This is the sixth in a series of articles looking at the impact of NextGen on GA pilots.

Over the last six months, we have demonstrated how aviation history has contributed toward the development of our National Airspace System, including new technologies and procedures yielding a safer and less expensive way to fly. Every step of the way has been a major leap, not only on the side of safety and operations in this aeronautical equation, but also benefiting the industry and aviators by incorporating current-day technologies.

We started with bonfires and slowly graduated through electric visual aids and finally to radio navigation, with the use of state-of-the-art electronics available at each point within this aeronautical time line. This will eventually culminate in the developing Next Generation Air Transportation System, known as NextGen.

However, now we turn the pages way back — and I mean way back — so far back we meet up with our early mariner explorers who used stars in the sky to get from point A to point B. [Read more...]