Readback February 2023

Editorial Staff

Monday, January 23, 2023 at 03:23 PM ET

Verified

Key Takeaways:

The article features pilot correspondence discussing a CFII's skepticism regarding iPad-based IFR charts versus traditional paper charts, and a reader's request for an article on VFR altitude discretion within controlled airspace.
A reader highlights FBOLink as a free app offering D-ATIS and PDC information, suggesting it as an alternative to paid subscription services.
Discussion on Angle of Attack (AoA) indicators confirms their utility for stabilized IFR approaches, circle-to-land maneuvers, and missed approaches, but cautions that their effectiveness in preventing stalls during icing conditions is limited due to altered critical AoA.

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Whichever Way Up

In 2013, I was again breaking in a new CFII for an instrument competency check. I was flying a /U C172 at the time without an IFR certified GPS, but I did have WingX with the IFR subscription on my iPad. This subscription gave me geolocated IFR charts on the app. I did some maneuvers, and some approaches. When we returned to the FBO, the instructor told me I did fine, but he would like to fly with me again with just paper charts, no moving map, because he wanted to be sure that “I could fly the needles, and I wasn’t just driving the little blue airplane around on the screen.”