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for familiarizing themselves with these airports and their approach procedures. The FAA encourages pilots to use all available navigation resources, including GPS and ground-based systems, to maintain situational awareness and ensure safe flight operations.
Keep conventional navigation top of mind
The King Air is a very capable aircraft. It allows us to fly during the day, night, VFR, IFR and in icing conditions. Use of GPS is commonplace when flying in the King Air. It is a great, reliable tool. Loading an IFR flight plan into the GPS navigation unit is secondhand to us. Often “Cleared direct to ...” after takeoff is heard from the controller. It seems like flying “direct to” is the only way we fly now. This can lead to dependency on GPS and complacency of conventional navigation. What happens when the GPS suddenly gives you a message “LOI” (Loss of Integrity) or “DR” (Dead Reckoning)? Now what?
Knowing that the FAA has a backup to GPS in the form of the VOR MON, how do we stay proficient with conventional navigation, using VOR, ILS and LOC in case we lose GPS?
One way to keep conventional navigation in the front of mind is to periodically file an IFR flight plan using Victor airways. In the note section of the flight plan state that you would like to remain on the filed route,
“During a GPS disruption in the contiguous U.S., the VOR minimum operational network (MON) will enable aircraft to navigate through the affected area or to a safe landing at a MON airport without reliance on GPS.”
18 • KING AIR MAGAZINE
JANUARY 2025