Re: A Commercial Airline Captains Answers on GPS

From: Hans-Georg Michna (hans-georgNoEmailPlease_at_michna.com)
Date: 12/22/04 

Date: Wed, 22 Dec 2004 11:58:41 +0100

On 21 Dec 2004 17:26:24 -0800, "Mike R." <mikebrianus@yahoo.com>
wrote:

>I agree with you. Currently GPS is not very critical to navigation
>safety. Even for terrain avoidance, while GPS is the position source of
>choice, the FAA does not require GPS for terrain avoidance on
>airliners.

Mike,

fundamentally you are right. However, GPS is so terribly
convenient, compared to older navigation methods, that many
people will, in practice, depend on it a lot. Over time they
will lose proficiency in the older, more complicated methods.

Imagine getting used to looking at your GPS screen and seeing
all the mountains and obstacles around you, higher ground
colored red, lower green, even though you're flying in thick
fog. Now imagine somebody switching this screen off. Now you
will have a distinct feeling of blindness. You can still
navigate using VOR/DME or some such, but one difference is that
just one small error can mean one last controlled flight into
terrain experience.

We may have to make a distinction between theory and practice.

Hans-Georg 

-- 
No mail, please.

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