It has been quite some time since I last flew a VFR cross country flight in real life. VFR navigation is a skill you tend to lose unless you continue to use it. The purpose of this video is to practice VFR navigation using only a watch, a map and a magnetic compass. This VFR Flight Sim from Indianapolis to Richmond in a Cessna 152 is something I wanted to share with you.
If you watch the video directly on Youtube, the video is broken into various chapters listed in the description section. I hope you enjoy watching what it is like to fly a real VFR flight in a Cessna 152.
Pre-Flight Briefing
The video opens with an introduction to a pre-flight briefing. The briefing covers the planned flight route, NOTAMS and weather. This is a step most student pilots do not start doing until they start their navigation training. I would recommend all student pilots doing a minor pre-flight brief before every flight from the very beginning.
The aircraft and its accuracy
All of the correct procedures are followed using a Cessna 150L checklist. The recommended airspeeds for the Cessna 150L might differ from the Cessna 152. The principles remain the same and are safe. The aircraft systems in the Cessna 152 compared to the Cessna 150L are identical. There is one exception; there is normally no autopilot in either Cessna 150s or 152s. I’ve used this modified version of the Cessna 152 with an autopilot for more accurate flying in the simulator.
In real life, with Cessna 152s, you trim the aircraft to accurately maintain altitude using feel through the control column. That’s how you determine how much trim to apply. That’s quite difficult in the simulator since there is no feel through the control column. I find it a lot easier to fly an aircraft in real life compared to flying in the simulator. Using the autopilot is to try and keep the flight as visually accurate to real life as possible.
The Departure Procedure
After take-off, I circled above the airport in a climb following the traffic pattern. There are two simple reasons for doing that and I forgot to mention in the video.
By the time we get airborne and made our first left turn, we are 1 nautical mile (nm) away from the departure airport. When we measured the planned direction on the VFR chart, we measured it from the center of the airfield. If we were to take up our planned heading when we are 1 nm off track, we’ll be offtrack from the beginning. Meaning our planned heading would be wrong or not as accurate.
Once you get airborne, follow the normal traffic pattern and climb to the cruising altitude. Then we can accurately set off towards our destination from overhead the center of the airfield. It can help with accuracy for visual navigation, especially when not using any additional electronic navaids. Remember we are only using a watch, a map and a magnetic compass to navigate for this flight. Obviously when using GPS or ground based navigation aids, you can intercept your intended route.
Remember we are only using a watch, a map and a magnetic compass to navigate.
Initial estimates
Our initial estimated cruise time of 36 minutes was based on the planned cruise speed, not climbing speed. With smaller aircraft like the Cessna 152, I do not worry about calculating the climbing distance, time and fuel burn. When flying airliners; distance, time and fuel burn is very important and is always taken into account.
The Cessna 150L best rate of climb (Vy) speed is 66 knots and the planned cruising True Airspeed (TAS) @ 2300 RPM is 95 knots. The difference between our climb speed and cruise speed is 29 knots. If we are at our cruising altitude by the time we head in the direction we want to navigate, our enroute estimated time will likely be more accurate.
Enroute Checklist
Once the flight is established in the cruise towards our destination, we need to carry out the enroute checklist. The enroute checklist is not listed in any aircraft flight manual. This checklist will likely differ from one flight school to another, but the principles will be the same. There is no right or wrong enroute checklist to use.
C.L.E.A.R.O.F – the enroute checklist.
- C – Compass: Align DG with the magnetic compass.
- L – Log: Write down the estimated & updated estimated time of arrival.
- E – Engine: Set the planned engine setting & lean the mixture. Check engine gauges.
- A – Altimeter: Set the altimeter pressure for the area your flying in.
- R – Radio: Setup upcoming VHF radio frequencies and navaid radio frequencies.
- O – Orientation: Visually confirm you are flying in the correct direction.
- F – Fuel: Switch fuel tanks (if optional) & check fuel status compared to planned fuel during flight.
The enroute checklist I was taught in Australia uses the acronym C.L.E.A.R.O.F. It helps remind you of tasks you need to keep an eye on for navigation accuracy and things to consider which keeps you thinking ahead of the aircraft. This is covered throughout the video during the cruise segment. The cruising checklist should be carried out at least once for each leg of your flight. This was a one leg flight, so I only went through the C.L.E.A.R.O.F checks once in this video. Although, I did check to make sure the Directional Gyro (DG) was aligned with the magnetic compass on multiple occasions.
In real life I have experienced DGs drifting away from the correct magnetic heading 5 minutes after being correctly aligned. For accuracy in visual navigation, maintaining the correct heading is very important.
The formula for calculating Velocity
If you’ve ever studied physics in high school, you would have come across the formula for Velocity. We use distance and time to accurately calculate our speed across the ground. The visual navigation chart is used to determine the distance and direction we plan to fly. Take note of the differences in time between multiple locations to determine the speed we are flying. Velocity = Distance / Time. If we can calculate the distance and determine the time taken, we can calculate our velocity. When we are enroute, if we know where we are located, we know our speed and know how far we have remaining, we can calculate our estimated time of arrival. In this video, the time we touched down on the runway was within 1 minute of our updated estimated time of arrival.
Velocity = Distance / Time. If we can calculate the distance and determine the time taken, we can calculate our velocity.
Planned Descent
I general aviation aircraft, it is common to plan a descent rate of 500 feet per minute. It is easy for descent calculations and also comfortable for everyone onboard. If you base your descent calculation on your estimated time of arrival instead of a specific distance, it takes wind into account. If you use a specific distance, that will not take wind into account. In this video the winds were very light, so it would not have made any difference. It is something to keep in mind.
The error made inflight
At the time of the flight, I did not notice I misinterpreted a symbol on the chart. The very first road I talk about, is actually a powerline, not a road. It is a line I saw as a road that leads towards the town of Newcastle. It’s rather embarrassing, but I did not notice it until after finishing the video edit.
Hopefully you’ve gotten something out of this video. There is a lot more to flight planning than a lot of people may realize. If you enjoyed the video, please consider liking and subscribing to the Ground Speed Gaming channel. Thank-you.