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Greg: Thanks for your concern and your points are all valid. I'm sure there are a lot of pilots who would have said "no" to that flight. The go/no go decision has been a critical part of flying since Kitty Hawk. I know I get emotional about my flying experiences because I do love it so much, but I do respect the dangers of the air. I've been a Aircrewman/Sensor Operator in the Navy for over 20 years with over 3,500 hours in S-3s and P-3s. I have been close to death a number of times in the hands of other pilots who made bad decisions or got overwhelmed trying to land on the carrier at night in bad weather. I evaluate the risks of every flight I make as a VFR pilot. My "decision matrix" for this flight went something like this: -Although I hadn't done a night cross-country in some time, I had flown that route many times before 1996-1999 and was very familiar with it. I had also flown a portion of the route the day prior, working with SoCal for flight following. If it was clear enough, I'd have no problem picking out the landmarks. -"Severe clear" weather and light winds were forecast for that night and the next couple of days. I've flown that route in smog and haze and visibility of 3 miles. Had that been the case that night, I wouldn't have gone. Also, I decided before take-off that if the vis deteriorated around LAX and Santa Monica en route, I would have turned around. SoCal gave me updated weather when I was about halfway and it was good. -I did swing my wet compass on a compass rose after taking delivery of 413 and the cardinal headings were +/- 5-8 degrees. I have the little card with the correct headings. I had never been directed by controllers to fly a specific heading though, so I was hoping (praying) that the intercardinal headings they were giving me would be accurate enough. They were. -I do have an electric turn and bank (not the needle type) to level the wings but there was never a time when I didn't have a bright, clear horizon to reference. When I did get that moment of disorientation it came when I was head down for a moment, I immediately recognized it and referenced a huge horizon of orange and black. The same thing could happen in the daytime. -I also considered the worst-case scenario of an engine failure at night. Fortunately, there are miles and miles of empty beach along that route and lots of airports. I'd also be up SoCal for the entire flight if I got into trouble. -My GPS failure: The same thing happened the day prior when I flew another cross-country up the coast. The GPS died enroute. I am determined not to rely on the GPS since it can (and did) fail. I ALWAYS plan for the worst case and prepare a detailed Dead Reckoning plan with prominent landmarks as checkpoints. When the GPS is working, I compare my headings and groundspeeds with my DR plan and use that info to update my winds aloft. The combination of GPS, DR and pilotage works well for me and gives me a fall-back plan if the GPS dies. I'm convinced that too many VFR pilots now rely on the GPS to the point they won't go without it and a spare no matter the conditions. If it fails, they are lost in a matter of minutes. Neglecting the time-honored VFR charts, DR and Pilotage as valid navigation methods is bad form to me. I notice with no GPS, I am definitely looking a lot more out of the cockpit and am completly in tune with where I am and the landmarks that are depicted on the charts. With my Ercoupe, there are times when I enjoy the complete "Classic" flying experience. Classic plane + classic navigation = challenge and fun. Ultimately, there are risks every time we pull the starter. Day or night, in the pattern or cross-country. With a good plane, good weather, recent experience and a good plan the risks are manageable. Tim ========================================================================== ==== To leave this forum go to: http://ercoupers.com/lists.htm Search the archives on http://escribe.com/aviation/coupers/
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