Tue, Jan 17, 2012
Checkride Passed And Certification Granted January 11
Aspen CEO John Uczekaj writes in his blog Monday that he is the
proud holder of an instrument rating to tack on to his PPL. Uczekaj
(pictured) writes that he received the rating on January
11th.
From his blog:
"I did all of my flying in my
3-display Aspen DA40 and really got to put myself and the system
through its paces. I also made heavy use of my iPad during my
training. All of my instrument training was in the Southwest
primarily in the Albuquerque area where, as you all know, is
surrounded by mountains and high altitude terrain. The combination
of the availability of Nav Map, synthetic vision,
geo-referenced approach charts, redundancy, ease of use and
flexibility of how to display the information on a 3-display Aspen
system really gives the safety and situational awareness to safely
fly instrument procedures in the heaviest workload
situations.
"I believe the key to this is to have a plan laid out in how to
configure the displays and use them in both normal and emergency
situations. That way, when you are flying, you can transition to
the different displays quickly when you need them.
"Having the MFD1000 installed to provide full redundancy for the
AHRS, and air data information as well as the battery backup, is
critical when the need arises. I also think that having the AHRS
and air data information in one of the small windows of the MFD
when flying in normal configuration to crosscheck provides a
continuous redundant check on what I am flying so I can detect any
anomaly early is a real plus.
"During my training, I used the iPad to brief my approaches, but
used the geo-referenced charts on the Aspen while I flew the
procedures. I believe strongly that the ability to have a
geo-referenced chart and nav map in my primary view lessens my
workload when flying instrument approaches. It also provides a
backup to the iPad.
"For example, during my instrument checkride, I had briefed the
RNAV 22 at Double Eagle Airport on the iPad. As I was transitioning
into the approach, I wanted to double check my minimums as we were
doing a circle-to-land approach and I wanted to make sure I had
entered the right minimum altitude into the PFD. Unfortunately the
display on the iPad locked up and I could not see the minimums. I
was able to quickly look up at the Aspen to get the data instead of
having to reset or figure out what I had done to the iPad. The
redundancy aspects within the Aspen and with other devices and
sensors increase my safety and confidence in flying.
"I would be very interested in hearing how others are using the
Aspens in instrument conditions and flying scenarios. While I am
not quite “ready” to go flying in the clouds right now,
I will continue to gain confidence through practicing in simulated
conditions until the time comes. Please share with us your
experiences with using the Aspen in your instrument flying, so we
can all become safer and more aware pilots."
Congratulations, John. Here's to many happy years of flying in
the clouds.
More News
Very High Frequency The frequency band between 30 and 300 MHz. Portions of this band, 108 to 118 MHz, are used for certain NAVAIDs; 118 to 136 MHz are used for civil air/ground voi>[...]
Aero Linx: Aviation Suppliers Association Established February 25, 1993, the Aviation Suppliers Association (ASA), based in Washington, D.C., is a not-for-profit association, repre>[...]
Have A Story That NEEDS To Be Featured On Aero-News? Here’s How To Submit A Story To Our Team Some of the greatest new stories ANN has ever covered have been submitted by our>[...]
From 2021 (YouTube Version): Colorado Campus Offers aVariety Of Aerospace Entertainment And Education Wings over the Rockies Exploration of Flight is the second location for the Wi>[...]
Also: Paramotor Champ's, Electric Ultralight, ICON BK Update, Burt Rutan at Oshkosh! The Popular Rotorcraft Association is reaching out for help in rebuilding their private runway >[...]