Cockpit Organization

The last post was for fun, but we'll get serious now.

As the title in the last post, cockpit organization is a science and art. It's a fundamental subject to look at and analize so we can set our material in the cockpit where everything's reachable and efficiently positioned for quick reference. Organizing the cockpit can get to a point where the amount of stuff you have is just too much, or on the contrary, insufficient. The goal of cockpit organization is to have all the information needed for the flight within reach and for quick reference, to avoid task overloads and without falling behind the curve.

What's needed for a particular flight depends on the type of flight. VFR or IFR, local or cross-country, VFR and then IFR, or viceversa, and day or night. Flying VFR requires the least amount of stuff in the cockpit, increasing when flying IFR or knowing you'll fly VFR and the weather will deteriorate.

As we can see, the first and most important factor in determining what to put in the flight bag is weather. That's why checking the weather before leaving home will be always a good thing to do. Especially when not instrument rated. There are many variables of how a pilot can arrange everything in the cockpit. It can be by using only an iPad; a mix of a kneeboard with sheets to write on, an iPad for the terminal procedure charts and an en-route paper chart; or using only paper charts. There's always an option of using Jeppesen paper charts (which are unbounded), or using the AeroNav paper charts bounded or unbounded.

Another good thing to think of, is backups. Regardless of the airplane, its instruments and equipment (FMS, GPS, integrated EFB, etc.), or when using a tablet as EFB, having backup (paper) charts and other navigation material is always a good idea.

We must understand airplanes and equipment fail. Think about this scenario for a moment: You're flying a state-of-the-art Cirrus SR-22 IFR at night with only an iPad on your upper leg. You then get a total electrical failure and your iPad battery is low, because you were showing funny youtube vids to your friends in the dinner restaurant. You were charging it with the airplane's electrical power, but now it's out. You were only relying on your iPad as your information reference tool. You didn't bring a backup (paper charts, for example). It's IMC. What now?

That might have been too exagerating, but as a wise saying: Prepare for the worst, hope for the best. Bringing only an iPad without backups is also not a good idea. By the way, if your examiner sees you're using only an iPad, he asks you whether you have paper backups, and you say "no", your checkride will be over.

What I do is to bring and arrange the stuff I need for the flight to achieve a good level of efficiency and optimization, without compromising backup stuff, and without spending too much. It's a science and art, you know.

So, let's begin with what I put in my flight bag. First, I decide what bag to take. I have a backpack and a Jeppesen Navigator flight bag. I normally use the flightbag for long cross-countries, and the backpack for local flights and short cross-countries. That also makes me think: What about when flying with passengers and not being able to put my bag on the back seats? My instructor has a handbag-like bag with enough space for headsets, a fuel tester, flashlights, a logbook, charts and other stuff. it looks handy, and it would be great if you can put it on the floor, below your legs, in front of the seat. that would be totally cool. Since I'm instrument rated, I bring both VFR and IFR enroute and terminal charts. As I wrote, you can always find yourself departing VFR or IFR, and arriving VFR or IFR. That's why it's good to bring your VFR and IFR stuff. I also use a digital wrist watch. Here's the list:

The Airport/Facility Directory.*

The IFR low en-route and the VFR sectional charts for the route to be flown.*

The terminal procedures booklet.*

My iPad mini.

The airplane's information manual.*

My IFR and VFR kneeboards (Yes, both) with the route's navlog in, a small IFR and VFR plotter, my custom-made briefings checklist, a pen and two pencils in them. And last but not least, my E6-B flight computer.

A small notebook for the sheets I use to write on the kneeboard.

My FAR/AIM.*

Documentation I might need.

My logbook.*

A water bottle.

My headsets.

My sunglasses and my 'must have available glasses for flight'.

My camera.

In the front pocket: The normal-size VFR plotter, pens and pencils, a flashlight, a timer, my small scanner, a fuel tester, post-it notes, and that's basically it.

In one of the back pockets: Napkins to clean stuff. Usually from fast-food restaurants or restrooms.

Now, how do I actually arrange everything in the cockpit? I call it "the nest". Let's start with an IFR flight in the night, which is also the set-up I use for an IFR flight with predominant IFR conditions.

First, with my flashlight attached to my ear, and seated on the co-pilot seat (in case it's a Piper), I take my headsets, kneeboards and the en-route charts from the bag I put on the right seat in the rear. After strapping myself in, I put the IFR kneeboard on my left upper leg, the VFR kneeboard on my right upper leg, I fold the VFR sectional chart for the area I'll be flying over and put it between the 'wall' and the seat. I fold the IFR en-route chart and secure it on the IFR kneeboard. I usually have another chart that I might use in the space between the fabric and the metal tablet of the kneeboard.

The reason for securing everything in two kneeboards is because I don't want to be moving around when flying in IMC manually. It's much better to have everything accesible right in front of you, or somewhere where you need little arm and head movement, than having everything spreaded in the whole cabin.

When not using the iPad mini, I use the AeroNav terminal charts. When using the unbounded AeroNav or Jeppesen charts, I take the departure airport charts out and attach them to the yoke clip. Those would be: the airport diagram, the departure procedure and the approach chart. When cruising, I put them back in and take the arrival airport charts: Approach chart and airport diagram. It's also a good idea to use unbounded charts to get used to airline operations. Many are using iPads nowadays, though.

Set-up of an IFR flight with predominant IFR conditions

When flying IFR in the day and the weather is mostly VFR, I use the VFR kneeboard to write. I fold and put the IFR en-route chart on my left upper-leg and put the bounded charts on it. The checklist is in the small bag of the Piper's 'wall' next to my left knee and the VFR sectional chart is between my left leg and the 'wall' of the airplane.

Set-up of an IFR flight with predominant VFR conditions

I decide whether to use the bounded or unbounded AeroNav charts based on the predominant weather conditions. If it's IMC in the en-route part and in the destination or arrival airport, I use the unbounded charts and attach them on the yoke clip. The reason for that is because I like to have the charts just below the instrument six-pack, instead of having them on my left upper-leg, requiring more head movement to read the chart. It's relative, but when flying without autopilot in IMC it is very important to concentrate on flying and navigating. The less head movement, the better.
When flying IFR and it's VMC, I use the bounded charts and put them on the IFR en-route chart, which is on my left upper-leg.

Why do I take the VFR sectional chart out when flying IFR? In case I cancel IFR and continue visual, and in case I have an engine failure or total electrical failure at night, I have the VFR sectional ready to look where the mountainous area is to avoid it and fly to VMC, and/or to find a good field or airport for an emergency landing.

When using the iPad mini, I put it either in the middle of the yoke by attaching it to a RAM mount, or I put it on the IFR kneeboard. What's it for? For the terminal procedures charts and other documents.

What about the checklist? I put it in the side pocket of the plane and take it out when needed.

What about a VFR flight? If it's a local 'for-the-fun-of-it' or a training flight, I use my VFR kneeboard on my right upper leg and put the terminal/sectional chart of the area I'm going to fly in on my left upper leg. For a cross country flight, I fold the navigation log in a way that shows the most important information and allows me to write on it comfortably.

VFR cross-country flight from Henderson (Las Vegas) to Montgomery Field (San Diego). When flying solo, I secure the chart on the right seat.

Here's the issue I find on using the iPad with ForeFlight (to mention a flight app):

The wifi-only, 16Gb iPad costs $360 with taxes included. That's a one-time investment, though. The ForeFlight Basic subscription is $74.99 per year. That, plus the paper backup charts you'll have to buy.  In a year you'll need 6 A/FDs ($25.5), 6 TPPs ($28.5), 2 VFR sectional charts ($14.4), 6 IFR low en-route charts ($25.2), and 6 VFR terminal charts, depending on location, ($29.7). That would be about $124 plus taxes per year for paper charts in only on state.

Personally, I'm an old-school kind of guy, so I prefer using paper charts. They don't need battery, you can use them as sun covers, you can write stuff on them, but if you're thinking about saving paper and being more environmental friendly, then the iPad is a great tool. I think the best thing a pilot can do is finding the balance between paper charts and using an iPad, without investing too much money.

Would I fly using only the iPad? No. I'd feel naked if I did that. Is the iPad reliable? Yes. It's not FAA-approved for nothing. I'm someone who is strongly aware of what could happen if the power goes out and it brings a peace of mind when knowing you bring paper charts with you. I know it's not cost-efficient to buy paper charts, but I prefer thinking on the safe side. So, for me the solution is to download a custom-made bundle from www.chartbundle.com of the A/FD and TERPs, and open it in eBooks. That way I can do a pretty good mix of paper and electronics, without having to buy a $74.99 suscription every year.

Now check the list items marked with an asterisk. All of that can be in an electronical format in the iPad and it would save you energy to carry all that extra weight and you would also save fuel (relatively).

I've read some pilots are using only the iPad, or doing a mix as I do. Some pilots don't bring anything at all for local flights or aerobatics. If they have to write something, they write it on the bare skin of the upper leg! Everybody has to find their own system of organizing their nest. As I wrote, there are many variables that one can think of, but the goal is clear: It's all about being organized and having all available information concerning that flight, as Part 91.103 states:

Preflight action.

Each pilot in command shall, before beginning the flight, become familiar with all available information concerning that flight.

And of course, having it with you in the flight!

It's still something good to talk about in the hangar.

The Art of Cockpit Organization

Some pilots use paper charts.

Some pilots use iPads.

Some pilots carry everything with their hands (and their charts fly away).

Some pilots use big flight bags weighing more than 30 pounds full of stuff from the whole course.

Some pilots like velcro and fill the cabin with it.

Some pilots like bringing massive amounts of pens and pencils.

Some pilots use pens.

Some pilots use pencils (and some even use mechanical ones!).

Some pilots use AeroNav charts.

Some pilots use Jeppesen charts.

Some pilots use a kneeboard.

Some pilots use two kneeboards!

Some pilots don't use GPS.

Some pilots use the airplane's GPS, a handheld, and the iPad's GPS!

Some pilots use the manufacturer's checklist.

Some pilots use their own checklists.

Some pilots develop flows and use the checklist thereafter.

Some pilots don't use checklists!

Some pilots lack of charts and material.

Some pilots like bringing backups of everything and fill every cabin pocket so it's easily reachable.

Some pilots arrange their stuff nicely and orderly (even have an obsessive-compulsive behaviour).

Some pilots make the term 'cockpit organization' an oxymoron.

Some pilots like writing everything on their kneeboards.

Some pilots write on their upper leg.

Some pilots don't even write anything!

Some pilots bring the sufficient stuff necessary for that flight.

Some pilots don't bring anything at all.

Montgomery Fields Forever

The alarm goes off. It's 8 o'clock in the morning. I open the window curtains and I see a gray cloud layer all over the city. Sure is chilly outside. I let the water flow in the sink and wash my face with the cold water. I then go to the kitchen and turn my laptop on. That's usually the first thing I do when preparing breakfast. The start-up takes a while, so I turn the oven on and set it on 350ºF to bake the bread roll for breakfast. I take the orange juice, the ham, butter and an apple from the fridge. There are still many eggs in the fridge, so I'll make some scrambled eggs for tomorrow's breakfast. The Nutella is in the overhead cabinet, almost empty. The oven clicks when the temperature reaches the selected setting. I put the bread rolls in and set 7 minutes on the timer.
My laptop is up and running, so I enter Firefox to check the weather. Typical winter weather in San Diego: The marine layer covering from Point Loma to El Cajon to Carlsbad. It's good to be instrument rated in case the layer persists after noon. I planned a VFR cross country flight to Long Beach the night before. The weather report doesn't help for a VFR departure, but the forecast looks promising. I'm sure the layer will dissipate by 10 or 11 o'clock. The weather's good in the Long Beach area. The bread is ready so I put it on a plate and return to the table. I notice a bed-movement noise in my roommate's room. Maybe he's awake. He usually plays late at night and sleeps 'till noon. That's when he has nothing to do, though. Sometimes his instructor tells him to be at the flight school at 7 o'clock for the lesson. My flight instructor is not a morning person, so he usually tells me to be there at 10 or 11 o'clock. I'm his only student for the most time, so we have two lessons per day. A mix of groundschool and then a flight, or two flights, or a whole day of groundschool.

I put a Big Bang Theory channel on Veetle while eating. I'm a slow eater, so I always put something to watch at while having breakfast or dinner. My roommate comes out of his room. "Que pasó muchachooo" is my typical greeting. He's not flying today, but has a ground lesson later in the day.
I put the plate, glass, etc. in the washmachine and go to my room to get ready. No need to shower, I did the night before. It's good that students are not required to wear a uniform in this school. I can understand that when attending a cool flight academy and when already working, but this is just a normal local flight school.

I make sure everything's packed in my bag. Charts up-to-date, headsets, laptop, kneeboard, water bottle... I take my bike and open the door. We live in the second floor, but the stairs are right there at the entrance. The bike is light, so I never have problems getting out and into the apartment. Riding on Ruffin Road, then turning left onto Aero Dr. Past the public library and looking at the planes taking off and landing on runways 28 left and right. I love to live near the airport. You can hear the planes applying takeoff power from the living room; the Marine Corps from Miramar as well. The sound of the F/A-18s in pattern work is just like hearing the waves from your hotel room at the beach. Pretty relaxing. I normally turn onto John Montgomery Dr. and enter the airport via an entry ramp. Passing through the hangars and the Cirrus airplanes of Coast Flight Training, I arrive at the school. I also like to ride directly to the airplane I intend to fly to check if it has fuel.

I put my bike next to the soda machine and enter the school office. Nobody's at the counter, but I hear jazz and blues coming from Nug's office. He was there, I say good morning and tell him I'm doing a cross-country flight with the Archer. I think he has an idea of who I am, since I've been present in the school many days. He hands me 6365C's binder and I check the times and the page of malfunctions. Everything looks good, so I take my laptop and kneeboard out of my bag and leave them there. I take my bag and binder to the airplane and take the cover (pijamas) off the plane. I always put my bag on the right seat of the back to get my stuff easily. I then seat on the copilot side and compare the numbers showing in the tachometer and hobbs with the ones written in the binder. I connect my headsets and start doing the pre-flight check of the plane. Airplane documents checked, flaps are set, check the fuel indicators with the battery on, turn coordinator with no flag and running smoothly...outside the cockpit I check the flaps, control surfaces, drain some fuel from the tanks and sump from the engine, check the tires, windshield, oil, the prop... all that wonderful stuff.

The plane looks good so I return to the office to get a weather briefing with DUATS. I also look at the satellite pictures to see how the clouds are dissipating and their general movement. I then print the briefings for cross countries (with four pages per sheet, of course) so that I have the weather and NOTAM information readily available in case I must divert or something.

With everything ready and the basic flight preparation stuff done, I say bye to whoever is around. I take my laptop and kneeboard and leave the office. As I walk to the plane, I notice the sky has been clearing out. There are some scattered clouds over the coast, so I'm sure I'll be able to depart westbound along the coast as we usually do.
I pull the chocks out and make a quick check of the plane. Ok, everything still in its place. I get into the Archer and strap myself in, after adjusting the seat. I start building my nest by straping my kneeboard around my leg and unfold/fold the visual chart for the sections I'll be using. I then take my scanner and set the ATIS frequency to copy it. "Montgomery Airport information Delta..." With all that done, I start going through the checklist: Pre-engine start checklist. Flaps up, fuel selector to fullest tank, circuit brakers in, brakes set... "Where are the keys? Oh right, still in the binder" - "Clear prop!" I shout from the storm window and check the area surrounding the plane. My instructor did an excellent job on showing me how to properly start an engine. Around the ramp, one usually hears the cranking of an engine followed by a high acceleration of the engine and then a reduction of power. I always turn my head to the sides when hearing that. It's all about the priming and throttle position, taking into account the temperature of the engine. My engines always start with two or three turns of the prop, followed by a slow rise in RPM, and then adjusting the power to 1000RPM. I love it. It's good for the engine too! Oil pressure in the green and avionics on.

After doing all the before-taxi checklist items, I release the brakes and advance the throttle just a bit to start moving. When starting to move, I test my brakes to a full stop and then start a normal taxi to taxiway India. While taxiing on India I call ground "Montgomery Ground, Cherokee 6365C at India approaching Golf, for westbound departure, with Delta." They give me instructions to taxi to runway 28L via Golf, Hotel and Bravo. Checking the instruments in the turns and when not accelerating, I reach the run-up area of runway 28L.
Before takeoff checklist. Basically checking the flight instruments, flight controls, engine run-up and mags check, appropriate suction and engine indications. I set the GPS with the route, comms and navaid frequencies on the radios and course on the VOR instruments. It's also a good thing to mentally review the procedures in case the engine starts running rough on takeoff and climb, or if something else happens.
"Montgomery Tower, Cherokee 6365C holding short 28L, ready for westbound departure." - "6365C, wind 260 at 8, runway 28L, cleared for takeoff."
I note the time, write it in my sheet of paper on my kneeboard, release the brakes, turn the landing light and transponder on, I start moving to the runway, check final is clear and align the plane on the centerline, while checking the wind cone to position the flight controls for that wind. "Takeoff!" I advance the power smoothly and check for proper setting and engine indications. "Engine on the green, airspeed alive..." I dance on the rudder pedals a bit to remain on the centerline while accelerating down the runway. At 60 knots I start pulling the yoke to establish a lift-off attitude and the Archer breaks free of the ground, still accelerating past 65 knots. I maintain Vx for some time and start dropping the nose to maintain 76 knots, which is Vy.
I climb westbound direct to Mount Soledad and try to reach 4500 feet before getting into the Bravo airspace in the north. It climbs pretty quick with only one person on board and "full" fuel. "65C, frequency change... approved"

Past Mount Soledad reaching 4500 feet, I check my altimeter to verify I was at 4500. It was an unusual altitude at that point, caused by the lighter weight performance and winds. As I requested flight following to Long Beach at 6500 feet with SoCal Approach, I could see the ocean to my left, still covered with some scattered clouds. To my right: Ramona, Encinitas, Palomar Airport as I cruised at 110 knots over the ground with some headwinds.
Not much happens when cruising. Just checking the fuel gauges, changing the tank every 30 minutes, engine indications, listening to the ATC... and enjoying the feeling of being airborne.
Just before flying abeam Orange County I request a practice ILS approach to Long Beach. "Expect vectors for practice ILS runway 30 approach." I already had my terminal procedures booklet with the approach chart ready. I tune the ILS frequency in the nav 1 and 301º on the OBS. Click on the Nav 1 audio switch and waited for the ILS identification code. All of that being part of the standard approach briefing, including listening to the ATIS, reviewing the touchdown zone elevation, tuning the expected frequencies on standby, glideslope intercept altitude, timing from the Final Approach Fix to the Missed Approach Point at 90 knots, minimums and a review of the missed approach procedure.

I'm now getting vectors for the straight-in ILS approach, which I acknowledge "65C, heading 290", "65C, heading 320, descend and maintain 2000, maintain 2000 until established on the localizer and cleared for practice ILS 30 approach".
I complete the descent checklist items and begin reducing my speed to 90 knots before intercepting the localizer. Smooth approach, I must say. I start the time at the FAF as I was already established on the glideslope. Flaps 10. I was then handed off to the tower frequency and they cleared me to land. Before landing checklist complete. "I really like the approach here; nice long concrete runway" I'm thinking. Flaps 25, still on the ILS and managing power and attitude to maintain a nice 3º approach. I ignored the timer, since it is a beautiful day and wanted to enjoy the view. Flaps 40 and final approach speed of 65 knots. Over the runway threshold, I continue my normal approach path and attitude until reaching a nice flaring height. I start pulling the yoke while reducing power smoothly; dancing on the pedals and making horizontal adjustments with the ailerons to keep a nice trajectory to the centerline with the wings level, except when getting a crosswind, I bank the wing to the wind and try to make a smooth touchdown with that wheel. Basic crosswind technique. This wasn't the case, though. The wind is coming right towards me, helping me make a good and soft landing on that runway.
While keeping a good climb attitude and making correct adjustments, the plane touches down on its main wheels first. I like to keep the nosewheel up and flaps down to keep that aerodynamical braking in effect to avoid using brakes. I then start calculating the distance to my exit taxiway, Golf to the right, and begin using brakes to get to a normal taxiing speed and leave the runway. I complete the after landing items and call ground. "65C, requesting taxi for a southbound departure", "65C taxiing to runway 25L via Golf, Charlie, Lima, Juliet, Juliet 1". I taxi and notice a Jetblue A320 at the terminal gate. When at the hold short position, I do a quick magneto and engine indications check. I contact tower and was cleared for takeoff after a Cessna touched down and other two crossed the runway.

With takeoff power and everything on the green, I take off from Long Beach, heading back to Montgomery Field. I start flying direct to the Emmy and Eva Oil Platforms, climbing to 5500 feet. I have to remain clear of the John Wayne class C airspace, since I haven't established flight following with SoCal Approach just yet. I keep flying southbound, climbing to 5500 feet to remain clear of the Charlie.
I then get a sqawk code and am cleared to fly direct Mount Soledad. Just some twists and clicks on the GPS and I'm now flying direct VPSMS, the GPS waypoint name for it. Nothing special in this return flight. I look at the departures from John Wayne Airport. ATC has to restrict their climb because of me. Looks cool to see an airliner fly below you. "Sorry guys" I think to myself for being a disturbance in their climb. Newport Beach, Dana Point... just some miles more to go.

I'm cleared through the San Diego class Bravo airspace at 5500 feet. This is where the fun begins. I then select 126.9 on the comm 2 to listen to the Montgomery ATIS an I copy it on my kneeboard sheet, circling the ATIS identifier letter. Fuel balance's good, the engine's good, speed's good, I'm good.
I'm now instructed to descend to 3500 and I go through the descent checklist. "65C, you're 5 miles from Mount Soledad, radar services terminated, contact Montgomery Tower". I turn my landing light on and switch to tower frequency. I contact them just before reaching Mount Soledad, to which they respond "65C, squawk 0400, make left downwind for runway 28L. Traffic, barnstormer, 5 o'clock 3 miles". I already had the biplane in sight and I start my descent to traffic pattern altitude. The view is perfect. I can see Coronado Bridge, downtown, Miramar and the mountains to the east. Just a couple of feet to lose after passing the Sierra Mesa College. I'm sure they get to hear all the airborne traffic into and out of Montgomery Field.

The plane is starting to move now, but a bit of turbulence only makes things even funner and interesting. With the landing checklist done and at 1400 feet, I get another traffic advisory. A helicopter departing Sharp hospital. In sight and reducing my speed to make a smooth approach from downwind leg, I fly abeam the runway numbers, reduce my power and apply 10º of flaps. "65C, traffic's a Cessna landing on 28R, wind 290 at 6, runway 28L, cleared to land".
45º from the runway, I start my turn to base, flying over Fry's and Wal Mart. Flaps 25 and just a cumple of seconds later, I start my turn to final, adjusting power and attitude to enter a nice final approach path.

Flaps 40 and speed 65 to 70 knots, I bank the wings of the Archer to the wind and apply opposite rudder to maintain the plane's longitudinal axis aligned to the centerline. All while keeping a constant path to the runway and correcting the attitude shifts caused by the wind and turbulence.
2 planes waiting for me to land: A 172 and a yellow Cub. I hope I can make a smooth touchdown to make them do the 'not-bad' face. Just before reaching the threshold, I cut the power and start transitioning to a climb attitude. Holding that attitude and making quick adjustments, I touch down with the mains first and the nosegear milliseconds thereafter. Wasn't a smooth one, but I'm safely on the ground, decelerating with full back pressure on the yoke. "65C, exit left on Golf and contact ground, good day!"

Before landing checklist done and time noted, I contact ground requesting taxi to NAC. "65C, taxi to NAC via G, caution helicopter landing at midfield". I read back and open the storm window to get some fresh air while taxiing to the school. I take a deep breath
The chocks are still where I left them. I calculate the inertia required to enter the parking position without adding more power. I turn to the center, watching both wingtips to avoid the wingtips of the planes on my both sides. I then stop, put the parking brake on and turn the avionics off. Mixture out and the engine shuts down. As soon as the prop stops moving, I turn the mags and master switch off.

With the time noted, I remove my seatbelts and get the binder to enter the hobbs and tach time. "It was a good flight!" I say to myself an I then start packing my nest and my headsets back in my bag. I stretch when already out of the plane, standing on the wing by the door. I take my bag and the binder out and recheck everything's off and nice for the next guy flying it.
With the door closed, I take the cover from the baggage door and throw it on top of the plane.
Following a clockwise walk from the right of the plane, just behind the wing, I secure the rear straps first, and then the front ones. With the chocks on the nose gear, I then take my bag and the binder to the office. I greet everybody and return the binder, telling them everything's fine with the plane.
I check the schedule, so I can fly in the late evening and reserve the plane for me.

After an usual chat with the guys there, I then take my bike and leave. I always try riding hands-free around the ramp, always looking out for cars or other planes coming out of the hangars, of course ;) It's lunch time, so I'll go home and cook something. My teriyaki ala Daniel, maybe. Anyways, I decided to stop by at Christy's Donuts and then go to Learn to Fly San Diego and see whether my roommate was there. Riding home, I began thinking where to fly in the evening. As I looked to my left, a Cessna flying on final to land. I'll let the finger decide where to fly without looking at the chart.

Nothing like flying at Montgomery Fields Forever...

Much needed update

A lot has happened since my last flying-related post!

I'll go chronologically in here. Let's see... My whole experience in San Diego was just GREAT. I have yet to finish my commercial pilot course, but I've been doing some extra stuff that I'll write about next ;)

When I arrived, I started studying all the American regulations and flight operations. I had a good idea of everything, so it wasn't hard to get used to all the flying in there. Not to say the huge difference it makes when you have all the pilot's resources (books, charts, guides...) 6 minutes away from where you live. A friend of a friend gave me his bike, so I continued the European tradition of moving by bike or with public transportation (my friends also had cars, so I didn't totally rely on my bike hehe). It's comfortable and safe to ride your bike in San Diego too! Living just 2 miles away from the flight school in Montgomery Field also helps.

I also met many people and had tons of fun with them. Going downtown, the cinema, flying to Las Vegas, partying, inviting people from Couchsurfing, the beach! It just made the entire experience even more awesome.

As for the flying, I completed the FAA private pilot hour requirements that I didn't have (cross countries, solos, night flights and preparation flights for the practical test), passed the knowledge test and passed the practical test the first time on the 21st of June. That way I didn't have to do the mexican license conversion process and got a private pilot certificate that was non-dependent on my mexican private.

I then started the instrument rating training, but had to pause for a good while because of $. It was September the 30th when I finally started a continuing training. I devoted on getting ground instruction and flying two times a day and completed the course within a month. I had to wait until the 11th of November for my instrument rating practical test, though, since the designated pilot examiner/chief flight instructor flies a Global Express in Van Nuys. Oh and I passed the first time as well ;)

I really enjoyed the instrument rating training; there's just so much to learn and procedures to practice... It also opens you a door to a totally different kind of flying, experiences and challenges.

After that, I started the commercial pilot course right away. I did a lot of cross countries (all of them have been cross-countries, actually), solo flights, etc.

My last flight was on December the 15th, in which I did the Stage IV check. I flew to Guadalajara on December the 22nd to spend christmas, new year and a bit more time after that. I didn't expect to be by May the 8th in here, but you never know what kind of situations and difficulties you might come up with. I hope to return to San Diego soon, so I can continue with the commercial pilot training. Can't wait to be there and fly the Piper Arrow and the Beechcraft Duchess for the multi-engine portion of the training. Stage V is mostly commercial maneuvers flights with the Arrow, solos, more night flying. Stage VI is more solo flying and complex airplane cross-countries. Stage VII is muli-engine flying. Engine-failure practices, multi-engine ops, IFR, emergency procedures... lots of fun stuff!

Here in Guadalajara I've spent time with my family, flown to Saltillo in a Cessna R182, flown to Hermosillo in a Beechcraft Sundowner (which I call it the "VW combie with hershey-bar wings") and done a lot more writing for the mexican pilot handbook. I've been translating the practical test standard publications as well. There are many text books, publications and other training related stuff that can be published here in Mexico. No better way than getting all the info and refering to all the publications from the American flight training system. I've also been working with my brother in my granddad's business. We're building a 'clean room' to manufacture first-aid tools. It'll be cool when we finish setting everything up for production.

 I'll write some of the most memorable and fun flights in my next post. There's so much to write about!

DGAC 2.0 and Open AIP

After watching TED videos and reading Wikipedia articles about open-source, open-governance, etc, I began to think of a Wiki project in which anyone could could add, modify or delete the content of the articles and structure of a virtual civil aviation authority. I wrote the basics on a notebook and named it DGAC 2.0.

I first began to look for free web hosting sites and found Wikia. At first I didn't know how to edit the content and add more pages to the site. I even searched for more free web hosting sites, because Wikia looked pretty complicated than I thought. I then found Wikispaces. It was more programming-and-wiki-ignorant-friendly and I started to write the pages and content of DGAC 2.0.

It's basically a Wiki of a civil aviation authority with a simple structure and regulations based on the ICAO Annexes. After finishing the copying of the regulations of the annexes, the addition, modification and deletion of rules can begin. I also added a section to each department to describe the role and paperwork issuance methods of that specific department.
Other goal of the project is to create an interest in the open-source democratic philosophy, to analize it's development, participation, efficiency and action in a government sector.

I then began to think about a project that could benefit pilots and, most importantly, student pilots. I named it AIP México.

AIP México is a Wiki with the goal of establishing a collaboration of pilots, student pilots, aviation fans and other people, so that they can help writing the content of the Aeronautical Information Publication.

The mexican transport and communications ministry, the mexican aviation administration and the air traffic administration hasn't published an AIP on the internet or other electronic medium. That's why another goal of the AIP México Wiki is to demonstrate that the aviation community in Mexico can organize and create a collaborative network to develop efficient and modern projects that benefit aviation in general without the support of a government agency.

I opened another Wiki with that name in Wikispaces. The problem was that Wikispaces began to charge page creators to make the pages viewable for everybody. I didn't like that.
I returned to my original site, Wikia, fearing it would be difficult for me to understand the method of editing the pages and content of the wiki. It's not. It's much more simple that I thought. I started editing, writing and adding pages for the DGAC 2.0 wiki and finally had something to work with.

Please visit AIP México and DGAC 2.0 !

There's a chance both projects will fail based on these facts:

• The big majority of the aviation community has a poor understanding of the international and national air law, and do not care.
• It's a complicated project, requiring a lot of time and dedication, which not many have.
• Poor knowledge of open-source and wikis.
• The flight schools in Mexico don't show the content and function of the AIP to their students.
• Not many have the mexican AIP, which costs around $2650 mexican pesos.
• Not many will spend some time writing the AIP content.
• Nobody cares about the AIP, since a lot of its content is in the Jeppesen Airway Manual for Mexico.

Anyways, the DGAC 2.0 is kind of a personal experiment/project to create a civil aviation authority that DOES work and is efficient. I'll keep writing the content of the AIP, with or without participation of others. It's a good cause.

G'day.

Radical Thoughts: A Modern Form of Government

In these days of campaigns, political discussions and tons of political-related posts on my Facebook wall, I've been thinking about the political issues and problems in Mexico from an analytical point of view. I always try to analyze any situation outside the bubble, instead of being part of the bubble and discussing about political parties, candidates, etc. In this case, the bubble is the political system in Mexico.
I'm not studying political science and obviously I'm not a politics savvy; I'm just a guy sharing thoughts and ideas based on personal experiences and things I've read and heard.

Just something to begin with: It all starts with the citizen-government interaction for the issuance of an official document, certificate, licence or permit. The interaction and execution of the citizen's request by the government department is done by bureaucrats. Bureaucracy implements the rules, laws, and functions of a ministry, department or institution. It's typically known to be inefficient for both the citizen's and government's money and time. It's even worse when the rules and laws are also inefficient. Rules and laws created in the middle of the twentieth century with little or no reforms made in the next decades.

With the constitution, laws and rules a system is created. Mexico is a federal presidential representative democratic republic whose government is based on a congressional system. The federal government represents the United Mexican States and is divided into three branches: Executive, Legislative and Judicial, as established by the Political Constitution of the United Mexican States, published in 1917.
The branch that seems to be and always will be the problem is the legislative power, which is vested upon the Congress of the Union, a two-chamber legislature comprising the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies.
The legislature, as we all know, is a kind of deliberative assembly with the power to pass, amend, and repeal laws. And then we have the political parties that add to the problem. It's a very limited number of people that exercises the power of changing and creating law. Plus, every politician (good or bad) has its own personal interests, which are not always for the improvement of the country in general. They tend to be close-minded, corrupt and don't work properly for the benefit of the country. They are part of the system, so they automatically are part of the problem.

The system is flawed. It is an old system that hasn't had significant changes and won't accomplish and meet the needs and level of complexity of the issues and situation of the present and future of a globalized and connected world.

So what can be done to transform and improve the system that will truly enable every citizen to be part of the policy-making decisions?

There's a political philosophy called Open-source Governance.

It basically advocates the application of the philosophies of the open-source and open content movements to democratic principles in order to enable any interested citizen to add to the creation of policy, as with a wiki document. Legislation is democratically opened to the general citizenry, employing their collective wisdom to benefit to the decision-making process and improve democracy.

A wiki is a website [or generally a site] whose users can add, modify, or delete its content via a web browser using a simplified markup language or a rich-text editor. Wikis are powered by wiki software. Most are created collaboratively.

It's just a political philosophy; the practice and methods for the application of this philosophy is much more complex. The beauty of this system is the open-source idea that enables any interested citizen to present a proposal or change in the law or regulation that is inefficient. It also allows the citizens to be part of the decision making of the needs (infrastructure like schools, hospitals, transport system and the training of the workforce) of the city.
There must be a group formed by people related, informed and interested in that specific change or creation of the law or rule, that reviews the proposals and votes for the approval or disapproval of that change. Every citizen interested and willing to change a rule could make an amandment to the articles of that rule and the other participants approve, disapprove or change the context of the article. It's not like a doctor is going to be seriously interested in changing the rules of civil aviation.

This way a continuous evolution of the constitution, laws and rules is maintained for the good of the people of the country, without the need of having a senate and the chamber of deputies. Ultimately without the need of political parties that only oppose to each other, as it happens in Mexico and many countrys as well.
The population is integrated and is part of the decisions that affect the city and country, in the larger scale. It would be the responsable for the well-being of the country. The inefficient process of the creation and amendment of laws and rules is greatly improved. Corruption goes down, transparency and efficiency go up. This system would limit the power to the minorities and corrupt groups, unions and organizations formed because of the flawed system. It would be the people that have the ultimate responsability of the progress of the nation. As an ancient maxim from the Roman law that says “That which affects all people must be approved by all people”.
The only problem that arises is the adaptation of the system to the population of the country. It's a radical and revolutionary philosophy and many will disagree with it. It must be taught throughout school and encouraged in the society. Everything comes to education. When a country has an excellent educational system that supports all the young population, the results are the foundations of an informed and democratic society.

There are many type of modern political philosophies and methods such as e-Democracy, e-Government, Collaborative e-Democracy and Open Government. These pave the way to the future of democracy. A democracy of the 21st Century and the Age of Information.

It would be a great idea to create a website and present this idea in the social media, universities and highschools so that people can unite and organize a real change in the system. The Open-Source philosophy can make a significant change when applied in the political and government system of a country. Maybe Mexico could be a pioneering State that applies a full open-source government.

Open Government from The Academy on Vimeo.

Graphical and Textual Weather Products

In this post I'm going to write a simple reference guide about the different graphical and textual weather products, and the links where they can be consulted, that help execute a good pre-flight planning in the United States.

DUATS is excellent to get weather info, NOTAMs, file flight plans, but the graphics of the different products are not that good. You can create a DUATS account with a student or pilot certificate. When you enter the flight information, you get the weather reports, NOTAMs, etc and it can be used to comply with the pre-flight briefing requirement.

You can also get weather information and graphics from the Jeppesen JetPlan and the NOAA's AviationWeather site. You need a suscription to JetPlan, but you can copy the links of the graphs and paste them on a link to see the chart. They are the most easy-to-interpret and user friendly sites. Too bad DUATS doesn't use NOAA's graphics.

Graphical Products

Satellite

Display infrared images from geostationary satellites showing cloud areas.

Jeppesen Satellite Products

• Infrared
• Infrared loop
• Visible or Nighttime Fog Product
• Visible or Nighttime Fog Product loop
• Infrared/Radar Composite
• Infrared/Radar Composite loop

Aviation Weather Satellite Images (You can select either the latest image, a big or a small loop in a visible or infrared image type)

Surface Analysis

It displays front and pressure system positions along with detailed WX information as observed at various locations. Frequency: Every 3 hours. Valid Period: Observation.

Jeppesen Surface Analysis Chart and 24h Forecast

Aviation Weather Surface Analysis Chart

Weather Depiction

A 'de-cluttered' surface analysis that sumarizes WX conditions, from METAR observations, by showing broad areas of IFR and MVFR. Frequency: Every 3 hours. Valid Period: Observation.

Jeppesen Weather Depiction Chart

GIF or PDF Aviation Weather Depiction Chart

Radar Summary

Displays precipitation echoes along with type, trend, movement and intensity. Frequency: Every 35 minutes past the hour. Valid Period: Observation.

Aviation Weather GIF or PDF Radar Summary Chart

Low-Level Significant Weather Prognostic

Forecast areas of significant weather and precipitation in 12 and 24 hour blocks. Frequency: Every 6 hours. Valid Period: 24 hours.

Jeppesen 12h and 24h Surface Analysis Chart

Aviation Weather Low-Level Significant Weather Prognostic Charts (Recommended) and Analysis and forecast surface conditions (Prog Charts)

Convective Outlook

Gives an easy-to-see visual representation of the areas in which thunderstorm activity is expected to develop. Frequency: 12h: 5 times daily, 24h: 2 times daily. Valid Period: 1200Z of the next day.

Jeppesen Convective Outlook Chart

Aviation Weather Convective Outlook Charts

Winds and Temperatures Aloft

It's a graphical version of the textual product. Frequency: Every 12 hours. Valid Period: 12 hours.

Jeppesen FL050 (850 mb) Analysis and Forecast

Aviation Winds and Temperatures Aloft Charts (Recommended)

Icing

Jeppesen Icing Maps

Aviation Weather Icing Charts and Freezing Level Graphics

Other Important Stuff

There's a page to check graphical AIRMETs and SIGMETs. You can either choose interactive or static G-AIRMETs. (Recommended)

Jeppesen IFR and Mountain Obscuration AIRMETS

Jeppesen Turbulence Maps

Jeppesen SIGMET and Convective SIGMET Areas




Textual Products

Aviation Routine Weather Report (METAR)

Weather observation at an airport including winds, temps, sky condition, pressure, etc. Frequency: Every 53 minutes past the hour. Valid Period: Observation.
Link: http://www.aviationweather.gov/adds/metars/

Terminal Area Forecast (TAF)

Airport forecast including winds, sky condition, precipitation types, visibility, etc. Frequency: Every 6 hours. Valid Period: 24 hours.
Link: http://www.aviationweather.gov/adds/tafs/

Area Forecast (FA)

Forecasts for large regions including cloud heights, precipitation types, visibility and general atmospheric condition (VFR, MVFR, IFR). Frequency: Every 8 hours. Valid Period: 18 hours.
Link: http://www.aviationweather.gov/products/fa/

AIRMETs (WA)

Outlines areas of weather events affecting primarily smaller aircraft, including IFR conditions, turbulence and icing conditions. Frequency: Every 6 hours. Valid Period: 6 hours.
Link: http://www.aviationweather.gov/adds/airmets/

SIGMETs (WS)

Outlines areas of significant weather events affecting all aircraft including icing, turbulence, blowing dust/ash/sand and volcanic eruptions. Frequency: As needed. Valid Period: 4 hours.
Link: http://www.aviationweather.gov/adds/airmets/

Convective SIGMETs (WST)

Outlines areas of significant weather events relating to convective (thunderstorm) activity. Frequency: Hourly. Valid Period: 2 hours.
Link: http://www.aviationweather.gov/adds/airmets/

Winds & Temperatures Aloft (FD)

Forecasts wind direction and velocity and temperatures at various levels of the atmosphere. Frequency: Every 12 hours. Valid Period: As noted.
Link: http://www.aviationweather.gov/products/nws/winds/

Center Weather Advisory (CWA)

Current significant weather event information discussed in a prior WA, WS, WST disseminated to pilots by ARTCC.Frequency: As needed. Valid Period: 2 hours.
Link: http://www.aviationweather.gov/products/cwsu/

Pilot Reports (UA/UUA)

Weather observations provided by pilots including information on temperature, wind, sky condition, turbulence and other significant weather.
Link: http://www.aviationweather.gov/adds/pireps/