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Date: Thu, 08 Oct 1998 20:22:22 -0500
From: Snowbird <snbird@ibm.net>
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Subject: Re: lost procedures
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mike hahn wrote:

> Someone at my flight school told me the examiner
> there likes to test students on their lost procedures
> during the checkride. My instructor has never covered lost
> procedures with me. I wonder what should I be expected to
> demonstrate with regards to this subject on my checkride?

If you've done your solo cross-countries, my guess is that
your CFI *has* covered "lost procedures" with you -- they
just didn't call them that.

What would you do if you were lost?  Hopefully not fly around
in a daze until you run out of fuel.

Four basic concepts, from the simplest required technology on:
1) always keep the "big picture" of where you are in your mind--
   what major bodies of water, rivers, interstate highways etc
   bound your route.  there are some remote regions of the country
   where this won't work, but typically if all else fails you should
be    able to say to yourself something like "well, I know I'm south
of       I70 and E of the airport, so if I fly N until I find it then
turn 
   W I know I can follow it home.  Requires no equipment beyond one
   plane and one thinking pilot with positional awareness.
2) use ded reckoning to define an approximate position from your last
   known location, measure out that distance and draw an arc on the
   chart, then start looking for landmarks.  Three tricks: know your
   plane's speed in nm/min for quick time/distance calculations; 
   measure your hands (thumb, forefinger, palm) for quick distance
   estimates off the chart; always look for a *pattern* of landmarks,
   preferrably three.  Requires that you have a chart.
3) Call for help.  Ask Approach or Center if you've got flight   
following or know the frequency; ask Flight Watch at 122.0 or 
   Flight Service (know how to contact them using VORs), who can
   either find you using direction finding equipment (now rare in
   some parts)  or give you the appropriate ATC frequency if 
   necessary.  ATC will issue you a transponder code and ask you
   to "ident".  Requires that you have a radio, and that you're 
   at an altitude permitting radio reception; may also require
   transponder.
4) Determine your position using VORs.  Tune in one VOR and ident.
   Center the needle with a "FROM" reading.  The number at the top
   of the OBS is the radial you're on.  Draw a line out from
   the VOR along that radial.  Now, repeat with a second VOR. 
   You're where the lines intersect.  This method requires a
   chart, a working NAV radio, and the ability to receive two VORs.

If you can only receive one VOR, you can approximate your distance
from that VOR.  Better to read a description of this, then try it.
There's a description in Gene Whitt's material and also in the FAA's
Instrument Training Handbook.  Basically, it's done by centering the
needle with a "TO" indication, then turning to that heading to fly
towards the VOR.  Now turn 90 degrees left, advance the OBS 10 degrees
(or turn right, and subtract 10 degrees), and time how many seconds it
takes the needle to center.  Drop the last digit of the seconds --
that's your time in minutes from the VOR (multiply by your speed in
nm/min to get distance from VOR).  This ignores wind, but it's a good
trick to have up your sleeve.

My favorite method is 1) followed by 2), but it's fun to use the
VORs as a backup cross-check on position while flying cross country.

Hope this helps,
Snowbird

