In my recent trolling, I know I saw some pilots on PriusChat... Just wanted to give a shout out and show off the new toy that came in today, a Garmin Aera 500. errrm....I would link a picture, but the msg board won't let noobs link site/pics right away. I'm obviously going to use this in the plane exclusively, even though it's road-ready. (I might turn it on going to the airport just for fun though) Anyhow, blue skies and tailwinds, mi amigos! lane:
Welcome to Prius Chat Chale, from a former (like 44 years ago!) student pilot. Here's a pic I found of the Aera 500.
I'm actually almost done with studying for my private license, so I can tell you that we still have to learn how to use VORs and NDBs(!!!). Only a perfunctory knowledge of how GPS works is required for the test, even though you'd be a little foolish to not use it if at all possible. I just flew a 70nm trip from Long Island to Poughkeepsie as a solo student flight on Sunday. As my GPS came in the mail today, I had to do the navigation using only VORs and whatever help the sectional chart could give me in the way of landmarks. (Though since it was a hazy day it turned out to be not much help at all...)
coolio .. my neighbor is lead designer in the avionics department at GARMIN - infact I am 3 miles from Garmin HQ + 1 mile from Johnson County Executive Airport - where they test all this stuff ... this is Garmin country ... and Sprint ...
This is so funny. When I was learning in a Piper Colt the Narco Superhomer with whistle stop tuning was the cats nice person!
I remember drawing wind triangles with pencil, paper, and a protractor! Hand-held calculators did not exist yet, and even in science fiction, computers were the size of a room. Dick Tracey had been using a wrist radio in the comics for decades, but not even in the comics had anyone imagined a hand-held calculator or desktop computer.
Brings back great memories. I got my ticket in 1986 and I bought a C152 that I kept at ISP. I leased it back to a flying school so I could get a little revenue to pay for my air time. I need to get current as I sold the plane a number of years ago. I think renting makes much more sense especially if you don't fly too often. My Xcountry was ISP-->ALB--->Somewhere in MASS (I forgot) and then back to ISP. I miss it
I haven't gone down that road, so to speak, but put myself in a "vague wannabe" class WRT flying and fervently wish that the same thoroughness of training and licensing criteria would also apply to motor vehicle drivers on the public ways. A pilot that screws around or "tailgates" in traffic patterns would lose his ticket within seconds of touching down, and we need that sort of thinking on the roads... . _H*
Wow I fly out of ISP as well... I belong to a flying club called GACE. My buddy did the same XC route that you did. Who knows maybe you have the same CFI?? I have a night XC with my instructor on Thursday to Westery State in RI. (KWST) I think my long XC will be ISP-POU-GON-ISP. Man it's cool to have someone who knows this crazy airspace on these boards!
