Page 19 - Volume 12 Number 12

that Jepp plate. But you will find VORs and NDBs, so start from those known locations and then follow the proper radial outward. Do the same with another VOR or NDB; where the two radials cross is where you are. Easy! Emphasize the tail of the RMI pointer, not the head.” This sermon seemed to turn on the lightbulb of understanding for a lot of my students.
But then – hallelujah! – moving maps made their appearance. What a wonderful addition! Now the pilot did indeed see his own airplane symbol on the map. I still love RMI needles – bearing pointers – since I am so familiar with them, but their usefulness is a tiny fraction of what they were in the pre-moving map days. To fly IFR without at least one moving map ... does anyone do that now?! Why, even a smartphone can do a rather good job of giving a moving map display. And Foreflight on an iPad? Amazing!
So far in this article, all I have addressed is two- dimensional awareness. The title, you may recall, had the word “descent” in it. Before you give yourself a pat on the back and think your SA is a done deal due to your excellent knowledge and skill – aided a little by the moving map(s) you are using – ask yourself how situationally aware you are in the height department. Do you always know when you are likely to get a “slam dunk” arrival? Do you always start down to the newly
assigned altitude ATC just gave you, even though the clearance was a “PD” (Pilot’s Discretion) one? Do you fly most legs of an RNAV/GPS approach outside of the Final Approach Fix (FAF) at the published minimum altitudes? My hope is that when you finish reading this article, you will have increased understanding about SA in the vertical, not just horizontal, plane. Done correctly, this addition to your SA will provide increased safety and lower fuel consumption, as well as a better ride and, sometimes, less icing worries.
Increased safety? That’s a no-brainer. We cannot suffer a CFIT (Controlled Flight Into Terrain) accident without hitting the earth, so altitude is our friend here. The requirement to have TAWS (Terrain Awareness Warning System) in King Airs has and will have a positive effect on decreasing these horrible, almost always fatal, CFIT cases. Here is a classic, well-known CFIT accident that probably would not have happened had TAWS existed at the time.
On New Year’s Day in 1985, Eastern Airlines Flight 980, a Boeing 727 on a flight from Asuncion, Paraguay, to Miami, Florida, slammed into a peak in the Andes as it descended in the clouds for an IFR approach at La Paz, Bolivia, an intermediate stop. The wreckage was not found for a long time, being in a horribly unforgiving location above 19,000 feet. Amazingly enough, some
DECEMBER 2018
KING AIR MAGAZINE • 17