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Date: Mon, 23 Nov 1998 07:44:36 -0600
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Subject: Re: Cross-countries- finding an unfamiliar airport
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rraport@courant.infi.net wrote:
 
> I'm getting close to my cross-coumtry solos.  I find that locating an
> unfamiliar airport at night is usually fairly easy, just look for the
> beacon (yes I know, it's not always that simple).

Hmmm, actually I find in urban areas the airport, and even the 
beacon, are often "hidden" against the background of many, much
brighter, lights.

> But how do do locate an unfamiliar airport during the day,
> particularly in an urban area with allot of background clutter?  Even
> if my navigating and the forecast winds are accurate and bring me to
> within a couple miles, it is easy to miss the airport.

Well, to start with, I look for patterns on the chart.  Where
is the airport relative to the town? SE?  Where is it relative
to other major landmarks (road, river)?  If you know the airport
is E of the main N-S road into town, and S of the town, you
just head for those landmarks.  When you get there, the airport
will show up.

As you're closer, hangars and ramps are often easier to spot from
the air than runways IME, esp. if they're small narrow runways
surrounded by trees.  Look for a row (rows) of long narrow buildings
and a chunk of pavement (ramp).

I always plan to cross an unfamiliar airport at TPA+500-1000 ft
so I can a) confirm it's really the runway b) have plenty of time
to orient myself, check out the windsock, scan for other traffic
etc.

Especially if you descend towards pattern altitude + 500 as you
approach, you often won't see the runway itself until you're 
quite close, but if you head for the patterns of landmarks your
chart shows as surrounding the airport, it'll be there.

I also find it useful to draw a chart of the airport with a great
big arrow pointing to the airport from the direction I'll be
approaching.  Even though I can say "it's a n-s runway and I'll
be approaching from the NE", actually drawing it out seems to
help make some connection in my mind.

Have you ever gone airport-hopping with your CFI?  Great exercise
if not, night and day.  Find an area w/ lots of small airports.
Might be a few miles away, if one is >50 and you can call it an
XC, so much the better.  Fly there and land at every one, 6 or
7 airports in a flight.  Plenty of practice spotting airports,
making the proper radio calls, entering the pattern from different
directions.  If the airports vary from 30x2000 to 150x5000 runways,
so much the better.

Snowbird


