To all,

So as to not fully derail another post but respect a theme that was developing within it I like to solict opinion of the subject of "Safer flying thru technology". It can be as simple as improved seatbelts to full on advanced electronic gagets. Lets here from the collective wisdom that exist in the BCP commmunity. If possible please include a link to your recommended piece of gear.

Thank you in advance,

It is pretty old technology and I have no link, but the RMI in military aircraft made IMC flight easier and safer than any other navigation instrument until GPS. The compass was slaved and didn't have to be reset. Both ADF (the skinny needle) and the VOR (the fat needle) always pointed to the station. Nothing, in my mind, left the outcome of the maneuver more in doubt than the CDI or HSI. Those instruments just tell you where you are when you are on course.

I was too old and senile to learn the instrument GPS computerized systems, but I expect they are wonderful for those not afraid of touching the wrong spot and killing the stuff you really need.

With regard to safety, making sure you perform the right action at the right time. For sequenced actions, the following can make a big difference.

www.miracheck.com

Just a user but one who really appreciates this. Particularly when you fly multiple aircraft.

Best,

Tommy

[url]inreach.garmin.com[/url]

Just about everything I do anywhere on earth!

I agree In reach!!! This will not only save you but others doing a search!! I was on a solo hunt the past two days, got a bou a 1900 and my wife started to worry because she did not get an evening post. It was 2300 before the bou was hanging from the wings. Once I sent a post she called off all the go see what is up crew. They had my exact position if needed!!! In the air the most important thing I want to know it terrain!!! If you understand mountains, clouds, fog, due point wind, it will tell you what you can and can not do in VFR.
DENNY

In cockpit weather. I bought my Garmin 396 at The Arlington WA EAA flyin the year they were introduced. I had to use a friends US address to get a XM subscription. I flew with it until I upgraded to my 796. It’s retired in a drawer, but I probably won’t part with it. It’s like an old horse out to pasture. It took me many places.

The terrain feature was also very useful. Wasn’t likely to fly into a box canyon with its advisory.

I never relied on either feature to save my bacon, but I’m sure I made better decisions with the information I was digesting.

My flying takes me into areas with less weather reporting and no radar these days, so I don’t pay for the subscription anymore. I pickup weather on my iPad via cellular data when I can. With more experience, I’m less reliant on it also, but still recommend some sort of device. ADS-B, XM, or cellular data. As applicable.

Really like having this in the plane. 8 years now and worth every penny IMO
https://www.spidertracks.com/
Also a big fan of the sat phone
https://www.iridium.com/products/iridium-extreme/

A tablet with ForeFlight or Garmin Pilot installed offers fantastic tools that elevate a pilots situational awareness significantly for a very reasonable cost.

There are heaps of Components that offer a wide variety of mounting options available.

Get one with cellular service and you might be able to look at mountain webcams while en route.

Add an ADS-B receiver like the stratus and now you get traffic on the screen, satellite weather and AHRS driven backup attitude information in the event of inadvertent IMC encounter.

One can also install the software on a smart phone as well for redundancy.

This technology has changed the game. About the best value of any aviation related purchases that I have made.

My safety improvements on my 1978 stock -18 are starting out fairly low tech. I replaced the seat belts with inertia reels as my rear shoulder harness was frayed and worthless as mounted. My next investment will be LED lights so I can been seen, likely followed by a helmet. Perhaps at some point I’ll get a glass panel/iPad mount, but for now my older GPS does the job.

#1 in my book is LED lights and wig wag. Makes one so much easier to spot. Recent events brought me to add this but it should have been done long ago.

All the gadgets add to easing the work load when it comes to figuring out where you are and where you want to go. Keeping your eyes outside the plane add the biggest margin of safety.

• ADS-B – It’s incredible how many decisions on altitude or direction I have made because of what the fish finder shows, even though I cannot spot the other aircraft.
• 4 point harnesses – hope I never need their true value, but in a crash it is imperative to keep your head from hitting the panel.
• Fuel totalizer – I have a Shadin, but I’ve previously had the EI in another aircraft. Flying a big bore Continental, it is critical to know your fuel consumption rate and what’s left in your tanks. Just take the time to get used to it and verify the numbers.
• 6 channel engine monitor so I can properly manage CHTs and not cook a cylinder.
• GPS – no more excuses for not knowing where you are.

Sheets.google.com

Helps find different CG, GTOW, Zero Fuel, Weight etc.. Then quickly factor DA performance and various V speeds.

It’s free on the iPAD, Android. Formulas not included (but easy to enter)!

I will second or third the Garmin Inreach. There was a post recently about the response time to an SOS call being around 90 minutes. The ability communicate two way is also an incredible feature. I recently returned from a trip to Idaho and left my Inreach in my friend's 182. It was good to get the unit back into the plane - makes me feel like I have an immediate lifeline.



Josh

I hope you all don't become overly reliant on the latest technology to keep you alive. Good, safe, tried and true flying habits, like those espoused by MTV in the Don't Get Iced thread, will go a lot further in keeping you alive than reliance on an electronic gizmo.

I've read the entire thread. I haven't seen a single post recommending abandonment of good, safe, tried and true flying habits. Neither have I seen anyone recommending becoming overly-reliant on technology, or recommending "reliance on those gizmos" to the exclusion of all else. What I have read is PIREPS from pilots who have taken the time to assimilate the new technology into their "good, safe, tried and true flying habits," and have benefitted from those new technologies in ways that must be unfathomable to those who are frightened by them...

This isn't a new phenomenon. When A-N ranges came along, I'm sure Orville and Wilber had discussions about how listening to all that beeping would probably cause some pilot to crash into a mountain because they were so distracted by it... And God help us when VORs came along, and we had to "stop flying the plane" to listen for the identifier of the station we tuned...

Even things that we "assume" every pilot knows and can handle are just absolute "freak-outs" for some folks... I know a guy who can't stand to talk to ATC or use the radio in his plane at all. He plans all his flights to avoid any Class B, C, or D airspace. He refuses to use the radio at non-tower airfields – preferring to "see and avoid" rather than becoming "overly reliant on the technology." Not too long ago, he had to fly to a towered airport in order to deliver the airplane he was selling to the new owner. After he landed and taxied to parking, he was shaking so badly that he had to sit in the plane for about 10 minutes before his legs would work well enough to climb out. Does anyone believe he is really "safer" because he eschews technology?

I would submit that if some form of new technology makes you uncomfortable as a pilot, or if you feel it is distracting you from "good, safe, tried and true flying habits," then you need to obtain ground and flight instruction from a CFI who is familiar with that technology. Spend some time learning it, so that its usage becomes second nature to you. That way, you can obtain the benefits the new technology offers, even while you maintain those "good, safe, tried and true flying habits" that are so essential to ALL pilots.

Johntoo wrote:I hope you all don't become overly reliant on the latest technology to keep you alive. Good, safe, tried and true flying habits, like those espoused by MTV in the Don't Get Iced thread, will go a lot further in keeping you alive than reliance on an electronic gizmo.

Idk, personally I spray painted by windshield black to keep the sun out once I got terrain and traffic on my GPS. I mean, who needs to look outside?