Tag Archives: navigation
Google Maps Flight-Planning Demo
I’ve thrown together a quick demo of several segments (almost 400 miles worth) of the V316 low-level airway westbound from the Ottawa VORTAC to the Sault Ste. Marie VOR/DME. The best part, in my opinion, is the ability to switch … Continue reading →
Google Maps and Flight Planning
Google has just made an announcement that could have a profound effect on the resources available for flight planning online: they have created a free API (application programming interface) to Google Maps. The flying geeks who read this blog will … Continue reading →
Canadian Airport Data in a Spreadsheet
As I’ve mentioned before, I’m often frustrated at the lack of freely-available data for Canadian airports and airspace (and stung by the irony that most of what is available comes from the U.S.). Over the past couple of years, I’ve … Continue reading →
North (sort-of) without radar
I flew back from Timmins yesterday after a Hope Air flight via Toronto (Timmins is the home of singer Shania Twain, as the signs there constantly remind you). The airspace around Timmins is controlled, but there is little or no … Continue reading →
Flying databases
The U.S. makes most of its aeronautical data available for free in electronic form; other countries hoard the information and charge money (sometimes, a lot of money) for a peek at it. This distinction used to matter mainly to cartographers … Continue reading →
Charts
In his most recent posting, Moncton Centre controller Michael Oxner makes some friendly but justifiable complaints about summer recreational pilots who don’t bring paper charts in the plane and tie up ATC time when their handheld GPS’s fail (for those … Continue reading →
Beauty in brevity
Sometimes it’s hard to love the Canada Flight Supplement or its U.S. equivalent, the Airport and Facility Directory, printed on cheap, easy-to-rip newsprint in tiny smudged type, going out of date every seven weeks, and filled with abbreviations you have … Continue reading →
Land and Hold Short 