Ye Olde Rocket Forum - View Single Post - Astra trying again at PSCA (link)

Quote:

Originally Posted by mbauer

I'm a pilot so I use SKYVECTOR: https://skyvector.com/

It has weather, flight planning, and updated fuel prices for the world on a complete set of aviation sectional maps. The different colored pins all mean different weather at that location. If you hover over or click on the pin you get the weather and also a map of the runways etc..

It also has TFR and any other Notams that pilots need to be aware of.

I don't ever want to be like the idiot pilot that delayed one of Elon's launches.

Don't want to get run over by a rocket either, so they list all launch windows as TFR (Temporary Flight Restriction) if you fly into one even by accident you get into big trouble-candidate for license removal etc...

If you go to skyvector today thru the 20th: Kodiak Island you will see the area just below the Space Launch area is a large TFR color orange, tomorrow when it goes live it will be Red. Not sure if there are any webcams covering the launch. Zoom in and you can see the offical faa Rocket Launch area symbol.

Thinking I'm going to do a cardstock version.

Hover on the orange/red line and it will tell you the hours of operation. Also other info available as well.

I've started planning my retirement trip: From Alaska to New Zealand and back. Over 11,000 miles one-way. Planning to go down the Asian Coastline Island hopping, and returning up the South American Coastline all the way along the North American Coastline to Alaska and home. Retirement is planned for next May. Skyvector helps with range between fuel stops (1100miles fuel range for my Vans RV-6: 7.5 hours of flying), helps to identify public airports for my use, other needed information as well.

Mike

Ah--thank you! The funny thing is, I've used SKYVECTOR before, to find NDBs (Long Wave Non-Directional Beacons--they make ideal radio DXing targets because they constantly transmit their Morse Code identifiers, and some also carry voice TWEB [Transcribed WEather Broadcasts for aviators]). I didn't think of it in connection with launches, but it makes perfect sense that it would list and show NOTAMs (Notices to Airmen and Mariners) and what they are for, and:

Just make absolutely sure your navigational equipment is in tip-top shape; I've been across the Pacific several times (Miami to Australia; having an aunt who worked at Pan Am saved my father considerable money!), and most of those mid-Pacific islands are awfully small targets! Even GPS isn't always terribly helpful; our Van Tran (our municipal bus service's disabled para-transit van service) vans have GPS systems (they're usually helpful in the countryside around Fairbanks, where road signs are few), but sometimes--when only one NavStar GPS satellite is overhead, the vans' GPS systems display location errors measured in miles. One of the now-retired drivers showed me that one day some years ago, when we went to a correct drop-off point (the airport terminal, when I worked at the parking authority), and he brought up the GPS map, which said that were were 1-3/4 miles southwest of that point.