Halifax- Why you need to learn how to use an E6B Flight computer

I get a lot of questions from new and student pilots about the necessity of learning some of what are admittedly antiquated aviation technologies. Learning VOR and ADF navigation in the age of GPS moving map navigators and geo-located iPad’s is an annoying but necessary skill that still must be demonstrated to an examiner on a practical exam. However, the one item generating most prospective pilots ire when studying for their knowledge tests or preparing for cross country flights  is the E6B flight computer.

Developed by Naval Lieutenant Phillip Dalton in the 1930’s the E6B was named after its original part number for the US Army Air Corps in World War II. Needless to say people have been using Lt. Dalton’s device for a long time now and when I’m asked about the why someone would want to learn to use one I tell my story. 

A few years back we received an invitation to attend the wedding of Judy’s cousin Paul to his beautiful bride Elizabeth in Nova Scotia.   Paul and Elizabeth held their wedding on the July 4^th weekend knowing that people would be travelling from all parts giving everyone a few extra days to arrive, enjoy the party and then get safely home.  

Neither Judy nor I had ever been in Nova Scotia before, having never traveled northeast of Portland Maine. Receiving the invitation gave us a destination for our Independence Day holiday. That the wedding was in another country and a single fuel stop away in the Mooney the stars started aligning for a bonafide airplane mission. Going to the wedding became a foregone conclusion.

Preparing for the mission I visited Sporty’s website to purchase both the Canadian and US charts VFR and IFR with all the associated material AFD’s Approach Plates, Enroute and Sectionals.

Considering we were embarking on an international operation, we checked in with AOPA who provided all sorts of guidance on what would be needed and expected by both US Customs and NAV Canada.  As the weeks unfolded between receiving the invite and the wedding, Passports, VHF radio station and operator licenses and our US customs decal was applied for and acquired.

While reviewing the charts and formulating a route I decided that rather than fly across the water from the Maine coast, my preference was to head northeast from Bangor on Victor 93 to Princeton than V318 to St John then V314 first to Greenwood NDB and continuing on to Halifax. We chose this routing as we would have to overfly about 35 miles of open water.  I’m squeamish about flying single engine over water and back then I was even more so. While we were studying the charts we became perplexed by a symbol we had never encountered on the sectional chart before. Judy got really excited when checking the legend  and seeing the symbol was  “pack ice”.

As the day weekend drew near we started checking the weather and on Wednesday July 2^nd departed for Bangor Maine after leaving work at lunch time.  Arriving into Bangor around 3PM we were held on a taxiway to let a gaggle of KC 135 E models taxi for departure. Part of the 101^st Air Refueling Wing of the Maine National Guard these old turbojet aircraft were turning the field IFR with gobs of thick black smoke as they taxied en mas for departure..  

We shut down and ventured into the FBO to secure our rental car and were happy to receive their rate for a hotel room on the field. While Judy checked in I walked over to the customs office next door to the Bangor AFSS. I brought all of our paperwork with me. By showing the customs inspector all of our material in advance, my thinking was we could correct any deficiencies he found before we left the country.  I had heard the difficult part of the border crossing was always on the US side. Meeting  and speaking  with the inspector who’d be readmitting us to the US put my mind at ease eliminating any possibility of misunderstanding that could complicate our return.

Our departure the next morning was routine with the forecast calling for a mix of clouds and the ever present possibility of thunderstorm’s arising as the heat of the day increased.  We travelled in clear weather about 75 miles northeastward when I realized that the over the water routing would have been a better plan. Having never been northeast of Bangor, I hadn’t realized that there is literally nothing but forests stretching as far as the eye can see in any direction. These forests were occasionally sprinkled with dirt logging roads weaving where the terrain was most hospitable for the road builders. At one point I remember mentioning to Judy that should we have an off airport landing we would be impossible to find in this dense growth of unpopulated expanse. 

Arriving in Halifax we taxied off to the FBO. I was prepared and excited to clear customs and waited in the airplane for someone to meet us. The line guy was looking at us funny so I asked him thru the vent window where the customs people would come from. He replied that we had to call them and pointed at the pay phone next to the FBO building. I was concerned that if I left the airplane I would be violating some sort of regulation but the line guy simply stated that if we didn’t call them they certainly weren’t going to just come to us so I left the airplane and called.  A pleasant woman answered and I informed her very formally of who we were and detailing our airplane registration.  It was so disappointing when the she simply said “enjoy your trip to Canada Mr. Walsh”.

The weather in Nova Scotia was unlike anything we had ever seen with large areas of low IFR  to be followed a few miles away with sever clear. I inquired about this with the flight service station briefers who stated the tidal bore in the Bay of Fundy that was responsible for the dramatic weather swings.

All in all we had a wonderful time visiting such a beautiful place. We did an island bird tour to see puffins and other shore birds indigenous to the region and ate some remarkable local seafood at reasonable restaurants.  We stayed at an old fashioned motor inn where you parked your car in front of your room. Most of the Paul and Elizabeth’s relatives in town for the wedding were staying there as well and we ran into them while enjoying a bottle of wine on the bench in front of our room.  Antigonish had an unspoiled feel about the town and reminded me of what Danbury was like in the late seventies prior to when the Mall’s  retail monoculture transformed my hometown.

The wedding was a great party and as typical we stayed till the end. We awoke the next morning to heavy fog in Antigonish which had dissipated by our arrival time at the airport, a two and a half hour drive away.

We arrived at the FBO which was barely open as it was Sunday. I found a line guy and asked him if he would top the Mooney with 100LL and put a quart of 10-50 Aeroshell oil in the engine. Judy packed up the plane and I set about to find the flight planning room to avail myself of their computer to both get a briefing and file our flight plan back to Bangor. When the line man came back in I asked him where the planning room was he told me they didn’t have one. I inquired about a computer and received the same response. 

Our flight plan needed to be somewhat exact, more so than a normal trip as we had to file with ADCUS (Advise Customs) which has some stern warnings about arrivals being late and some substantial fines should their procedures not be adhered to in the documented manner. Lacking a computer I retreated to my flight bag for my Sporty’s electronic E6B computer and a pad of paper to figure out distances headings and ground speeds. Pressing the “on” button I was a little alarmed to find the watch batteries powering it were completely flat.

Scraping through the bottom of my flight bag I found no batteries but came across my old aluminum E6B flight computer. Calling Flight Service I received the winds aloft and then set about to compute the ground speeds for the various different legs of the flight. We filed an international flight plan and launched.  The ride to Bangor was uneventful except we were saved having to look at the desolate forests as we were flying over by an undercast at about two thousand feet below. We were cleared for the approach into Bangor and as we were rolling out Judy commented about the customs vehicle that was pulling out onto the ramp to meet us.

“What time did you tell them we’d be here she asked”? “Twelve fifteen what time is it now?” I replied. Judy looked at her watch and said “twelve seventeen”. And that’s why you need to learn how to use a E6B in your primary training.