Readback December 2017

About a year ago, my wife bought several economical replacement knockoff chargers for her employees Mac laptops, the cords of which their cats had found delicious. They charged very slowly, yet seemed to run extremely hot. Within a month these chargers had all failed with an ominous brown patch on the side from overheating.

Editorial Staff

Saturday, November 11, 2017 at 12:00 AM ET

Verified

Key Takeaways:

Apple's policy regarding proprietary and expensive chargers is argued to be primarily motivated by concerns for brand reputation and customer safety, aiming to prevent issues from unsafe third-party accessories.
When flying ILS approaches, pilots must adhere to ATC-assigned headings for localizer intercepts or negotiate new ones, understanding how different autopilot modes and navigation sources interact to ensure proper procedure.
WAAS vertical guidance restrictions apply only to alternate airport *planning*; once airborne, pilots can utilize available WAAS vertical guidance when flying an approach to an alternate, even if it wasn't permissible for initial planning.
Even when flying an ILS perfectly on the glideslope, factors like cold temperatures, altimeter errors, and Mode C reporting can cause indicated altitudes to appear below published stepdown fixes to ATC, potentially leading to an altitude deviation "bust."

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Defending Apple

It’s tempting to attribute Apple’s policy to their greed and arrogance. But I think it’s something else entirely, and I have a personal example.

About a year ago, my wife bought several economical replacement knockoff chargers for her employees’ Mac laptops, the cords of which their cats had found delicious. They charged very slowly, yet seemed to run extremely hot. Within a month these chargers had all failed with an ominous brown patch on the side from overheating.