hop into there plane with no charts and just use the gps to punch in there destination and then just go to it?I'm referring to small GA type of planes, etc.

Hi Brian, Never... You have too much to lose flying that way... TFR's - bad weather - and - even the regs require a pilot to know specific information about your destination airport... Sooner or later you would get bitten... I have recently moved to a paperless cockpit though with the use of a relatively new IPad application called Foreflight... All my sectionals - charts - and plates are all on the IPad... My IPhone has the same program for backup and even with that - I keep an old sectional in my flightbag - just in case... Personally - given the choice - I'd rather fly with charts and no GPS - rather than - a GPS and no charts... Regards,Scott

Sometimes we do that even without the gps part. :)Part 91 FAR's, there is no specific requirement for VFR that you must have paper charts. Only that you be familiar with all information regarding the flight such as runway lengths, performance, etc. I have most local frequencies, airspace and runway info memorized so what else do you really need. As long as I don't stray outside my sphere of memorization, even a forced divert would be into somewhere I know.Now that being said, if you accidentally stray into airspace or get yourself into trouble, the FAA could still invoke 91.103 (all pertinent information). But they probably would even if you did have the charts, so it's sort of a wash.

Yeah pilots do that all the time, especially without the GPS.Are you thinking more along the lines of, a pilot taking a trip somewhere? You have to understand, there a lot of "real pilots," who do things completely differently for different reasons. If you mean a pilot taking a tripthen in that case, no, I doubt many pilots would do that without a good plan/charts.But many don't fly to get themselves somewhere, they fly to fly. 99% of all the flying I did was within 50 miles of a single airport. I took off, flew around town, did touch and goes etc etc etc. It was just for fun. I knew the area, I knew all the frequencies and had them written down too. I checked weather and TFRs before the flight and that was it. I didn't have a plan of where I was going or what I wanted to do, I just took off and wandered.Although I always did have a chart with me, I rarely took it out and could easily have gone without one. It was rare that I even turned the GPS on.

hop into there plane with no charts and just use the gps to punch in there destination and then just go to it?I'm referring to small GA type of planes, etc.

Of course some pilots do this. When I take the J-3 out or anything else for leisure and I'm completely familiar with the area. It depends.

Hi Brian, Never... You have too much to lose flying that way... TFR's - bad weather - and - even the regs require a pilot to know specific information about your destination airport...Regards,Scott

Since when was a GPS the legal "go to" for TFRs? (never) And as a private pilot I'm sure a lot of your activities are leisure local sight seeing flights. Do we need the Ipad to go into the practice area? And do we need charts to fly locally? Taking my buddy on the 15 mile hop from Rowan to Lexington, I'm not going to take charts. Probably even if I'm IFR, I know the area so well.Obviously if I take the Seneca or Columbia on a 400mi trip to an airport I'm not familiar with, there's going to be 30 minutes of flight planning, weather checking, and other preparation. Charts will be taken in this case, but the GPS is still the main (only) means of navigation.

I've always hadcharts (both on the ipad, iphone, and paper) however since flying almost exclusively ifr I have only had to consult enroute charts a few times. Usually I get direct 99% of the time and if they want a waypoint somewhere you are unfamiliar with they usually spell it so you can dial it easily into Uncle Garmin.Approach plates are a different story-I have them for every flight ifr or vfr.

Since when was a GPS the legal "go to" for TFRs? (never)

Hey Zach, I think you have my statement backwards - as I certainly wasn't saying that the GPS was the "Go To" source for TFR information... My point was - I would never just jump in a plane without any flight planning - and - just use a GPS to navigate to a destination... On even a 15 mile flight - at a minimum - I'm checking with an approved source for TFR information - and - I will have charts in the plane...Regards,Scott

If you have xm or adds-b the gps can be an excellent added source for tfr's as often they show up there before atc even knows about them.

If you have xm or adds-b the gps can be an excellent added source for tfr's as often they show up there before atc even knows about them.

Yeah we have XM on the King Air and TFRs pop up and say they are active. ATC had no clue and tried vectoring us through it.

Hey Zach, I think you have my statement backwards - as I certainly wasn't saying that the GPS was the "Go To" source for TFR information... My point was - I would never just jump in a plane without any flight planning - and - just use a GPS to navigate to a destination... On even a 15 mile flight - at a minimum - I'm checking with an approved source for TFR information - and - I will have charts in the plane...Regards,Scott

Gotcha Scott. In retrospect I'm not sure why I quoted you.Seriously though guys, ADS-B capable equipment is great but I call FServices to hear them tell me rather or not there are TFRs active/planned.

Just stumbled upon this and seems fitting for this thread.http://www2.tbo.com/news/news/2011/nov/22/2/pilot-mistakes-pasco-road-for-runway-during-landin-ar-326621/

Zach-I said adds-b and xm are excellent added sources-there is no implication that one would not get a ground briefing before every flight which would be IMHO foolish.

Just stumbled upon this and seems fitting for this thread.http://www2.tbo.com/...ndin-ar-326621/

Wow. A student pilot in a Cirrus... And not even able to judge runway width. There are so many things wrong with that story.

Zachary-I said adds-b and xm are excellent added sources-there is no implication that one would not get a ground briefing before every flight which would be IMHO foolish.

I know. I'm reiterating is all.

Seriously though guys, ADS-B capable equipment is great but I call FServices to hear them tell me rather or not there are TFRs active/planned.

Hi Zack,I'm with ya brah... One time at the airport - I didn't check the usual sources before heading to the airport... I'm watching the sky before my call to FSS and noticed a bunch of F-15's cruising around - which we almost never see... Sure enough - FSS confirmed - TFR that poped up with some pretty short notice... FSS is a wonderful thing...Regards,Scott

Just stumbled upon this and seems fitting for this thread.http://www2.tbo.com/...ndin-ar-326621/

Hi Chris, Classic - I can safely say this guy should never have a license...Regards,Scott