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With respect, calibrating compass compensations is in fact very important in FAA approved aircraft. It's part of the inspection checklist signed off by the lice

With respect, calibrating compass compensations is in fact very important in FAA approved aircraft. It's part of the inspection checklist signed off by the licensed mechanic. My flight instructor once switched off the electricity to the airplane's controls and radios and told me to land. At an airport with a control tower. Using the magnetic compass, airspeed, barometric altimeter, RPMs, that's it. Nothing else works without electric power. There's a whole procedure for doing all that. Being able to navigate safely with an old-school magnetic compass is life-critical.

TylerE 4y ago
Ok, that’s totally fair. It’s been 25 years since I took a few lessons, purely dim since then.
zzless 4y ago
Not to doubt your story but being a flight instructor myself, I cannot imagine intentionally turning off power to airplane radios at an airport with a control tower (this is also illegal). As far as the pure mechanics of landing go, one does not need any instruments whatsoever: one can judge the airspeed by the sound and the wing angle. I routinely make my students do this when I teach tailwheel flying.
- TheRealPomax 4y ago
  Not to mention that no one would ever be insane enough to turn off electronics and then say "right, now IFR your way in". You're flying VFR, you're going to have eyes on the runway.
- stevehawk 4y ago
  > Not to doubt your story but being a flight instructor myself, I cannot imagine intentionally turning off power to airplane radios at an airport with a control tower (this is also illegal). You just pre-arrange it with the tower and it's no big deal. Probably exceptions for busy class Cs or Ds, but it's no big deal to any airport near me.
- grepfru_it 4y ago
  I once took off with my pitot tube covered. I didn’t even notice while taking off it wasn’t until I was 100ft agl when I scanned my instruments and realized my airspeed indicator was dead. After a split second freak out I realized I had gotten here based on external indicators. So I calmly went right back into the pattern and landed using purely sound, wing angle, visual reference, and muscle memory.
sandworm101 4y ago
I had a scuba instructor who used to sneek up behind and turn off our tank valves... in the pool. You dont do such things in the real world. Also, in the real world, i would probably break out my smartphone. Short of an emp strike, it will still run on its own battery and can act either as a rough set of instruments or to phone the tower and declare an emergency.

TylerE 4y ago

Ok, that’s totally fair. It’s been 25 years since I took a few lessons, purely dim since then.

zzless 4y ago

Not to doubt your story but being a flight instructor myself, I cannot imagine intentionally turning off power to airplane radios at an airport with a control tower (this is also illegal). As far as the pure mechanics of landing go, one does not need any instruments whatsoever: one can judge the airspeed by the sound and the wing angle. I routinely make my students do this when I teach tailwheel flying.

TheRealPomax 4y ago
Not to mention that no one would ever be insane enough to turn off electronics and then say "right, now IFR your way in". You're flying VFR, you're going to have eyes on the runway.
stevehawk 4y ago
> Not to doubt your story but being a flight instructor myself, I cannot imagine intentionally turning off power to airplane radios at an airport with a control tower (this is also illegal). You just pre-arrange it with the tower and it's no big deal. Probably exceptions for busy class Cs or Ds, but it's no big deal to any airport near me.
grepfru_it 4y ago
I once took off with my pitot tube covered. I didn’t even notice while taking off it wasn’t until I was 100ft agl when I scanned my instruments and realized my airspeed indicator was dead. After a split second freak out I realized I had gotten here based on external indicators. So I calmly went right back into the pattern and landed using purely sound, wing angle, visual reference, and muscle memory.

sandworm101 4y ago

I had a scuba instructor who used to sneek up behind and turn off our tank valves... in the pool. You dont do such things in the real world. Also, in the real world, i would probably break out my smartphone. Short of an emp strike, it will still run on its own battery and can act either as a rough set of instruments or to phone the tower and declare an emergency.