FlyCRJ.com

Being a pilot isn’t about just getting your certificates and ratings. These are really just tickets to learn. Even now, after thousands of hours in single-engine airplanes and the CRJ, I am still learning. Sometimes it’s little things but sometimes it is really big things like this book:

Instrument Flying Update: What every Instrument Pilot Needs to Know About the New Rules on Approach Transitions, WAAS, LPV, LNAV/VNAV, RNAV SIDs, TAWS, and Much More” by John Eckalbar’s

I found that I had gotten into a rut on my instrument flying. That is pretty easy to do when you fly for an airline. Flight Dispatch plans your flight, tells you the weather, and whether or not there is a chance to divert. Pretty easy stuff. You just have to manage the in-between stuff. Then one day the company decided to implement GPS approaches. Why we hadn’t done it sooner, I don’t know. GPS approaches are efficient and in many cases can get you down to 200 feet above ground level (AGL) which is equivalent to a Category I ILS approach. Of course I understood the basics of GPS but my knowledge was behind on the mechanics of the GPS approach.

So I bought this book and a whole other world opened up. Imagine my surprise!

If you learned your instrument flying on VORs, ILSs, and basic GPS, it is time you break open a book and get up-to-date on the new IFR that is coming.

New technologies (like WAAS and TAWS) are being applied, new rules (like those on transitioning onto RNAV approaches) are being written, and new procedures (like LPV approaches) are being developed.

What this means to you is precise position accuracy and enhanced situational awareness as the aircraft position is displayed in relation to complex waypoint strings coupled with terrain and obstacle awareness. These new technologies are bringing an era of unprecedented safety and efficiency.

I found that I couldn’t just sit back anymore. You need to keep up with the development of the new equipment as well as the new rules and procedures. 

An important example, many thousands of pilots are about to upgrade from GPS to GPS/WAAS but they aren’t going to understand the finer points of this transition. That is why it is important to get this book and learn about these new ways of flying. The relatively simple days when we tuned an NDB or VOR, identified it, and flew the chosen course are being phased out.

Safe and efficient operation in this new environment is going to take a commitment to continuing education. This book will help.

Here is a breakdown of a few of the chapters:

• Chapter 1: How WAAS is able to correct GPS position estimates
• Chapter 2: TERPS criteria for WAAS-based approaches
• Chapter 3: Flying with WAAS
• Chapter 4: Discusses RNAV departure procedures and adds a brief section on RNAV Q- and T-routes
• Chapter 5: How TAWS works, what its various warning/alert messages mean, and what you can and should do in response

Note: Did you know that ATC has its own TAWS-like system called MSAW (Minimum Safe Altitude Warning system)? MSAW alerts controllers when an aircraft is, or is expected to be, too low, so the controller can alert the pilots. But, what prompts the alert, and what are you supposed to do when you get one? Are you automatically getting MSAW protection when you are assigned a transponder code and talking to ATC? This book answers all these questions and a whole lot more…

I won’t go into all the chapters here, but you need to pick up this book. It is perfect for the both the beginner and veteran instrument pilot even though it occasionally is a bit heavy on the technical side. I just glossed over those sections.

Click Here To Get This Book Today!

To Your Flying Success…

Jeffrey

Your Engine Just Died and You’ve Got 3 Choices:
Water? Road? Trees? Which One Do You Choose?
Click Here For An Expert’s Answer and F.R.E.E 20-Minute Audio…

Be Sociable, Share!

•