Working on my instrument ticket (yeah yeah, I know, real Maule pilots don't fly tri-gears in the clouds, but taildraggers into the bush to pick up moose parts, etc.)...
Wondering if anybody has a recommendation for a yoke desk / clip that would be good to hold approach charts and other such. I'm told that keeping them on my knee board may increase my change of spatial disorientation, etc.
Still in love with the MT7-235! Just need to fly more and more and more. although 106 hours in the last year is pretty good!
I have one. Wouldn't use any other setup for charts or general notetaking. Darned if I know who made mine though. Found it on ebay a while back. Had to trim it for length so it would fit better.
Look for a very firm clamping attachment. Gooseneck types won't stay stiff when you need to right on it.
Knock yourself up one based on a RAM mount would be my suggestion, but I just use an old fashioned clip board and lay it wherever. Without an instrument ticket, your half a pilot and maybe an unsafe one at that, in my opinion, besides a whole lot of opportunities open up when you can fly comfortably without a viseable horizon.
Once you get your ticket, use it at every opportunity, don't be the guy that was the best he ever was the day he got his ticket.
Hi Rob, its Clyde. When I owned 4GP i used a standard yoke clip with and spring loaded clip on the top. Or course, this only works with single sheet approach plates though.
Also, I have always used a rather large lap plate with a spring loaded clip to hold other items. It probably measures about 11 x 16 approx. I've had it for over 20 years and have never seen another like it for sale since.
Hows the IFR training coming?
The Instrument training is going well -- I've got 10 hours of sim time now and enjoying it. 4GP is a very stable perfectly rigged plane and once trimmed I don't need the autopilot at all. I'm really enjoying the instrument training so far and looking forward to a few actual IMC approaches just to see if the whole concept really works! Usually around here such approaches will be just letting down through a cloud layer or such -- most of the time when the Wx is IMC here in Winter icing is an issue so I'll probably not be flying too much into IMC anyway.
Had a nice VFR on top of a fog layer blanketing the entire central valley the other day all the way down to the South Bay area (KRDD to E16) -- VFR at both ends of the trip with IMC / low fog in between -- very few people flying that day (why was I?). A little freaky since I'm used to always seeing the ground and looking for places to land in the valley -- this time I stayed over the low foothills and kept looking for places in the hills, and ran as quick as possible across the foggy islands in between. Good experience for sure and always in the clear but different.
One thing I did along a route I fly frequently in eastern KY & TN was on VFR days spot emergency landing sites. Strip mines (mountain top removal mining CAN be nice!) old runways and a few fields.
I zoomed down low and hit PPOS on the GPS and saved the waypoints, coding them ELZ__. I noted the elevation and made a rough sketch with notes on the "runway" orientation. Even got detailed enough to print an aerial off Google Earth. Those go in a binder I have handy.
Makes a flight over rough terrain a bit safer having some outs.
