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Showing posts from June, 2019

Calculating True Airspeed; Best Glide Speed

I’m a pilot. I think it’s in our nature to obsess over numbers. (And I’d really, really like - psychologically, if for no other reason - to see whether or not the plane I’m flying is a “150 knot” airplane...) True Airspeed There are several ways to calculate this: The simplest way to get a “pretty close” number is to take 2% of your calibrated airspeed, multiply it by how many thousands of feet you are MSL, and add it to the calibrated airspeed indicated. So, if I’m flying along at 145 mph indicated (calibrated, 143 mph) at 5,000', that works out to: ((143 * .02) * 5) + 143 = 157 mph true (÷ 1.15 = 137 ktas) A bit more accurate is the true airspeed calculator built into a Garmin GPS unit ( GNS430W , GTN650, etc), which factors in barometer, OAT, etc. (and will calculate your head/tail wind component too). There’s also the “4-way GPS ground speed” method, used, e.g., in this M20F evaluation . (That plane, a ’67 which was constructed differently and is generally faster t

Reading List and Other Resources

Reading List and Other Resources These are the books, texts, and other resources I found invaluable when training for my private pilot certificate, instrument rating, and as the caretaker of a piston-powered light airplane. I've linked to eBooks were available, as I hate storing / lugging around dead trees. Private Pilot Airplane Flying Handbook  (free PDF from the FAA) Pilot's Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge  (free PDF from the FAA) Jeppesen's Private Pilot Textbook  and Private Pilot Maneuvers  (these were what my CFI used when I did my private pilot at a Part 61 school) King Private Pilot Written Exam Videos  (I used the DVDs) FAA Test Prep Online: Private Pilot  (to run through enough sample questions I felt very well prepared for the actual written exam; getting the automated endorsement to take the exam was an easy, straightforward process) A video of Allan Englehardt giving the Private Pilot Oral Exam Private Pilot Oral Exam Guide Instrument Ratin

Mountain Flying Resources

General Mountain Flying Resources New Zealand’s CAA has a Mountain Flying guide, and a  Mountain Flying Training Standards Guide Sparky Imeson’s Mountain Flying Bible ($37 and there’s no e-book version ðŸ˜¤) The FAA’s Tips on Mountain Flying An FAA Safety Briefing article from 2012,  Rocky Mountain High: The Zen of Mountain Flying AOPA’s Mountain Flying Safety Advisor AOPA Pilot Information Center article on Mountain Flying AOPA’s A Pilot’s Guide to Mountain Flying AOPA Mountain Flying online course (requires Flash ... ðŸ˜¤) (qualifies for WINGS credit) AOPA Terrain Flying (reproduction of old FAA literature, Terrain Flying (AC 91-15), that Rod Machado referred to as “the best accumulation of information I've ever seen on mountain flying route selection”); that document is available online (free and quick registration required): http://dotlibrary.specialcollection.net/Document?db=DOT-ADVISORY&query=(select+387) ) Colorado Pilots Association’s Mountain Flying Cours

Keyboard cleaning and general workstation refresh

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One of my Unicomp Spacesaver M  keyboards (of course, the one I got with “Brilliant White” keycaps) was 4 years old and grimy AF. I’ve taken the keys off a keyboard before, and it was a PITA. What a difference having the proper tool makes! Anyway. Soaked in warm water with dish soap for a couple of hours, wiped them clean with a microfiber cloth, and it’s so, so much nicer. The “living room” workstation (a Mid 2010 Mac Pro, 6-Core Intel Xeon 3.33 GHz, 32GB RAM, ATI Radeon HD 5870, 1TB SSD, 2x1.5TB spinning rust drives, USB 3.0 ports on a PCI card, etc) is now comfortably usable again. Now if only the scroll wheel on my ThinkPad USB Laser Mouse (I have several of these, including the wireless Bluetooth version; they’re normally great) hadn’t gone wonky. El cheapo Amazon Basics alternative arrived over the weekend. (I love, and am a bit scared by, the fact that we live in a world where a $7 optical mouse can be delivered to my door within 24 hours.) Meanwhile, my Labrad