a location I observe to be free of obstructions, offering a clear approach corridor and suitable landing surface, and after I get the dot on my app’s chart, I change its “name” to an approach course, e.g., like F17, or G18, and use those designators (you can make up any letter/number you wish), as Field/Approach 170 degrees, or for the other as Grass/Approach 180 degrees. The letters can be for road, crop, highway or water, or whatever looks better—as always, the closer to roads, the better for emergency services access.