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End Of Airport Towers


gbigs

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I'm sure the future will bring some great technology...

 

On many of the aviation boards there is a sentiment by some to resist the new materials, avionics, nav systems and safety ideas.  The controversy surrounding the parachute is a good example.  But the tech still comes and it will revolutionize GA over time...  

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Not saying you are among the guys I am referring to, but the aversion to technology by older pilots is disturbing...  On many of the aviation boards there is a definite sentiment from many high time pilots (who also insist that the younger guys) resist the new materials, avionics, nav systems and safety ideas.

 The older, more experienced than you are simply saying that the older technology is still a lot of fun and not obsolete.  You don't need glass panel, GPS, and parachutes to fly safely.  I haven't seen anyone post anything indicating aversion to new technology.  Most of us are flying LSA fully equipped as is your's.  The parachute is about the only thing that many LSA do not have.  Why are you ALWAYS dissing everybody?  

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I'm sure the future will bring some great technology but I'm sure glad I lived where I lived and when I lived. Not that I'm through living yet! :thumbs_up-3334:

When I first started flying across the North Atlantic in modern EFIS equipped heavy airliners we still had to communicate with Gander and Shanwick using crackly and scratchy HF radios. Really old technology although sometimes I could chat with ham radio operators all over the USA!

Now it's all done satellite technology with automatic position reports using ACARS.

 

We used to use the 'latest thing' in navigation IRS!! Now that's old tech and sophisticated GPS driven flight management systems perform really well.

 

The Dynon Skyview I have in my LSA is more advanced in many ways than the airliners I first flew starting out at the airline.

My first airplane was a 1940 DH Tiger Moth with no starter, electrical system or a radio. It was an easy airplane to fly though difficult to fly well.

Now my LSA has a touch screen, autopilot, ADSB, traffic alerts, radio and many other features not even imagined then. No round gauges and the EFIS requires software updates!

 

We've come a long way and the technology is amazing.

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On many of the aviation boards there is a sentiment by some to resist the new materials, avionics, nav systems and safety ideas.  The controversy surrounding the parachute is a good example.  But the tech still comes and it will revolutionize GA over time...

Can you give some examples of what you're trying to say?

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I learned to fly in a Champ 7FC Tri-Traveler with a coffee grinder nav-com and a few crystals for transmitting frequencies.  I was able to get a Private at age 17 in that thing with 44 hours including an FAA flight test.  The first airplane I owned was a 1961 Piper Colt with 108 hp Lycoming.  Other than the antiquated avionics, it was very similiar to flying today's LSA.  I loved that plane.

 

I would love to have a parachute in the 5 LSA I RENT and fly, but none of them do.  That doesn't make them unsafe or death traps, especially since I'm not flying at night or over the ocean.  As far as avionics, the 2 Remos I fly are equipped the same as most of the CT's here.  The 3 SkyCatchers all have dual screen Garmin G300's.  I use an IPad Mini 3 (Mini 4 in the mail) and SkyGuard ADS-B in/out transceiver for weather and traffic.  I recently sent my SkyGuard back to Don and had it upgraded for the new FAA 2016 requirements (new WAAS GPS and SIL>0).  If I don't own a plane by 2020, all the rentals I fly will have ADS-B in/out installed.

 

That said, I recently flew 5 hours in a J3 with no electrical and no radios.  It had little more than needle, ball, airspeed, altimeter, tachometer, oil pressure, and oil temp.  It was great fun and very safe.  Got my seaplane endorsement.

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Admittedly, much of the tech is really cool. My "pinnacle" was my 2003 Cirrus with BRS, anti-ice, Avidyne PFD/MFD, dual 430's, STEC autopilot, Skywatch traffic and so on.

 

Wonderful traveling machine.

 

IF everything was working right. Every extra item is another thing to malfunction and update - the more stuff you have the more things you have that can fail.

 

There's a certain pleasure in NOT having stuff - with my Sky Arrow I never have to worry about updating much of anything (other than the 496 annually), have no autopilot or traffic issues, just the basics.

 

And the basics are everything a Sport Pilot needs to navigate successfully from Point A to Point B - extra screens really don't add that much - my 496 keeps me on the magenta line just fine.

 

Over on the Cirrus Owner's site, an awful lot of the threads are about people chasing down problems of one sort or another. If 100Hamburger or CTLSi or Loxabagels or gbigs or whoever is still dreaming of or working towards a pressurized Lancair, it will undoubtedly be an introduction to the downside of complexity. Great when it all works, not so much when it doesn't. And without the right attitude, it can put one right off flying altogether.

 

For now, for me, less it more. I respect others may feel differently, and that's fine.

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