System

A while back, I wrote an article on departing an airport in Class G airspace. To follow up, well delve a little deeper into the departure and discuss entering the radar environment to see what radar provides. Well also look at what radar doesnt provide.

When I first started flying, the concept of altitude was confusing. For pilots the reference, of course, is this thing called mean sea level. But all I was interested in at first was my height above the ground-a measurement with some substance that made sense to me.

One of my cherished childhood memories is of my mother making a birthday cake to celebrate my special day. Rich, sweet aromas filled the house with wonderful anticipation. My favorite yellow cake with chocolate frosting was featured the evening of my 12th birthday. After festivities and dinner, I sat at the head of the table with the lights dimmed as a two-layered masterpiece approached, accompanied by the birthday song and sparkling candles.

Twenty years ago, the idea of carrying sophisticated digital radar in anything under a medium twin would probably have been met with roars of laughter, but technology has brought amazing advances. Now its possible for even an ultralight pilot to use the Internet to access essentially the same tools that are available to forecasters.

Its all Chets fault. The whole thing had started over beers, with Brian regaling us with details of his latest foray down south in his Cirrus.

ADS-B weather for the iPad has been around for a while, but this is the first year pilots get some real choices. Baron released its Mobile Link with XM weather for the iPad. SkyRadar, which puts ADS-B weather into WingX on the iPad, just released a new device. FreeFlight Systems is promising an in-panel, complete ADS-B solution (traffic and weather) that will wirelessly send data to the iPad.

A few years ago, I managed to shoot an approach to minimums and not even know it. I was hauling cargo from Memphis to St. Louis Downtown. The forecasts at St. Louis werent all that bad, maybe 1000 overcast and three miles visibility. When I picked up ATIS, it had worsened to 400 and a mile. Eh, no sweat for a freight dog. I shot the ILS and landed uneventfully.

For an industry where speed is measured in hundreds of knots, changes in technology do not arrive quickly or easily to aviation.

Recently an FAA-sponsored committee recommended the FAA not require equipage for ADS-B In, saying theres no good business case. Is this great, money-saving news for you?

Heres a sobering stat: Odds are that an air traffic controller youre talking to at any given moment has less than four years of on-the-job experience. That shouldnt be a surprise if youve been following this issue for the past few years.