THIS SLIM AND inexpensive little pamphlet is directed towards aeroplane, glider and microlight pilots who are at the stage of considering the use of GPS for air navigation.
THIS SLIM AND inexpensive little pamphlet is directed towards aeroplane, glider and microlight pilots who are at the stage of considering the use of GPS for air navigation. It is aimed at helping pilots to use GPS sensibly and to realise its limitations.
Written in a light hearted style, it covers the basic principles of global satellite navigation in a nutshell (but perhaps wastes too many of its limited number of pages in explaining just what latitude and longitude mean, and how to measure these on a chart). It briefly covers getting to know how a GPS receiver works, and what types of information one typical version can provide. Importantly, it also points out what you should avoid when flight planning for a flight using GPS, and emphasises that GPS is not infallible and that, in the air, it should therefore only be used together with another primary means of navigation.
There isn’t much, if anything, in Navigating with GPS that isn’t contained in the user’s manual supplied with most GPS receivers, and Pilot has already covered most of this ground pretty thoroughly in articles, but this little publication should still be useful to any pilot looking for a concise guide pointing out the pluses and minuses of GPS navigation, before getting round to buying himself or herself a first GPS receiver. James Allan.
