N4301

Green Route forward and TLAs at Site 8 Most of these discussion items will be briefed by your IP, but they may still ask you questions about basic points before they go into more detail about them. The actual LL Nav brief will also be given by the IP for this flight, and they will navigate the first 4 checkpoints (you will fly course rules and CP 1, 2, 3, 4, then transfer controls on the way to 5).

=Techniques for Low Level Navigation= Each IP has their own take on this, but at the minimum they will discuss funneling and limiting features. Funneling features are those which you can use to follow or zero in on your checkpoint, you know, like a funnel. Roads, railroads, powerlines, water ways, and pipeline cutouts often make good funneling features. Limiting features are those which will let you know that you've gone too far and missed your checkpoint. Linear boundaries work well for this (eg, "if we pass a east-west hardball surface, we've gone too far"), as do prominent point features, like lakes or towers (eg, "if the tower is at our 9 o'clock, we've gone too far").

=Map Interpretation= Are you a Marine? Then you already know all this. Otherwise, think back to what was gone over in the low-level class. Know how to identify things such as fingers, draws, and the basic map legend information. Know the difference between what a hardball and an unimproved surface road looks like on the map. Realize that many of the small streams depicted on the map may not actually be identifiable as water (especially during spring/summer), and will primarily be identifiable by the change in vegetation; the "greenness" or type of tress often differs along the path of the stream vice the surrounding dry land. Some, however, are simply impossible to pick out.

=Visual Scanning= Same techniques as before. Don't fixate on any particular point for long, keep your eyes moving.

=Pilotage and Dead Reckoning= Pilotage is a navigation technique whereby you follow identifiable terrain features or fly from visible point to point. Dead reckoning is flying a given heading for a given time, eg "fly 090 for 5+30." Pilotage typically is more successful at getting you from point A to point B. Dead reckoning, however, is sometimes all you can do (over the ocean, featureless desert, etc).

=Timing= Utilize the 8-day clock for leg timing, and the ADF clock for overall route time. Reset the 8-day clock when you hit a checkpoint, and hack it as soon as you roll out on the new heading. MPTS allows you +/- 2 minutes total time at the end of the route, but makes no note about how close you have to be on each leg. Therefore, since it is far easier to slow down if you're ahead (in fact, the FTI states you're free to enter holding or spin in circles if you feel so inclined) than it is to speed up if you're behind, you may want to intentionally be fast on your first few checkpoints. Flying at ~100KIAS for awhile will give you some buffer space for later, and if you're still ahead on your final leg or two, simply slow down to whatever speed you need in order to be on time at the final checkpoint. Many instructors will bump you from a 4 to a 5 in timing if you're +/- 1 minute of route time at the final CP.

=Use of GPS as Backup= Your IP will have the GPS route set up, but the GPS display pages to something useless, and your GPS needle will be set in ADF mode. Many IPs will still allow you to be up NAV2 in order to get ground speed.

=Checkpoints= The route CPs are pre-defined. In general, though, checkpoints should be a distinct and identifiable feature both on the map and on the ground. Man-made features can be usable checkpoints, but beware that they may change over time, while terrain features typically will not change substantially (exception: water features subject to drought/flood cycles).

=Hazards=
 * Aircraft
 * Birds
 * Class-"C" Airspace
 * Powerlines
 * Restricted Areas
 * Towers

=CHUM= The CHart Update Manual. Updating the maps may be done in a variety of ways, including pulling information from more updated maps (like the New Orleans Sectional), from the PFPS computers, and from the actual published DoD CHUM or eCHUM. Of particular note for this flight are two towers (361 and 310 AGL) in the vicinity of McDavid that IPs like to use to identify the intersection, and the 1414 AGL tower in the restricted area north of CP 9 and 10. Also note that there is a "restricted" area just north of the course between CP 7 and 8. This is an ostrich farm, and is specified in R&I #25, not the RWOP like the Steelwood Lake and Alpaca Farm restricted areas are. The exact wording is a little odd, though, since it notes that "in order to avoid creating a no-fly zone, [you are] are advised to avoid low-level flight over the farm." So it's not a no-fly/restricted zone, but it's a no-fly/restricted zone. In any event, since there's no actual radius specified, you can just mention you'll avoid directly overflying the farm by utilizing LL navigation techniques.

=Low Level Navigation Charts= Your 1:250,000 JOGAIR and 1:50,000 maps. While you only need the JOGAIR for this flight, you will need the JOGAIR and at least one of the 1:50,000 maps for the Orange and Purple routes.

=Map Prep= Make sure you've done it correctly. There are binders in the ready room/map room detailing how to do this. The best way is to try getting with a student who is ahead of you in LL or just winged and have him walk you through it. Don't just blindly copy some map from 2008. Laminate the JOGAIR map (without the route on it), as you will be using it not only for the Green route, but also for a few NVG nav flights. The 1:50,000 maps will only be used for the Orange or Purple route. In HT-28 the lamination machine is in the Safety/NATOPS office in the back.

=Route Cards/Smart Pack= These seem to vary slightly from squadron to squadron, so it's best to get someone to step you through their creation. For HT-28:
 * Jump onto the PFPS computer and plot out the route (or find a pre-made route from someone recent who you trust). Ensure you have set the airspeed to 100 for course-rules, and 90 for the actual route itself.  If you are working from someone else's route, double-check to make sure they did everything correctly, keeping in mind that the fuel states are missing a decimal.  Eg, 460 = 46.0 gallons.
 * Make a route-card for the complete route (with course rules) from NDZ out to and including the route, to Site 8, and back to NDZ. Total time should be about 1:23:30.
 * Make another route and route-card for just the Green route itself.
 * Make yet another for your bingo route, which is from CP 5 direct to Snake, then to Igor and in to NDZ.
 * Use Ctrl-P to print everything, as clicking the actual Print button tends to crash it. When you print these all out, it will print two copies of each: one with "WE MAKE IT HAPPEN" on the bottom, and one without.
 * Collate everything, cut them to size, and keep the WE MAKE IT HAPPEN ones for yourself--the other set is for the instructor.
 * Grab a smart-card from someone's directory on the computer, check to ensure all the fuel numbers match what you've calculated, change the names (and update the new Ground frequency to 317.475), and print it out.
 * Grab a LL Briefing card from the ready room/map room, and fill out as much of it as you can.
 * Do up your Weight and Balance and get a grade sheet.
 * Staple everything together in the proper order:
 * Briefing card, cover page, route w/course-rules, route w/o course-rules, bingo route, weight and balance, grade sheet. Staple the whole thing together.  Keep the WE MAKE IT HAPPEN one for yourself, and give the one with the weight and balance and grade sheet to the IP.
 * Add page numbers to the bottom of each page.