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 night flight safety by using EFB apps to pre-identify and waypoint potential emergency landing sites during daylight.
Flying low in Class G airspace is increasingly hazardous due to the proliferation of obstructions like cell towers and wind turbines.
The placement of backup instruments, especially in glass cockpits, is critical for pilot effectiveness during partial panel or system failures and warrants further discussion.
Knowing how to operate an aircraft's redundant systems, such as manual landing gear extension, is vital for safely managing in-flight equipment 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.