This document © 1989 Software 2000. Inc.
Flightmaster software © 1989 Software 2000. Inc.
Flightmaster^TM is a trademark of Software 2000. Inc.

July 1989 Edition (Flightmaster Version 1.0).
Printed in U.S.A. by Community Press, Provo, Utah.

The Flightmaster software described in this document is protected by both the Copyright Act of the United States (Title 17. USC) and by international treaty provisions. Consequently, you must treat this software just like a book. This means that the software may be used by any number of people and may be freely moved from one location to another, so long as there is no possibility of it being used by two different people in two different places at the same time.

Flightmaster, Inc., Warrants the physical Flightmaster hardware and documentation to be free of defects in materials and workmanship for a period of one year from the date of purchase, and Warrants the Flightmaster software to operate substantially as described in this User's Guide.

In the event of notification within the warranty period of defects in material or workmanship, Flightmaster. Inc., will replace the defective hardware, software or documentation. The remedy for breach of this warranty shall be strictly limited to replacement of the defective item and shall not encompass any other damages of any kind.

Flightmaster, Inc., and Software 2000, Inc., specifically disclaim all other warranties, expressed or implied, including but not limited to implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose with respect to defects in the hardware, software and documentation. In no event shall Flightmaster, Inc., or Software 2000. Inc., be liable for loss of profit, bodily injury, or any other damages, including but not limited to special incidental, consequential or other damages.

Flightmaster, Inc., and Software 2000, Inc., reserve the right to make improvements and modifications in the hardware and software described herein at any time and without notice.

Safety of flight requires that you have a thorough understanding of the capabilities and limitations of your Flightmaster. Read and heed the following safety precautions (as well as others that appear elsewhere in this document).

Navigational data: Never rely on the Flightmaster as your sole source of critical navigational information. Cross-check all such data against current aviation charts. The Flightmaster's built-in database is derived from data issued by the FAA National Flight Data Center. This data is revised by the FAA every 56 days. Database updates are available for your Flightmaster on either a one-time or annual-subscription basis. Even if you keep your Flightmaster updated, however, you must always treat your current aviation charts as the final authority on all critical-for-safety navigational data.

Automatic routing: It is imperative that you check out any route automatically derived by the Flightmaster against current aviation charts to make certain that the route can be flown safely and legally. The Flightmaster does not know about minimum safe altitudes, terminal control areas, prohibited areas, restricted areas, warning areas, military operations areas, notices to airmen, or one-way airways. Furthermore, the Flightmaster's database may not be current if you have not updated it recently.

Aircraft performance data: The Flightmaster performs trip planning calculations based upon aircraft-specific performance data which you enter into the machine for each particular aircraft you fly. Be certain that the performance data you enter is in agreement with the aircraft manufacturer's performance specifications, and that they truly represent the way that you intend to fly the aircraft. When entering aircraft performance data, it is prudent to err on the side of conservatism: enter the lowest airspeeds and highest fuel consumption rates consistent with your anticipated operating envelope.

In-flight discrepancies: Whenever you use the Flightmaster to monitor your in-flight progress, be alert for significant discrepancies between your actual fix arrival times and fuel burns and those calculated by the Flightmaster. Remember that the Flightmaster's calculations are only estimates predicated on book performance and forecast winds aloft. Always be certain that you have generous fuel reserves... legal minimum reserves are often not sufficient to ensure safety. Any time your actual progress or fuel consumption appears to differ from estimated values, you should determine why immediately. You may be encountering more adverse winds than forecast, or your aircraft may not be performing according to book specifications. In any such situation, it is important for you to re-evaluate your fuel reserves and possibly plan to land short of your intended destination.

Database updates and accessories for your Flightmaster may be ordered by contacting us as shown below. New database updates are released every 56 days as new data is received from the FAA. Updates may be ordered on a one-time or subscription basis, and we encourage you to keep your Flightmaster updated.

In addition, we offer a variety of accessories for your Flightmaster, including a printer, RS232 adapter, backup datapaks, carrying cases, and an AC power adapter. Accessories are discussed in detail in the last chapter of this User's Guide.

if you encounter any difficulty while using your Flightmaster and cannot resolve it by rereading the relevant section of this User's Guide, please contact us as shown below. We have Flightmaster experts available to help you.

In the unlikely event that you need to return your Flightmaster to us for repairs, call us first to obtain a return authorization. We will give you instructions on how to package your machine and how and where to send it.

If you are dissatisfied with your Flightmaster for any reason, you may return it to us within 30 days of purchase for a full refund, no questions asked. You must return your Flightmaster to us in undamaged condition in its original packaging. Call us first to obtain a return authorization, and ship the package to us insured in case of loss.

Flightmaster, Inc.
Lake Technology Park
P.O. Box 128
McHenry, MD 21541

(800) 462-6669 toll-free
(301) 387-7997
(301) 387-7322 FAX

74020,10 CompuServe

You are about to experience a remarkable breakthrough in avionics technology: your new Flightmaster handheld flight management system. A tiny machine that weighs just 10.5 ounces and fits easily in your palm or pocket, the Flightmaster combines the power and precision of computer flight planning with a built-in easily-updatable navigation database that contains 11,000 fixes plus all U.S. airways. Nothing like this has ever been available to pilots before.

Here's a quick overview of the capabilities of your Flightmaster:

• Built-in navigation database of a size that is unprecedented in a pocket-size unit. Includes all VORs, all paved public-use airports, all Victor and Jet airways, most intersections, and selected NDBs in the United States (including Alaska and Hawaii), plus VORs in Canada. Mexico, and the Caribbean. Easy updates you can install yourself in seconds by swapping removable datapaks. Plus your own user-defined fixes (dozens if you wish).

In addition to the built-in navigation database, the Flightmaster maintains a user-defined database of various kinds of information that you will enter into the machine yourself, including:

• User-defined navigational fixes (airports, intersections, NDBs, VORs. VORDMEs, or VORTACs). You may store several hundred of these, and add or delete them anytime you wish.
• Frequently-used routings that you elect to save for later recall. You may store dozens of these, if you wish.

The user-defined database is stored in the internal memory of the machine. The various kinds of user-defined data compete with one another for space in the internal memory. This means, for example, that if you define a very large number of your own user-defined navigation fixes or save a lot of routings. you may have to keep your checklists a bit short. And so forth.

This Internal RAM that stores your user-defined database is kept continually active by the battery, even when the machine is switched off, and is kept alive by a capacitor for up to 2 minutes when you change batteries. However, it is possible to lose the contents of internal RAM...here are some good ways:

In any case, if you succeed in losing the contents of internal RAM, you will wind up having to re-enter all the items in your user-defined database. This will be a memorable experience for you, and will teach you to be more careful when changing batteries.

Note: You can skip this page unless you happen to have a special interest in electronics or computer hardware.

Well then, since you must be a dyed-in-the-wool computer nut, here are some interesting nitty-gritty details about the PSION Organiser II hardware:

• The extraordinarily small size of the machine is achieved by extensive use of surface-mount-technology (SMT) integrated circuits, and by use of semi-custom ICs.

As you read through the manual from this point on, it's a good idea to have your Flightmaster handy and follow along with the text. This way, you will wind up educating your fingers as well as your brain.

Some of the keys on the keyboard have special meanings:

• ON/CLEAR is used to switch the Flightmaster on, to clear an entire item when editing data, and to exit from a menu or data entry routine. When editing or entering data, pressing ON/CLEAR once erases the item so you can start over; pressing ON/CLEAR a second time exits from the routine. (If you're a PC user, it might help you to think of it as being a cross between the ESCAPE and CTRL-C keys on a conventional PC keyboard.)
• MODE is used in certain routines to shift to an alternate mode, function, or menu.
• The cursor keys (the ↑, ↓, ←, and → arrow keys) are used to select items from a menu, scroll through a list, or navigate through a table. They are also used to position the cursor while editing data: ← and → move the cursor one character position to the left or right, while ↑ and ↓ move the cursor all the way to the beginning or end of the line.
• SHIFT temporarily shifts the keyboard to the opposite mode (numeric or alphabetic) as long as it is held down. The cursor shape changes to indicate which mode the keyboard is in: flashing block for alphabetic, solid underline for numeric.
• NUM (SHIFT plus ↓) toggles the keyboard mode between numeric and alphabetic. The cursor shape changes accordingly.
• CAP (SHIFT plus ↑) toggles the keyboard alphabetic mode between lowercase and uppercase.
• DEL is used when editing data to delete a character. It normally deletes the character immediately preceding the cursor (like the BACKSPACE key on a PC). However, SHIFT plus DEL deletes the character under the cursor (like the DELETE key on a PC).
• SPACE enters a space (like the spacebar on a conventional keyboard).
• EXE is used to execute a menu item, to confirm an action, or to complete a line of input data. (Think of it as being like the ENTER or RETURN key on a conventional keyboard.)

The Flightmaster software is menu-operated. A menu is simply a list of functions that appears on the display, if the menu is too large to fit on the display all at once, you can scroll through it using the cursor keys. The ← and → keys move the cursor through the menu one item at a time, while the ↑ and ↓ keys move a the cursor line at a time.

To select a particular menu item, position the cursor to the desired item and then press the EXE key to execute the selected function. Alternately, you can simply press the letter key corresponding to the first letter of the desired menu item. (E.g., press Q for Quick, R for Route, V for View, etc.)

The diagram below depicts the menu structure of the Flightmaster. Observe that some menu selections invoke a subordinate menu or sub-menu. You can select an item from a sub-menu using either of the two methods described above, or you can exit the sub-menu and return to the higher-level menu by pressing the ON/CLEAR key.

The Flightmaster has a very accurate time-of-day clock. At your option, you can set it to local time or Coordinated Universal Time, also known as UTC, GMT, or Zulu time. For use in aviation, particularly if you fly IFR, it is usually most convenient to set the Flightmaster's clock to Zulu time.

When the date and time are correct, press EXE to make your changes effective (the cursor will disappear), and then ON/CLEAR to return to the main menu.

Note: The aviation menu also has a Time function which displays the date and time, but that function does not allow you to adjust the clock.

Selecting AVIATION from the main menu invokes the Flightmaster's aviation software. You will see brief displays of the software version, a copyright notice, and the database revision cycle date. Then, you will see the First two lines of the aviation menu:

Quick Route View W&B ChkLst E6B FltPln DataBase Print Time Acft Setup Off

The next several chapters of this manual describe how to use each of these aviation menu functions.

To switch the machine off select OFF from the menu (or just press the O key). You can also switch the machine off from within certain Flightmaster functions (View, ChkLst, and Time) by pressing the O key.

The Flightmaster will typically operate for months of normal use on a 9-volt alkaline battery. You can expect the battery to last anywhere between one and six months depending on how you use your Flightmaster...typical battery life seems to be about two or three months.

When the battery runs low (less than 5.5 volts under load), the Flightmaster will display a LOW BATTERY message. Whenever you see this warning, shut the machine off and replace the battery prior to further use. For in-flight use, you should always carry a fresh spare battery in your flight case.

To update the Flightmaster navigation database and software. you will have to change datapaks. This takes only a few seconds, but be sure you follow this procedure:

Trip planning is at the heart of the Flightmaster's capabilities, and its most often-used function, so that's where you should begin. Start by doing a few quick time-course-distance calculations. Then key-in the performance data for your aircraft and move on to the more elaborate trip planning functions including automatic route selection and in-flight progress monitoring. Don't forget to try out each junction on your Flightmaster as you read about it...that's the best way to learn the machine!

The first item in the Flightmaster's aviation menu is Quick. Select this menu function whenever you want to do a quick calculation of course, distance and estimated flying time from one fix to another without disturbing the current route or trip log.

First you see the prompt From fix:. Enter the fix identifier of any fix (airport, navaid, or intersection) and then press EXE. If you make a mistake keying the fix identifier, you can press the DEL key to backspace or the ON/CLEAR key to erase the entire entry and start over.

Next you see the prompt To fix:. Key-in another fix identifier followed by EXE.

Finally you are prompted for Groundspeed:. If there is an active trip log, this prompt will be followed by a default groundspeed (the calculated cruise speed for the active trip). Press EXE to use the default value, or key-in a groundspeed (in knots) followed by EXE. You may also leave the groundspeed blank if you don't need estimated flying time.

After about one second, the machine displays the magnetic course, the distance in nautical miles, and the estimated flying time in hours and minutes. (If you left the groundspeed blank, the flying time calculation is omitted.)

Example:

From fix: DAL EXE To fix: HOU EXE Groundspeed: 165 EXE Quick DALa→HOUa  151° 208nm 1:16

You can then press ON/CLEAR to return to the main aviation menu, or press any other key (such as EXE) to do another Quick calculation for a different pair of fixes.

If you enter a three-letter identifier which ambiguously identifies both a navaid and an airport (such as ICT, the identifier for both the Wichita Mid-Continent Airport and the Wichita VORTAC), the Flightmaster assumes that you mean the navaid. To specify that you mean the airport rather than the navaid. prefix the identifier with a K (e.g., KICT).

Example:

From fix: KICT EXE To fix: ICT EXE Groundspeed: 165 EXE Quick ICTa→ICT  302° 9nm 0:03

Note that the suffix "a" in ICTa denotes an airport. Similarly, the suffix "n" denotes an NDB, and "w" denotes an RNAV waypoint. No suffix is used for VORs and intersections.

If you enter a fix identifier that cannot be found anywhere in the Flightmaster's navigation database (including your own database of user-defined fixes), you hear a beep and see the following message:

Can't find XXX   Define it? [Y/N]

If you respond by pressing N, you are prompted to re-enter the identifier. However, if you respond by pressing Y, the Flightmaster gives you the opportunity to define this identifier and save it in your database of user-defined fixes...after which it proceeds with the Quick calculation. The details of the procedure for defining a new fix are described later on in the chapter on Database Access.

Defining a New Profile

Starting from the aviation menu, make the following menu selections in sequence: Setup→Aircraft→Define. The Flightmaster prompts you for various items of information about to your aircraft in the sequence shown on the worksheet.

First, you see the prompt A/C ID:. Enter your aircraft's identification (usually its N-number) up to six characters in length. The keyboard will be in alphabetic mode, so you will have to press SHIFT to key-in digits. If you enter an aircraft ID for which the Flightmaster already has a performance profile in its database, you hear a beep and see the message:

N54321 exists,   redefine? [Y/N]

to which you must respond by keying N to quit or Y to continue.

Next, you are prompted to enter five items of textual information that the Flightmaster uses when it fills out FAA flight plan forms for you:

A/C type/equip: C340/R EXE
A/C colors: WHITE+RED+BLUE EXE
Pilot's name: JOE J DOAKS EXE
A/C home base: LPC EXE
Telephone no.: 805-555-1212 EXE

Next, you see the message Fuel units used: Pounds & PPH. If you press SPACE the message changes to Gallons & GPH. Select whichever alternative you prefer to use for this aircraft, then press EXE.

Enter the figures for each altitude in response to the prompts (leave off the last two zeroes from the altitudes if you wish):

To indicate that you are finished entering climb performance information, press EXE at the ...what altitude: prompt.

Next, you are asked to enter information about the cruise performance of your aircraft...specifically, the true airspeed and fuel flow when cruising at sea level and various other altitudes. You can obtain this data from the Cruise Performance tables in your POH. Choose figures corresponding to the cruise power settings you use normally. Once again, you must choose a series of altitudes for which you will enter the cruise TAS and fuel flow information...this will probably be dictated by the format of the tables in your POH. The first set of cruise numbers is always for sea level: the remaining sets are for altitudes of your choice:

If your POH doesn't have cruise numbers for sea level, either extrapolate or simply use figures for the lowest altitude given in the POH. To indicate that you are finished entering cruise performance data, press EXE at the ...what altitude: prompt.

Finally, you are asked to enter information about the descent performance of your aircraft... specifically, the time, fuel, and distance required to descend from various altitudes to sea level under no-wind conditions. With luck, your POH contains a graph or table entitled Time, Fuel and Distance to Descend from which you can derive the necessary descent performance information.

Unfortunately, many small-aircraft POHS do not contain descent data. If yours doesn't, you will have to research, calculate, or estimate the information. For a normally-aspirated piston airplane, it is often sufficient to make one entry corresponding to the service ceiling of the airplane, assuming a 500 feet-per-minute descent at top-of-the-green airspeed and fuel consumption equivalent to an economy-cruise power setting. [For example: if we assume a 500-fpm descent at 120 knots groundspeed and fuel consumption of 6 gallons-per-hour from a service ceiling of 12.000', the entry might be: altitude = 12000', time-to-descend = 24 minutes, distance-to-descend = 48 nm, and fuel-to-descend = 2.4 gallons.] For a turbocharged airplane, a commonly-used descent profile assumes a 1,000-fpm descent from the service ceiling to 10.000', and a 500-fpm descent from there down to sea level...in this case, at least two entries are needed.

To indicate that you are finished entering descent performance information, press EXE at the ...what altitude: prompt. You then see the following message:

OK to save   N54321 (Y/N)?

to which you must respond by keying Y to save the performance profile in the Flightmaster's database, or N to discard the profile. (You will be sure to answer Y after all that hard work. won't you?)

Selecting Which Aircraft to Use

If you have defined performance profiles for several aircraft, you must tell the Flightmaster which aircraft to use for its flight planning calculations. To do this, select Acft from the aviation menu, scroll to the desired aircraft using the ↑ and ↓ keys, and then press EXE to select that aircraft as the currently-active one.

If you have defined only one aircraft profile in the Flightmaster's database, this step is unnecessary.

Changing on Existing Profile

To review and/or change any of the entries in a previously-entered aircraft performance profile, start from the aviation menu and make the following menu selections in sequence: Setup→Aircraft→Change. You can Scroll up and down through the various items in the profile by using the ↑ and ↓ cursor keys.

If you want to change any item, press EXE. The item moves to the left of the display, and the cursor appears. Now edit the item in the usual fashion, using the cursor keys, the DEL key (to erase characters), and the ON/CLEAR key (to clear the old entry altogether). When done editing, press EXE. Now you can scroll up or down to another item. Note: You cannot add additional altitudes or delete existing altitudes with this function.

When you're all done, press ON/CLEAR. If you have made any changes to the performance profile, you see the message:

OK to save   N54321? [Y/N]

to which you must respond by keying Y to save the revised performance profile in the Flightmaster's database, or N to discard the changes.

Erasing Existing Profiles

To erase a previously-entered aircraft performance profile from the Flightmaster's database, start from the aviation menu and make the following menu selections in sequence: Setup→Aircraft→Erase. You see the message:

OK to delete   N54321? [Y/N]

to which you must respond by keying Y to erase the aircraft from the Flightmaster's database, or N to retain it.

Important Note: Erasing the performance profile for an aircraft also erases any W&B or checklist data for that aircraft. There's no way to un-erase data that has been erased. Be quite sure that's what you want to do before answering Y to the confirmation prompt.

Before the Flightmaster can plan a flight for you, it has to know three things:

• the route you'd like to take
• the cruising altitude you prefer
• the winds aloft forecast at that altitude along your route

Selecting Route from the aviation menu brings up a sub-menu of functions for specifying route, altitude and winds:

New Change Revrs Xpand Load Save Erase Quick

Defining a New Route

Starting from the aviation menu, make the following menu selections in sequence: Route→New. The Flightmaster prompts you to specify a new route, altitude, and Winds aloft forecast.

After you have entered the route and pressed EXE, the machine checks the route for validity and looks up each fix and airway identifier in its navigation database. If you have specified any fix identifiers that are not defined in the database, the machine beeps and says:

Can't find BREZY define it? [Y/N]

If you respond Y, you will be prompted to define the location of the unknown fix(es) and to save the definition(s) in the user-defined-fix database for future reference. If you respond N, you will be prompted to edit your route specification.

The machine will also beep and complain if your route contains any airway designators that are not defined in the database, if a designated airway does not connect the two specified fixes, or if a specified airway segment contains a gap. In any of these cases, you will be returned to the Route: prompt and allowed to edit your route.

Next you will see the Altitude: prompt. Enter your cruising altitude in feet MSL (e.g., 5500, 13000, 31000). Alternately, you may leave off the last two zeroes and enter your cruising flight level (e.g., 55, 130, 310). The two methods are equivalent.

Next you will be prompted for Winds aloft:. In response to this prompt, you have three options:

1. You may simply press EXE to leave the entry blank, in which case the machine will calculate your trip assuming that winds are calm or unknown.
2. You may enter a four-digit number in the same format as NWS winds-aloft forecasts. The first two digits are multiplied by ten and used to specify true Wind direction in degrees , and the last two digits specify wind speed in knots. (E.g.. 0634 denotes wind from 060° true at 34 knots.)
3. You may enter a series of winds-aloft forecasts, each consisting of a three-letter station identifier and a four-digit wind forecast. For example:

   SBA=2715 SFO=3008 PDX=3311 SEA=0223

   In this case, after you press EXE, the machine checks the entry for validity and looks up each station identifier in its database. When the Flightmaster later calculates your trip, it will use the forecast wind from the closest station to compute each leg of the trip.

   Note: the Flightmaster puts the keyboard in numeric shift at the Winds aloft: prompt, so you have to press the SHIFT key to enter the alphabetic station identifiers.

When you have finished entering your route, altitude and winds, the Flightmaster considers this information to be the current route, and uses it for all subsequent flight planning functions until you change it.

Automatic VOR and RNAV Routing

Perhaps the most sophisticated capability of the Flightmaster is its ability to do automatic VOR-to-VOR, RNAV-direct, and airways routing for you. As you have seen, this automatic routing feature is invoked simply by entering a V, R or A between a pair of fixes when you specify your route at the Route: prompt.

Automatic Airways Routing

Amending the Current Route

Starting from the aviation menu, make the following menu selections in sequence: Route→Change. The Flightmaster prompts you to edit the current route, cruising altitude, and winds aloft forecast. The procedure is identical to Route→New except that each item defaults to its previous value instead of starting out blank.

Expanding the Current Route

Starting from the aviation menu, make the following menu selections in sequence: Route→Xpand. The Flightmaster expands any auto-VOR routing specified in the current route into a series of VORs. If there is any auto-RNAV or airways routing specified, it asks you whether or not you want those expanded. If you answer yes, auto-RNAV segments are expanded into a series of waypoints (see note below) and airways segments are expanded into a series of navaids and turnpoint-intersections.

Then it prompts you to edit the route (now expanded), cruising altitude, and winds aloft forecast. Identical to Route→Change except that the route is expanded first.

Xpand allows you to make use of the automatic routing capabilities of the Flightmaster but to make manual revisions (e.g.. in order to avoid special-use airspace).

Note: If you expand a route containing an Auto-RNAV segment, the automatically-plotted intermediate waypoints appear in the expanded route in the FAA-standard format XXXrrrddd. For example, a waypoint which is located 12 nm out on the 096° radial of the VNY VORTAC would appear as VNY096012 in the expanded route. You can key-in your own waypoints using this notation, and you can even include such waypoints in your IFR flight plans (since this is the same waypoint notation that the FAA computers use).

Saving the Current Route

You can save the current route in the Flightmaster's user-defined database for later retrieval. Starting from the aviation menu, make the following menu selections in sequence: Route→Save. You see the prompt Save: followed by a default name under which to save the route. The default name consists of the first and last fix identifiers separated with a hyphen leg.. EWR-DCA), but you can edit this name if you wish. Press EXE to save the current route, or ON/CLEAR to abort. If you try to save a route with the same name as a previously-saved route, you will hear a beep and see a warning message:

EWR DCA exists   Overwrite? [Y/N]

Respond Y to overwrite the previously-saved route with the current one, or N to leave the previously-saved route intact.

Loading a Previously-Saved Route

Starting from the aviation menu, make the following menu selections in sequence: Route→Load. You see the prompt Load: followed by the name of the first saved route in the database. Use the ↑ and ↓ cursor keys to scroll through the directory of saved routes until you find the one that you want to load, then press EXE. The Flightmaster retrieves the saved route and allows you to edit it (same procedure as Route→Change). Or press ON/CLEAR to exit this function without loading anything.

Erasing Previously-Saved Routes

Starting from the aviation menu, make the following menu selections in sequence: Route→Erase. You see the prompt Erase: followed by the name of the first saved route in the database. Use the ↑ and ↓ cursor keys to scroll through the directory of saved routes until you find the one that you want to erase, then press EXE to erase (you are prompted to confirm) or ON/CLEAR to exit without erasing.

Displaying an Initial Heading to Fly

Starting from the aviation menu, make the following menu selections in sequence: Route→Quick. The Flightmaster quickly computes the magnetic heading and distance for the first leg of your trip:

Quick SMXa→RZS   110° 41nm

Press any key to return to the aviation menu.

Organization of the Trip Log

The trip log is displayed in the form of a "spreadsheet". The spreadsheet has twelve columns (labelled A, B, C, ....L). and a variable number of rows (labelled 0,1,2,...,n for an n-leg trip). As you read through the remainder of this section, study this sample trip log for a trip from Santa Monica CA to San Jose CA via the route SMO VTU R SJC:

In the upper left corner of the sample trip log, you can see that this trip totals 270 nm and 1:36 flying time.

Scanning down the right-hand column (i.e., column L) of the sample trip log, you can see that we took off from SMO airport at 06:22 zulu, passed VTU one minute behind schedule at 06:36, passed FLW one minute ahead of schedule at 06:59. and are estimated to cross the PRB waypoint (PRB 040°/9nm) in three minutes at 07:16. (Therefore, the time now must be 07:13 zulu.) The bottom right-hand comer of the trip log shows that we are estimating arrival at SJC airport at 07:57 zulu, which is 1:04 from now.

The top row of the trip log contains summary information for the trip as a whole:

Column	Contents
A	total trip distance and flying time
B	great-circle distance from origin to destination
C	excess trip distance over great-circle distance
D	total trip fuel burn
E	average trip groundspeed
F	cruise true airspeed
G	cruising altitude
H	time to climb
I	time to descend
J	time in cruise
K	cruising fuel flow
L	actual takeoff Z time

The remaining rows of the spreadsheet contain detailed information for each leg of the trip, as follows:

Column	Contents
A	from-course, distance, flying time for this leg
B	from-fix frequency, waypoint info
C	from-fix latitude/longitude
D	from-fix facility name, state
E	to-fix frequency, waypoint info
F	to-fix latitude/longitude
G	to-fix facility name, state
H	winds aloft forecast for this leg
I	groundspeed, wind correction angle
J	total time enroute at to-fix. (time remaining)
K	total fuel burn at to-fix. (fuel required to dest.)
L	ETA, time remaining to to-fix (or ATA. early/late)

Monitoring You In-Flight Progress

Initially (while you are still on the ground), the takeoff time and ATAs in the right-hand column of the trip log are blank (they appear as --:--). In order to fill these in during the course of the flight, you must tell the Flightmaster when you takeoff and when you reach each successive enroute fix.

Once you've used the Flightmaster's trip planning features to plan your trip and calculate your trip log, you can automatically display a standard FAA flight plan form with most of the 16 blocks already filled out for you...just what you need before you phone Flight Service.

Creating a New Flight Plan

From the aviation menu, select FltPln→New to create a new flight plan on the standard 16-block FAA flight plan form. Blocks 2, 3, 14 and 16 automatically default to the pre-stored information for your aircraft. If a current trip log is active, blocks 4, 5, 7, 8, 9 and 10 automatically default to the pertinent trip-log information. The proposed departure time (block 6) defaults to one hour from now, rounded down to the nearest quarter-hour. The remaining blocks (1, 11, 12, 13 and 15) default to whatever you entered into the previous flight plan (or are left blank if there was no previous flight plan). You then have an opportunity to review and edit the flight plan, as described next.

Reviewing or Changing a Flight Plan

From the aviation menu, select FltPln→Change to review and/ or change the current flight plan. You can scroll up and down through the 16 flight plan blocks using the ↑ and ↓ cursor keys, or use the digit keys 1,2,...,9,0 to go directly to blocks 1 through 10. To edit a block, press EXE, make the necessary changes, and then press EXE again. Press ON/CLEAR to return to the aviation menu.

Reversing a Flight Plan

From the aviation menu, select FltPln→Revrs to reverse the origin and destination, and to reverse the order of the route in the current flight plan.

Saving a Flight Plan

From the aviation menu, select FltPln→Save to save the current flight plan for subsequent retrieval with the Load function. You are prompted with Save: followed by a default name under which to save the flight plan. The default name consists of the origin and destination identifiers separated with a hyphen (e.g., EWR-DCA), but you can edit this name if you wish. Press EXE to save the flight plan, or ON/CLEAR to abort it. If you try to save a flight plan with the same name as a previously-saved flight plan, you will see a warning message and be asked whether you wish to overwrite the saved flight plan with the new one.

Loading a Previously-Saved Flight Plan

From the aviation menu, select FltPln→Load to load a saved flight plan as the current flight plan. You will see Load: followed by the name of the first saved flight plan in the database Use the ↑ and ↓ cursor keys to select the saved flight plan that you want to load, then press EXE. Or press ON/CLEAR to exit this function without loading anything.

Erasing Previously-Saved Flight Plans

From the aviation menu, select FltPln→Erase to erase one or more previously-saved flight plans. You will see Erase: followed by the name of the first saved flight plan in the database Use the ↑ and ↓ cursor keys to select the saved flight plan that you want to erase, then press EXE to erase (you will be asked to confirm) or ON/CLEAR to exit without erasing.

Printing a Flight Plan

If you have either the PSION Printer II or the PSION Comms Link RS232 serial communications adapter plus a suitable printer with a serial interface, you can print a hardcopy of the current flight plan. Simply select Print from the aviation menu. If the Flightmaster isn't connected to the Printer II or the Comms Link, you will get an error message: Can't print.

Weight-and-balance calculation is one of the most important preflight procedures affecting safety of flight. Many fatal accidents have resulted when an aircraft attempted to take off loaded over-gross or with C.G. out-of-envelope. Yet W&B is perhaps the most neglected procedure in general aviation. The Flightmaster makes W&B calculation so quick and easy that you'll never again have any excuse for taking off without being certain that your W&B is within the envelope. For Part 135 pilots (who are required to work a W&B for every flight and record the results on a load manifest), the Flightmaster can be a godsend.

Designing a W&B Template

As you read through this section, study this sample filled-in W&B Template Worksheet designed for a Cessna 310:

It is best to design a W&B template for your aircraft on paper first, before trying to key it into the Flightmaster. Use the W&B Template Worksheet for that purpose. The information on the worksheet is laid out in the exact sequence that you will be keying it into the Flightmaster. Here's a description of the various columns on the Worksheet:

• Entry type: There are three types of entries: "item", "calc" and "envelope".
  An item entry defines a loading station whose weight you specify each time you work a W&B calculation. You will want to set up item entries for passenger seats, baggage compartments, fuel tanks, etc. By convention, the first item entry in every W&B template specifies the basic empty weight of the aircraft.
  A calc entry specifies a subtotal calculation of all item entries that precede it. Commonly-used subtotal calculations include zero-fuel weight, ramp weight, takeoff weight, and landing weight. All calc entries include a check that the calculated weight is within allowable weight limits. In addition, some calc entries (typically takeoff weight and landing weight) include a check that the CG is within the allowable envelope.
  An envelope entry is used to specify the forward and aft limits of the allowable CG envelope at a given weight. The number of envelope entries required in your template depends upon how complex the shape of your aircraft's envelope is...two or three envelope entries are sufficient to describe most envelopes. More about envelope entries later.
• Title: This is the textual description for each item and calc entry. Titles are limited to 16 characters maximum (the width of the Flightmaster's display). Item titles are normally lowercase, while calc titles are normally uppercase. The title of the first entry in every template defaults to BASIC EMPTY WT., although you can override this if you wish.

For item entries:

• Multiplier: The multiplier is a number used to multiply the entered item value to derive its weight. For items whose weight is entered directly, the multiplier should be either +1 (for items that add weight) or -1 (for items that subtract weight). All the items in the sample W&B template are of the ±1 variety. For items to be entered in other units (gallons of avgas, for example), the multiplier may be used to convert to weight (+6 or -6 to convert gallons of avgas to pounds).
• MaxVal: The maximum value that may be assigned to this item. When working a W&B problem, if you try to enter a value greater than this for the item, it will be rejected.
• MinVal: The minimum value that may be assigned to this item. Must be less than MaxVal, and most commonly set to zero. When working a W&B problem, if you try to enter a value less than this for the item, it will be rejected. If you set MinVal equal to MaxVal, then the value for this item is fixed and you are not allowed to change it...for example, see the BASIC EMPTY WT. item in the sample template.
• MidVal: This is some value between MinVal and MaxVal. often the usual, intermediate, or default weight for this item. If MinVal equals MaxVal, then MidVal is omitted.
• MaxCG, MinCG, MidCG: These numbers define the CG location (arm) associated with this item at the MaxVal, MinVal and MidVal, respectively. In most cases, all three CG values are identical. However, for items where the CG location varies with Weight (e.g., fuel tanks in Beech Barons and wet-wing twin Cessnas), this permits you to specify three different CGs for the three different weights, and allows the Flightmaster to calculate a three-point approximation to the CG/weight curve. Where MidVal is specified as equal to MinVal or MaxVal, MidCG is omitted. If MinVal equals MaxVal, MinCG is also omitted.

For calc entries:

• MaxWt: The maximum allowable weight...if the calculated subtotal exceeds this value, you will see an overweight warning.
• MinWt: The minimum allowable weight (usually zero)...if the calculated subtotal is less than this value. You will see an underweight warning.
• Check CG?: Determines whether a CG envelope check is required for this subtotal. For most GA aircraft, specify N for non-flight subtotals (zero fuel weight, ramp weight), and Y for flight-related subtotals (takeoff weight, landing weight).

For envelope entries:

A set of envelope entries defines the shape of the allowable weight-vs.-CG envelope. Aircraft envelopes are usually shown in graphical form in the POH and are usually a rectangle or trapezoid with one or both top corners clipped off. The shape of the CG envelope is defined in the W&B template by specifying an envelope entry at each weight at which the envelope has a "corner". Two or three envelope entries are usually sufficient to describe the shape of such envelopes. Look at the envelope for the Cessna 310, for example:

Each envelope entry specifies three numbers:

• @Weight: A weight at which the envelope has a "corner".
• MinCG: The minimum allowable CG (arm) value at that weight.
• MaxCG: The maximum allowable CG (arm) value at that weight.

You must enter the envelope entries in ascending order of @Weight (lowest weight first, highest weight last). The Flightmaster interpolates to find the allowable CG range for any intermediate weight. This scheme handles any envelope that takes the form of a polygon.

It is possible to enter a different envelope definition following each calc item for which the "Check CG?" parameter is Y. For example, you could specify an entirely different envelope for takeoff and landing. For most GA aircraft, however, a single envelope definition is sufficient.

The first time you enter a calc item for which the "Check CG?" parameter is Y, the Flightmaster prompts you to define an associated envelope (by entering one or more envelope entries) When you enter subsequent calc items for which the "Check CG?" parameter is Y, the Flightmaster asks you whether or not you want to use the same envelope.

Defining a New W&B Template

You must have defined a performance profile for an aircraft before you are allowed to define a W&B template for that aircraft. Starting from the aviation menu, make the following menu selections in sequence: Setup→W&B→Define. If the Flightmaster already has a W&B template in its database for the selected aircraft, you will hear a beep and see the following message:

Overwrite N54321 W+B? [Y/N]

to which you must respond by keying N to quit or Y to continue.

When you are all finished entering the template entries, press ON/CLEAR at the next Item title: prompt. You are asked:

W+B definition   completed? [Y/N]

If you press Y, you are asked:

OK to save   N12345? [Y/N]

If you press Y, the template will be saved and you will wind up back at the aviation menu. You can then try to work a W&B problem.

Changing an Existing W&B Template

To review and /or change any of the entries in a previously-entered W&B template, start from the aviation menu and select: Setup→W&B→Change. You can scroll up and down through the various entries in the template by using the ↑ and ↓ keys, and move through the various fields of each entry by using the ← and → keys.

If you want to change any item, press EXE. The item will move to the left of the display, and the cursor will appear. Now edit the item in the usual fashion, using cursor keys, DEL, and ON/CLEAR. When finished editing, press EXE. Now you can scroll up or down to another item.

When you're all done, press ON/CLEAR. If you have made any changes to the performance profile, you will see the message:

OK to save   N54321? [Y/N]

to which you must respond by keying Y to save the revised W&B template in the Flightmaster's database, or N to discard the changes.

Erasing an Existing W&B Template

To erase a previously-entered W&B template from the Flightmaster's database, start from the aviation menu and select: Setup→W&B→Erase. You will see the message:

Erase W+B for   N54321? [Y/N]

to which you must respond by keying Y to erase the W&B template from the Flightmaster's database, or N to retain it.

Make sure that the correct aircraft is selected (using Acft from the aviation menu). Now select W&B from the aviation menu. The Flightmaster retrieves the appropriate W&B template from its database, and displays the first entry (we'll be using the Cessna 310 template to illustrate):

BASIC EMPTY WT.  3963

Press the ↓ key to scroll down to the next W&B entry:

seats 1+2 (fwd)  425

Press MODE at this point to display the percentage of overweight or underweight:

ZERO FUEL (5015) Hi 84 2%

Now let's press → twice more, taking us to the entry for takeoff weight (the first CG-checked subtotal). At first the display shows as:

TAKEOFF (5500)   WtOK Cg? 5427

...where the CG? indicates that the Flightmaster is calculating the CG and checking the envelope. After a second or so, the display changes to:

TAKEOFF (5500)   WtOK CgOK 5427

The WtOK indicates that 5427 is within the allowable weight range, and the CgOK indicates that the CG is within the envelope. Press MODE at this point to display the CG position graphically:

TAKEOFF (5500)   <--------------<

The arrow represents the allowable CG range, and the little underscore shows the relative location of the CG... close to the forward limit of the envelope in this example. (If you were over gross, pressing MODE would switch you to the percentage-over-weight display, and pressing MODE again would bring up the graphic CG position display.)

Press MODE once more to bring up a numeric display of CG position and min/ max CG limits at this weight (this information is required on a Part 135 load manifest):

C.G. = 38.594   [38.043, 43.191]

If the CG were outside of the envelope, you would hear a beep, and the display would have locked like this:

TAKEOFF (5500)   WtOK Aft 5427

The Flightmaster will memorize a set of personalized checklists that you design for your aircraft, and will sequence you through those checklists just like a copilot. The machine electronically "checks off" the items as you perform them, and reminds you of any items you may have skipped. You need only enter the checklist items once, although you can revise them anytime. If you fly several different aircraft, the unit will remember the checklists for all of them. If you fly single-pilot operations, this can be an invaluable safety feature.

First of all, you'll want to design a set of personalized checklists for your aircraft. Typically, you'll start with the "generic" checklists in your POH and personalize them for the particular equipment configuration of your aircraft and your own procedures.

An aircraft usually has a number of checklists: preflight, before start, engine start, before taxi, taxi, before takeoff, takeoff, cruise, before landing, after landing, securing, and perhaps various emergency checklists. Each checklist might contain anywhere from a few items to a few dozen. The Flightmaster has an upper limit of 300 checklist items per aircraft (enough to accommodate a very complex aircraft). If you fly several different aircraft, you may store several such sets of checklists in the database. (Lengthy checklists can consume a lot of the Flightmaster's internal memory, however, so don't get carried away.)

Defining New Checklists

You must have defined a performance profile for an aircraft before you are allowed to define checklists for that aircraft. Start from the aviation menu, and make the following menu selections in sequence: Setup→Checklist→Define. If there is already a set of checklists for the selected aircraft, you will hear a beep and see the following message:

Overwrite N54321 checklist? [Y/N]

to which you must respond by keying N to quit or Y to continue.

The Flightmaster now prompts you for the title of the first checklist. Checklist titles may be up to 15 characters long, and normally are entered in uppercase. Key-in the checklist title followed by EXE:

Checklist title: >BEFORE START

EXE

Now type the first item on the before-start checklist, then press EXE. Checklist items may be up to 16 characters long, and normally are entered in lowercase:

>BEFORE START   preflight

EXE

Continue keying each item on the before-start checklist in sequence. When you get to the end of the checklist, press EXE an extra time to bring up the Checklist title: prompt once again. (Pressing ON/CLEAR will work, too.) Now enter the title of the next checklist, followed by the items on that checklist.

Continue in this fashion until you have entered all of the checklists for your aircraft. Now, press ON/CLEAR to get to the Checklist title: prompt. Press ON/CLEAR a second time and you will see the last, checklist item you entered. (At this point, you could use the cursor keys to move around the newly-entered checklists and make any desired revisions...the procedure is described in the next section.) Press ON/CLEAR a third time and you will see:

OK to save   N54321? [Y/N]

If you press Y, the checklists will be saved and you wind up back at the aviation menu.

Hint: You can insert, delete, or change checklist items later on, and you can add additional checklists at the end. However, you cannot change checklist titles or insert additional checklist titles between existing checklists. Consequently, if you need your checklists in a particular order, be sure to enter all necessary checklist titles from the outset, even if they contain just one dummy item such as: "(to be added)".

Changing Previously-Entered Checklists

To make revisions to a set of previously-entered checklists, start from the aviation menu and make the following menu selections in sequence: Setup→Checklist→Change. The Flightmaster loads your checklists and displays the topmost item of the first checklist. You can move from one checklist to another by using the ← and → keys, and can scroll up and down through the various items in a checklist by using the ↑ and ↓ keys.

If you want to change any item, press EXE. The item will move to the left of the display, and the cursor will appear. Edit the item in the usual fashion, using cursor keys, DEL, and ON/CLEAR. When finished editing, press EXE. Now you can scroll up or down to another item, or left or right to another checklist.

To delete an item from any checklist, move to that item using the cursor keys, then press DEL to delete the item.

To insert additional items into any checklist, move to the item after which you'd like the new items to appear, then press MODE. You will see the message Insrt after Y/N? appear above the displayed checklist item. If you respond by pressing Y, you are prompted to key-in one or more new items that will be inserted into the checklist at that point. When you are finished entering the additional items, press an extra EXE or ON/CLEAR to terminate the insertion.

You can add additional checklists by positioning past the end of the last checklist. However, you can't insert new checklists in the middle, nor change existing checklist titles.

When you're done with your checklist revisions, press ON/CLEAR. If you have made any changes to the checklists, you will see the message:

OK to save   N54321? [Y/N]

to which you must respond by keying Y to save the revised checklists in the Flightmaster's database, or N to discard the changes.

Erasing Previously-Entered Checklists

To erase a set of previously-entered checklists from the Flightmaster's database, start from the aviation menu and select: Setup→checklist→Erase. You will see the message:

Erase N54321   checklist? [Y/N]

to which you must respond by keying Y to erase the checklists from the Flightmaster's database, or N to retain them.

To sequence through your checklists while in the cockpit. simply select ChkLst from the aviation menu. The Flightmaster retrieves the checklists for your aircraft from its database, and starts off displaying the top item of the first checklist. You can move from one checklist to another using the ← and → cursor keys, and can scroll through the items on a particular checklist with the ↑ and ↓ keys. When you reach the end of any checklist (except the last one), the Flightmaster beeps and flashes the message:

For next list   press → key

The ChkLst function also has a more advanced mode of operation where you can electronically "check off" checklist items as you complete them. This lets you safely skip over certain checklist items and with the confidence that you can return to them later.

To use this "checkoff" feature, press EXE (instead of ↓) as you perform each checklist item...this causes the item to be "checked off" and advances to the next unchecked item on the checklist. To temporarily skip an item, press SPACE... this leaves the item "unchecked" and advances to the next unchecked item. When the last item of the checklist is reached, EXE and SPACE automatically recycle back to any unchecked items on the list. Only after all items on the checklist have been "checked off' will you see the message:

For next list   press → key

Incidentally, if you scroll up or down using the ↑ and ↓ keys after using the "checkoff" feature, you will notice that the checked off items are marked on the left of the display With a check mark, while unchecked items have no such mark.

To exit the checklist function altogether, press ON/CLEAR. This takes you back to the aviation menu and erases all "checkmarks" from the checklists.

If you subsequently re-enter the ChkLst function, you will notice that you are positioned at the checklist item where you previously left off. To "rewind" back to the top of the first checklist, simply press DEL.

The Flightmaster can serve as an ordinary four-function arithmetic calculator. In addition, it can perform the tasks of a standard pilot's flight computer including true airspeed, density altitude, unknown wind, standard temperature, Mach number, and temperature rise. It also functions as a highly accurate timepiece (maintaining 24-hour zulu time and date), flight timer, tank timer. and approach timer.

From the aviation menu, select E6B→Calc. Then proceed as if you were using an ordinary four-function arithmetic Calculator. Use the digit keys 0...9, decimal point key, and the following function keys:

+	plus
-	minus
*	times
/	divided by
= or EXE	equals
%	divided by 100 equals

Operation is self-explanatory. Press DEL to correct keying errors or to clear the calculator's accumulator, and press ON/CLEAR to exit the Calculator and return to the aviation menu.

From the aviation menu, select E6B→TAS to calculate true airspeed, Mach number, true temperature, and temperature rise.

The Flightmaster prompts you to enter:

• Calibrated Airspeed (knots)
• Pressure Altitude (feet)
• Indicated Temperature (°C)

and calculates:

• True Airspeed (knots)
• Mach Number
• True Temperature (°C)
• Temperature Rise (°C)

Example:

Cal. Airspeed K? 160 EXE Press Altitude? 17500 EXE Ind. Temp °C? -12 EXE True Airspeed 210 kt ↓ Mach Number 0.336 M. ↓ True Temperature -16.6 °C ↓ Temperature Rise 4.6 °C

From the aviation menu, select E6B→DenAlt to calculate density altitude, standard temperature, and deviation from standard temperature.

The Flightmaster prompts you to enter:

• Pressure Altitude (feet)
• Outside Air Temperature (°C)

and calculates:

• Density Altitude (feet)
• Standard Temperature (°C)
• Degrees Above/Below Standard (°C)

From the aviation menu, select E6B→UnknownWind to calculate actual wind direction and velocity aloft.

The Flightmaster prompts you to enter:

• True Airspeed (knots)
• Groundspeed (knots)
• Course (degrees)
• Heading (degrees)

and calculates:

Displaying the Current Date and Time

Select Time from the aviation menu to display the current date and time. You can also press the letter T while viewing the trip log. Press ON/CLEAR to exit.

Using the Flight, Tank, and Approach Timers

From the aviation menu or while viewing the trip log, press the T key to bring up the current date/time display. Then use the ← and → cursor keys to view the flight, tank, and approach timers. Press ON/CLEAR to exit.

These three timers all operate the same way. Pressing EXE alternately starts and stops the timer. Pressing DEL stops the timer and resets it to 00:00:00. Although they are labelled as flight, tank, and approach timers, you can use them to time anything.

However, the flight timer has one special feature- whenever you enter your takeoff time into the trip log (by pressing MODE and EXE from within the View function), the flight timer automatically starts timing your flight.

The primary purpose of the Flightmaster's navigation database is to support its trip planning functions. In addition, however, the Flightmaster allows you to search its database in three different ways, to create RNAV waypoint definitions for any geographic location, to define your own navigation fixes, and to mark selected navaids inoperative. It also provides two methods for making backup copies of your user-defined database.

Searching by Facility Name

From the aviation menu, select DataBase→Find. If you don't know the fix identifier, press EXE at the Fix ID: prompt. You are then prompted for Partial name: (up to 13 characters) and asked which database segment to search: VORs, major airport s, or all airports. ("Major airports" are those with three-letter identifiers...no digits.) The selected database will be searched until the first match is found and displayed. The name-search may take awhile... up to 6 seconds for VORs, 10 seconds for major airports, and 20 seconds for all airports (worst case). To search for additional matches, press either the ↓ or EXE keys. To review previous matches, press the ↑ key.

Use the ← and → cursor keys to view the various pages Of information about each matching fix. Available information includes: identifier, facility name, state, class, frequency (CTAF if airport), elevation, magnetic variation, latitude and longitude. Press ON/CLEAR to return to the Fix ID: prompt to find another fix, and press ON/CLEAR again to return to the aviation menu.

Searching by Geographic Location

From the aviation menu, select DataBase→Srch. This function allows you to search for all the airports or navaids within a specified radius of a given geographic location, and to view these fixes sorted by their distance from that anchor location. This function is similar to the "emergency search" function of database LORANs, but ever so much more useful. (What is the name of the VOR near Reno airport? Which GA reliever airports are closest to Boston Logan International? And so forth...)

From the aviation menu, select DataBase→Wpt. This function searches for all VORTACs and VOR/DMEs within a 100 nm radius of a given geographic location, sorts these navaids closest-to-farthest, and computes RNAV Waypoint definitions of the specified location based on each of the navaids.

Defining Your Own Navigation Fixes

From the aviation menu, select DataBase→Def. This function allows you to add user-defined fixes in the navigation database. You are prompted in sequence for the following items:

• Fix identifier (up to 5 characters long)
• Type of fix (Airport, Intersection, NDB, VOR, VOR/DME or VORTAC)
• Frequency protection (High, Low or Term) if fix is a VOR
• Facility name (up to 14 characters)
• State postal code (2 letters)
• Frequency (if fix is a navaid) or CTAF (if fix is an airport)
• Elevation
• Location (Fix, Fix/Radial/Distance, or Latitude/Longitude)
• Magnetic variation (if location was defined by Lat/Lon)

For intersections, the prompts for facility name, state code, frequency and elevation are omitted.

Note: This same fix-definition routine is invoked automatically by the Flightmaster's trip-planning functions anytime you specify a route that contains one or more fixes that cannot be found in the navigation database.

Erasing User-Defined Navigation Fixes

From the aviation menu, select DataBase→Erase. This function allows you to erase one or more user-defined fixes. Use the ↑ and ↓ cursor keys to select the fix that you want to erase, then press EXE to erase (you will be asked to confirm) or ON/CLEAR to exit without erasing.

Flagging Inoperative Navaids

From the aviation menu, select DataBase→Inop. This function allows you to enter or edit a list of navaid identifiers that you wish to be excluded from the fix searches performed by the AutoVOR and AutoRNAV routing algorithms of the Flightmaster's trip-planning functions. The usual reason for doing this is that you have learned that one or more relevant navaids have been NOTAMed as inoperative. At the prompt, simply type a list of navaid identifiers separated by spaces, then press EXE.

The Flightmaster provides two different methods of making backup copies of your user-defined database (including aircraft performance profiles, weight-and-balance templates, checklists, saved routes, and user-defined navigation fixes). You can backup your data on a spare datapak. Alternatively, you can use the PSION Comms Link RS232 adapter together with your MSDOS-based personal computer to backup your data to disk.

Backup to a Datapak

Backup to a PC Disk via RS232

Backed-up Flightmaster files appear on the PC disk as files of type .ODB, and are ordinary ASCII files that may be edited with your favorite text editor.

Note: A Macintosh version of CL.EXE is also available. When ordering your Comms Link RS232 adapter, be sure to specify that you want the Macintosh version.

Here is a collection of unstructured suggestions that may help you get the most from your Flightmaster, but that didn't seem to fit in any other section of the User's Guide. Also a review of some Flightmaster accessories that you might find useful.

Keeping Your Flightmaster Looking New

Using Your Flightmaster at Night

Although the Flightmaster's LCD display is not backlit, it has proven itself to be quite easy to use in the cockpit at night. If you mount the unit to your approach plate holder, and if you have sufficient light to read an approach plate, you should have no difficulty reading the Flightmaster display.

Useful Accessories for Your Flightmaster