Forelight For iPad and Navigation

[rt4388]

So I'm doing a night xc in a few days up to 49A and I'm planning on relying pretty heavily on my iPad and forelight for navigation. On the way back, I'm probably going to track in the KPDK VOR and then turn towards my destination when I get over the top. But with some of the "mountains" in that area, I'm a bit worried about my VOR signal strength that far out and my iPads GPS capabilities--specifically during the takeoff phase.
Have you all had success with Foreflight for navigation in such a scenario? Night time and mountains are making me a little nervous so I just want to know exactly where I am the entire time. Thanks guys!

 

[Caramon13]

The only device(s) I've found I can rely on for GPS in the plane are:

My GTN 650 primarily.
My GDL 3D 39 (Garmin version of Stratus 2S).

I would never expect an iPad to be able to obtain a GPS signal in the air without pairing with a stratus or another external GPS device. I can't even get a GPS/Cell signal on my phone at 3000 ft, let alone try it in a mountain environment.

 

[dukeblue219]

How familiar are you with Foreflight? What about night flying in general?

 

[dukeblue219]

The only device(s) I've found I can rely on for GPS in the plane are:

My GTN 650 primarily.
My GDL 3D 39 (Garmin version of Stratus 2S).

I would never expect an iPad to be able to obtain a GPS signal in the air without pairing with a stratus or another external GPS device. I can't even get a GPS/Cell signal on my phone at 3000 ft, let alone try it in a mountain environment.

What kind of plane? I've never had an issue getting GPS reception on my iPad, even when it's sitting on my lap. (aside from whether or not you'd rely on it under these circumstances)

 

[PPC1052]

So I'm doing a night xc in a few days up to 49A and I'm planning on relying pretty heavily on my iPad and forelight for navigation. On the way back, I'm probably going to track in the KPDK VOR and then turn towards my destination when I get over the top. But with some of the "mountains" in that area, I'm a bit worried about my VOR signal strength that far out and my iPads GPS capabilities--specifically during the takeoff phase.
Have you all had success with Foreflight for navigation in such a scenario? Night time and mountains are making me a little nervous so I just want to know exactly where I am the entire time. Thanks guys!

Take a look at the IFR en-route charts. Those will show you airways with minimum enrout altitudes that will guarantee VOR reception. Use those routes and altitudes for safe passage through/above the mountains.

 

[rt4388]

How familiar are you with Foreflight? What about night flying in general?

Just passed my check ride on Saturday. I'm a young guy, so navigating the technology shouldn't be much of an issue for me. For night flying, I just have the few hours needed for my PPL. I was really comfortable throughout the training with night flying though--I actually enjoyed it much more than everything else.
I also feel really comfortable tracking VORs and relying on my instruments. With that being said though, if the weather is anything less than perfect, I'll probably make a no go decision. Also, looking at the sectional, it doesn't look like there are any major obstacles directly surrounding the airport other than a few towers.

 

[John221us]

I have never had an issue getting a GPS signal on my iPad with ForeFlight (built in GPS). That said, I don't fly over mountains at night in a single. Everyone has their own level of risk they will accept, though.

 

[petrolero]

Are you relying on the iPad's GPS only? No external receiver?

If so, it will depend very much on where it's mounted. I wouldn't rely on just the iPad's internal GPS. It could very well come and go. The mountains don't affect the GPS signal much but the metal of the airplane will (or less so if it's a bubble canopy... and this gets back to the question above about what type of airplane).

You could go pilotage direct and rely on the FF map for heading and ground visual references along the way. When the GPS is working, great - you have a position fix. When not, no big deal - you just use your heading and pilotage references.

 

[Cpt_Kirk]

You're making this way too hard on yourself. There is a large gap between the range that goes right by JZP. At night, follow the highway until you're south of the field. Then, pickup the AHN vor and fly right to the field.

 

[rt4388]

You're making this way too hard on yourself. There is a large gap between the range that goes right by JZP. At night, follow the highway until you're south of the field. Then, pickup the AHN vor and fly right to the field.

I was hoping to get a nice view of the Atlanta skyline at some point so thats why I wanted to go over the top of PDK. And I'll be in a 172.

 

[Brad Z]

Just passed my check ride on Saturday. I'm a young guy, so navigating the technology shouldn't be much of an issue for me. For night flying, I just have the few hours needed for my PPL. I was really comfortable throughout the training with night flying though--I actually enjoyed it much more than everything else.
I also feel really comfortable tracking VORs and relying on my instruments. With that being said though, if the weather is anything less than perfect, I'll probably make a no go decision. Also, looking at the sectional, it doesn't look like there are any major obstacles directly surrounding the airport other than a few towers.

Since you're so new at this, do yourself a favor and identify visual checkpoint to follow along the way. That's your best way to maintain situational awareness if the GPS signal craps out on you.

And yes, there are plenty of visual checkpoints at night. Cities (bright), lakes (dark), airport beacons, highway intersections, refineries, etc. Don't forget to get ATC flight following as well.

Good luck. Night flying is the best.

 

[Clark1961]

I don't know that part of the country but I'm guessing that you'll only take-off from a hill country airport at night one time in a single engine aircraft.

From the picture of 49A on Airnav it doesn't look too bad. If there is a highway to follow to the south then that's a viable VFR nav. If the highway isn't lit up with traffic then circle over the airport and climb to 5,500 or so.

The ipad should be useful but always remember Murphy's Law...and that Murphy was an optimist.

 

[JoseCuervo]

There are mountains in Georgia???


I have never had problems with my iPad internal GPS signal, even in deep canyons in real mountains. I wouldn't fly that country at night, but that is not the question posed.

 

[midlifeflyer]

I don't know that part of the country but I'm guessing that you'll only take-off from a hill country airport at night one time in a single engine aircraft.

My thought exactly.

That part of the country doesn't have all the same issues as Colorado, but mountains are mountains. And landing at an airport in areas in terrain at night has pretty much the same issues issues about running into something whether it be Gilmer GA or Granby CO.

rt, operating in mountainous areas, even low mountains like in the east, is just different than in the flats. And at night? Frankly, unless I know the area very well (from a flying standpoint, not the ground) or am flying instruments with charts that tell me where the safe parts are, a first time trip for a night landing at an airport in a remote area with higher terrain is not high on my to do list.

Specifically on the iPad question. It sounds a bit like you would not do the trip without having a magenta line to guide you though the terrain. A tablet is an incredibly valuable tool but I try my best to prevent it from being the final arbiter of my flight decisions. There definitely are things I will do with the right technology that I wouldn't do without it, but low-altitude flying in the mountains is not one of them.

YMMV.

 

[ettsn]

I live near KLZU, and would loan you my Stratus 2 if you wanted to try it. Might give you a little more margin of safety for this trip, and let you evaluate if you wanted to order one. PM me if you want to meet up.

 

[MAKG1]

This is setting off alarm bells.

If you are relying (your words) on a toy GPS to avoid making smoking holes, you're not ready for this. I rather strongly recommend doing this with an instructor. Without the toy, or at most using it as a chart holder.

The issue is not how to use the technology when everything works. It's how to not die when it doesn't. A GPS does not protect you from night optical illusions, and a magenta line can lead to excessive heads down time, disorientation, or poor night vision.

The moon is about 1/4 waxing now, so it's a good time for night flight. But it doesn't help if you blind yourself with a too-bright screen or one of those incredibly bright "tactical" flashlights.

Night time and mountains should make you nervous. I only do that quasi IFR (following airways/OROCAs and approaches while VFR). No way in Hell I'd cross the Sierra at night, and lower mountains are carefully planned for IFR terrain avoidance.

Even in cities, mountain peaks are not always lit.

 

[murphey]

I don't know that part of the country but I'm guessing that you'll only take-off from a hill country airport at night one time in a single engine aircraft.

From the picture of 49A on Airnav it doesn't look too bad. If there is a highway to follow to the south then that's a viable VFR nav. If the highway isn't lit up with traffic then circle over the airport and climb to 5,500 or so.

The ipad should be useful but always remember Murphy's Law...and that Murphy was an optimist.

O'Brian's Corollary - Murphy was an Optimist.

Of course Murphey (<- see avatar) is practitioner of chaos theory.

 

[Cpt_Kirk]

I was hoping to get a nice view of the Atlanta skyline at some point so thats why I wanted to go over the top of PDK. And I'll be in a 172.

I see.

Have you flown the route Day VFR? I'd recommend it before I went in at night.

For instance, I've been into Aspen, CO VFR and I'm glad I did because now I have a real picture of what I'm dealing with when in the soup.

Also, another note - Reliance primarily on an iPad is guaranteed to hurt you in the future.

 

[midlifeflyer]

This is setting off alarm bells.

If you are relying (your words) on a toy GPS to avoid making smoking holes, you're not ready for this.

You and I regularly disagree about tablet use in the cockpit. But other than your use of the term "toy," we pretty much agree on the bottom line on this one.

 

[PPC1052]

I just took a look at the charts. I would counsel against this one. There is no approach into the airport. Low time experience, night time, over mountains, single engine, and unfamiliar? This is not a good choice.

 

[EppyGA]

I probably would not make that flight at night. Lots of trees around the airport would not be my preference in the dark.

 

[rt4388]

Dang... Sounds like a really bad idea in yalls opinion. But I appreciate the honesty. What if I flew in late afternoon to get an idea for the area? Then I would just have one take off from the airport at night. Again, I just want to reiterate if the weather isn't great, I won't make it. Also, I will definitely be looking outside the entire time, but my question was more along the lines of "If I can't get a VOR signal and I get lost, will the iPad be an adequate backup for the backup?"

 

[dukeblue219]

"If I can't get a VOR signal and I get lost, will the iPad be an adequate backup for the backup?"

Yes.

That said, the reason many of us are wary is that it sounds like you're jumping into the deep end a little early. You're not doing anything Earth-shatteringly stupid, or anything that hasn't been done before, but it'd be best to take a CFI along as backup. There's substantial risk here that may not be necessary. It's one of those cases where you read the accident report and start counting the strikes against the pilot and think "why did he go?"

It sounds like you're more concerned with getting back into PDK than getting to 49A. PDK will be brightly lit, surrounded by bright urban areas, has a VOR, and a tower if you need help. Getting in to 49A may be more difficult than you think since it's going to be very dark. Have you flown to remote uncontrolled airfields at night before? For that matter, have you ever flown a night solo? Are you certain you're familiar with the illusions that can happen at night? There's no VASI/PAPI or instrument approach to help guide you in, so be sure you're on the ball with your altitude. Having a second pair of hands to help you navigate while you focus on flying is always nice, especially at night.

 

[Greg Bockelman]

O'Brian's Corollary - Murphy was an Optimist.

Wow. I always knew it as "Slade's Law". Learned something useless today.

 

[Clark1961]

Dang... Sounds like a really bad idea in yalls opinion. But I appreciate the honesty. What if I flew in late afternoon to get an idea for the area? Then I would just have one take off from the airport at night. Again, I just want to reiterate if the weather isn't great, I won't make it. Also, I will definitely be looking outside the entire time, but my question was more along the lines of "If I can't get a VOR signal and I get lost, will the iPad be an adequate backup for the backup?"

Flying in with daylight, darn good idea. Doesn't even have to be much daylight.

For the night stuff, humor me and read a little story...

I had done the mountain flight training and slowly worked my way into flights over and around the Rockies in Colorado, Wyoming and New Mexico. I'd probably made 30 or more flights over two years and I was at least comfortable with the hills.

I'd pushed the limits a little on winds and weather and found that if one was careful it was frequently possible to make safe flights a little outside the rules taught by the mountain CFIs. A little outside might be okay because the rules were developed for just about any spam can and any level of pilot experience and weather knowledge.

One particular limit I didn't push was the rule about no night flights over the hills while single pilot and definitely not while single engine. Well I was in Wyoming one night and wanted to get back to Denver early the next morning. I was very familiar with the terrain around the airport and had noted the safe altitudes and verified that the terrain depiction on the GNS 430W was reasonably accurate.

I had the brilliant thought of "why not leave before dawn and get back to Denver early?" So I got up early, drove to the airport, fired up the plane and took off into the black sky. Did I mention it was still dark? It was darker than inside a black cat which was inside a coal mine and it was after midnight! I mean that it was dark. The only lights on the ground were the runway lights and a few ranch houses scattered around.

I circled for awhile and climbed above my 10,500' terrain clearance floor and headed east towards the plains which were over a couple of mountain ranges away. Did I mention that it was dark? Nary a ranch house in that country. Did the engine just miss? maybe, maybe not and it's still dark. Oil temp is high and the pressure looks a little low, is it dropping? What's under me? nothing, it's black. I'm flying over nothingness. I think maybe I should get synthetic vision...

Anyway, the dawn light eventually peeked out of the east and pushed a little dark away and that engine miss (maybe) went away.

I decided that I really didn't want to do that again...

 

[rbridges]

So I'm doing a night xc in a few days up to 49A and I'm planning on relying pretty heavily on my iPad and forelight for navigation. On the way back, I'm probably going to track in the KPDK VOR and then turn towards my destination when I get over the top. But with some of the "mountains" in that area, I'm a bit worried about my VOR signal strength that far out and my iPads GPS capabilities--specifically during the takeoff phase.
Have you all had success with Foreflight for navigation in such a scenario? Night time and mountains are making me a little nervous so I just want to know exactly where I am the entire time. Thanks guys!

night time and mountains & clouds and mountains have killed many pilots. I wouldn't take chances. Unless you're pretty confident and have a solid game plan, stay on the ground. CFIT will ruin your day.

 

[AggieMike88]

Take a look at the IFR en-route charts. Those will show you airways with minimum enrout altitudes that will guarantee VOR reception. Use those routes and altitudes for safe passage through/above the mountains.

+1. Check this out none the less. Then try Airport > VOR > VOR > Airport navigating. It's what was done in the old days and still works today. And it's a useful skill set to have.

Make sure you do a navigation log that has the names of the VORs you're using, their frequencies, their morse code identifiers, and radials you're using for in and outbound.


Then use your iPad as the secondary information source to aid in general situational awareness.

 

[rt4388]

So this is my game plan as of now--if I decide to go. I'll land at 49A with daylight so that I can observe the terrain, the airport, and the best place to try to put her down if I need to on the upwind leg of a night departure. I'll depart at night and circle the airport until I reach 2000 AGL (roughly 3500 MSL). This will give me the altitude I need to safely make it to an airport in the event of an engine failure and adequate obstacle clearance. As long as I stay within close sight of the airport while circling, according to the sectional, obstacles shouldn't play a role. Also, at this point I should be able to see the town of Jasper and flip on the lights at KJZP if needed for pilotage. From here, I should be able to flip on the lights at KCNI if needed and be able to see Ball Ground and the suburbs of Atlanta. However, throughout this time I will also have my VOR tuned into KPDK and tracking that radial in and using pilotage as the backup. Between a map, a VOR, Flight Following once I get the altitude, and a GPS, I don't think I should encounter many problems.
The biggest concern for me is getting above obstacles. I'm guessing I'll probably take off of 03, which according to the sectional, means that I will have 10 nautical miles ahead of no obstacles so that I can climb. Obviously, I won't use all ten nm, but I can get a good altitude before turning to my left crosswind.
How does this sound to you experienced pilots? By the way, I appreciate all the help--who knows how many lives are saved by Pilots of America.

 

[Clark1961]

I'll just say that if you depart an unfamiliar airport in the hills in the dark of night you will decide that you really don't want to do that again...

yes, it can be done...my usual question is why? save a $100 on a room? so what, wait until morning...but everyone has to learn for themselves...just make sure you have a workable plan...

 

[MAKG1]

Dude, you are going to circle over a dark site at night with no instrument training, as a less than 100 hour pilot?

THINK about this for a moment.

Do the departure in daylight. Bring a tent and sleeping bag if you have to. Or maybe an instructor.

Pardon my bluntness, but this is really stupid. And I don't think CFIT is the big risk here. It's disorientation.

 

[denverpilot]

Circling over a house in broad daylight was the closest I ever came to becoming a stall/spin statistic. I was low time and learned some things that day.

Not interested at night. Had to do circle to land during the instrument rating training at night and even with a nice MSA ring and known safe altitudes I could think of a lot of things that could go very wrong with it. No solid horizon, chance of vertigo, chance of airspeed mismanagement in s turn, etc.

No thanks.

 

[midlifeflyer]

So this is my game plan as of now--if I decide to go. I'll land at 49A with daylight so that I can observe the terrain, the airport, and the best place to try to put her down if I need to on the upwind leg of a night departure. I'll depart at night and circle the airport until I reach 2000 AGL (roughly 3500 MSL). This will give me the altitude I need to safely make it to an airport in the event of an engine failure and adequate obstacle clearance. As long as I stay within close sight of the airport while circling, according to the sectional, obstacles shouldn't play a role. Also, at this point I should be able to see the town of Jasper and flip on the lights at KJZP if needed for pilotage. From here, I should be able to flip on the lights at KCNI if needed and be able to see Ball Ground and the suburbs of Atlanta. However, throughout this time I will also have my VOR tuned into KPDK and tracking that radial in and using pilotage as the backup. Between a map, a VOR, Flight Following once I get the altitude, and a GPS, I don't think I should encounter many problems.
The biggest concern for me is getting above obstacles. I'm guessing I'll probably take off of 03, which according to the sectional, means that I will have 10 nautical miles ahead of no obstacles so that I can climb. Obviously, I won't use all ten nm, but I can get a good altitude before turning to my left crosswind.
How does this sound to you experienced pilots? By the way, I appreciate all the help--who knows how many lives are saved by Pilots of America.

The night departure? Let's put it this way. My first solo cross country about 25 years ago was into mountainous terrain in New England. Let's add to that 20 years flying in Colorado and about 15 years of that giving mountain flight training. I wouldn't do it. YMMV.

Other than that, it sounds like you've given it a lot of thought. You might consider playing "student pilot" and asking a CFI who is familiar with the area about your plan, as you would for a solo cross country to the same airport.

The other thing to consider is to leave yourself plenty of daylight. More than one pilot has been very surprised by the transition from bright sunshine aloft to sudden darkness when dropping below a ridge.

 

[Brad Z]

So I'm doing a night xc in a few days up to 49A and I'm planning on relying pretty heavily on my iPad and forelight for navigation. On the way back, I'm probably going to track in the KPDK VOR and then turn towards my destination when I get over the top. But with some of the "mountains" in that area, I'm a bit worried about my VOR signal strength that far out and my iPads GPS capabilities--specifically during the takeoff phase.
Have you all had success with Foreflight for navigation in such a scenario? Night time and mountains are making me a little nervous so I just want to know exactly where I am the entire time. Thanks guys!

One thing to consider. When you ask "should do something?" regarding something that is at least questionable in your mind, you're going to get half of the responses that are "sure, go for it" and half that are "you're going to kill yourself!". Of course the truth is somewhere in the middle.

As PIC, you'll need to make some hard decisions. It sounds like you're already concerned about the night/terrain issues; that's wise. You've also proposed a risk mitigation- circling over the airport. How do you plan to execute that strategy? What is your plan for system failure?

Whether we'd do it or not is irrelevant. Ultimately you'll need to make the decision based on your skills. It sounds like you may be weak in pilotage, so consider that a factor. It also sounds like this is unfamiliar area and terrain, so that's a factor too. Have you done much night flying? If not, would this be a good trip to get back into it?

Objectively, the concerning terrain is mostly the opposite direction of where you're flying home. How quickly can you pick up a visual on hwy 515? Taking off from rwy 21 you basically climb out, pick up the road, and follow it down to Cherokee Co. From there, you'll see the glow of the city. I presume you'll also be on flight following when practicable as well.

The iPad is great, but just have a plan for when it crashes on you. It WILL happen to you at some point, and that's not the time to come up with a plan on the fly.

 

[dell30rb]

So I looked at the sectional for 49A. Its not in the mountains, its in a flat area that is near the foothills. I've flown into nearby JZP.

In fact the route I would suggest for your flight home is to takeoff, fly a normal pattern and follow highway 515 to JZP. Keep the highway on your left side as you fly to JZP. That will keep you well clear of any hills, and once you make it that far, there is nothing but flat terrain between yourself and your home of LZU.

Night flying is more risky for a low time VFR pilot, but its not something you should avoid, just something you should treat with a lot of caution. Make sure the weather is great, you are night current and familiar with flying that particular airplane at night.

 

[rt4388]

One thing to consider. When you ask "should do something?" regarding something that is at least questionable in your mind, you're going to get half of the responses that are "sure, go for it" and half that are "you're going to kill yourself!". Of course the truth is somewhere in the middle.

As PIC, you'll need to make some hard decisions. It sounds like you're already concerned about the night/terrain issues; that's wise. You've also proposed a risk mitigation- circling over the airport. How do you plan to execute that strategy? What is your plan for system failure?

Whether we'd do it or not is irrelevant. Ultimately you'll need to make the decision based on your skills. It sounds like you may be weak in pilotage, so consider that a factor. It also sounds like this is unfamiliar area and terrain, so that's a factor too. Have you done much night flying? If not, would this be a good trip to get back into it?

Objectively, the concerning terrain is mostly the opposite direction of where you're flying home. How quickly can you pick up a visual on hwy 515? Taking off from rwy 21 you basically climb out, pick up the road, and follow it down to Cherokee Co. From there, you'll see the glow of the city. I presume you'll also be on flight following when practicable as well.

The iPad is great, but just have a plan for when it crashes on you. It WILL happen to you at some point, and that's not the time to come up with a plan on the fly.

So I sat down with my CFI this morning and proposed my plan. He seems to think that I won't have a problem at all with this flight. In terms of executing my circling of the airport, I'll just extend my upwind a bit to gain some altitude before turning to my crosswind. There's nothing until ten nm north of the airport so this shouldn't be an issue. All of my turns at this point will be standard rate to hedge against disorientation. I'll have the KJZP CTAF already tuned into com 2 so once practical, I'll flip the lights on via that. I really don't think I'll have any major issues with pilotage at this point. There are two major stepping stones (KJZP and KCNI) that I can use--both of which are along a highway and next to a small town. And by the time I reach my 3500 MSL and exit the pattern, I should be able to pick up the KPDK VOR, which will take me straight over these airports and through the gap in the terrain. Of course I'll be getting flight following as soon as practical as well.
My CFI and I had a discussion about disorientation this morning and we both agreed that on previous night flights I didn't suffer from it; however, he made it clear that if I do start to feel it onset to focus on my instruments and to trust them. This is something I've never felt uncomfortable doing.
For a system failure I have a few backups. Obviously pilotage is my first resource, a VOR is my second, and the GPS is my third. I'll probably be relying on a mix of the 3 throughout the flight though. If the gyros go out at night, well thats just bad luck. But I'm confident I could still fly her as long as I stay calm. If the power plant fails on the upwind leg, thats just really bad luck; however, in the event of a power plant failure, I will have already scouted out the terrain on my inbound flight to determine the most appropriate place to try to put it down.
Between my plan to get altitude so that terrain can be avoided and airports are within gliding distance, 3 methods of navigating, weather that is looking great, a decent moon, and a commitment to focus on the instruments in the event of spatial disorientation, I'm feeling pretty confident about this one.
Obviously, like most flying, you are challenged some days but thats how you get better. I have a lot of trust in my instructor and he honestly looked at me like I was making a mountain out of a molehill. But he was still more than willing to address all my concerns, voice his own concerns, and provide advice. So as long as the weather looks good tomorrow, I think its going to be a go decision for me.

 

[Brad Z]

So I sat down with my CFI this morning and proposed my plan. He seems to think that I won't have a problem at all with this flight. In terms of executing my circling of the airport, I'll just extend my upwind a bit to gain some altitude before turning to my crosswind. There's nothing until ten nm north of the airport so this shouldn't be an issue. All of my turns at this point will be standard rate to hedge against disorientation. I'll have the KJZP CTAF already tuned into com 2 so once practical, I'll flip the lights on via that. I really don't think I'll have any major issues with pilotage at this point. There are two major stepping stones (KJZP and KCNI) that I can use--both of which are along a highway and next to a small town. And by the time I reach my 3500 MSL and exit the pattern, I should be able to pick up the KPDK VOR, which will take me straight over these airports and through the gap in the terrain. Of course I'll be getting flight following as soon as practical as well.
My CFI and I had a discussion about disorientation this morning and we both agreed that on previous night flights I didn't suffer from it; however, he made it clear that if I do start to feel it onset to focus on my instruments and to trust them. This is something I've never felt uncomfortable doing.
For a system failure I have a few backups. Obviously pilotage is my first resource, a VOR is my second, and the GPS is my third. I'll probably be relying on a mix of the 3 throughout the flight though. If the gyros go out at night, well thats just bad luck. But I'm confident I could still fly her as long as I stay calm. If the power plant fails on the upwind leg, thats just really bad luck; however, in the event of a power plant failure, I will have already scouted out the terrain on my inbound flight to determine the most appropriate place to try to put it down.
Between my plan to get altitude so that terrain can be avoided and airports are within gliding distance, 3 methods of navigating, weather that is looking great, a decent moon, and a commitment to focus on the instruments in the event of spatial disorientation, I'm feeling pretty confident about this one.
Obviously, like most flying, you are challenged some days but thats how you get better. I have a lot of trust in my instructor and he honestly looked at me like I was making a mountain out of a molehill. But he was still more than willing to address all my concerns, voice his own concerns, and provide advice. So as long as the weather looks good tomorrow, I think its going to be a go decision for me.

Sounds like you've got a plan. Go have fun.

 

[rk911]

What kind of plane? I've never had an issue getting GPS reception on my iPad, even when it's sitting on my lap. (aside from whether or not you'd rely on it under these circumstances)

in order for the GPS chip in the iPad to work the iPad needs to have cellular capability. if it is a WiFi only model the GPS function is non-existent.

 

[midlifeflyer]

in order for the GPS chip in the iPad to work the iPad needs to have cellular capability. if it is a WiFi only model the GPS function is non-existent.

Yes, in order to have GPS capability you need to have GPS capability.

 

[rt4388]

Ended up having to cancel the flight for tonight. I put in quite a bit of time planning the flight and becoming familiar with the area, but the plane had a maintenance issue last minute. What a bummer, but I guess I'll just have to plan it again soon.

 

[Henning]

So I'm doing a night xc in a few days up to 49A and I'm planning on relying pretty heavily on my iPad and forelight for navigation. On the way back, I'm probably going to track in the KPDK VOR and then turn towards my destination when I get over the top. But with some of the "mountains" in that area, I'm a bit worried about my VOR signal strength that far out and my iPads GPS capabilities--specifically during the takeoff phase.
Have you all had success with Foreflight for navigation in such a scenario? Night time and mountains are making me a little nervous so I just want to know exactly where I am the entire time. Thanks guys!

Can you use it, certainly, can you rely on it with your life? That is a more difficult question to answer with a positive. What you have to take into consideration is the terrain gradient vs climb gradient. Look on the Low IFR chart and get the MEA and calculate where you can make that altitude. If you can make it to that altitude before you get to the terrain, you are safe to make the climb on the airway even if you drop the VOR at the beginning.