Virtual Tour of the Atlanta Sport Flight Practice Area
Below is a picture of the sectional chart depicting our practice area with some of the most significant landmarks highlighted. Our tour will start at our home field, Fulton County Airport or "FTY." If you haven't already, click on FTY to see more detailed information available through www.airnav.com.
When we leave the airport, we will first turn to the northwest. Directly ahead will be our firstlandmark, the Tank Farm.Each blue and white arrow on the sectional represents a photograph taken from the aircraft at that position and looking in the direction of the arrow. Click on the arrow just above and to the left of KFTY (near Mableton) to see a view of the tank farm from the aircraft as you are departing the airport.
If you then look just to your left you will see another major landmark, the Rail Yard, which lies beside U.S. 278 near Austell. Select the next arrow toward the tank farm to see this view. This is also the point at which we normally level off from our climb at 3,500' MSL. This means that we are 3,500' above Mean Sea Level. The ground in the Atlanta area is approximately 1,000' above sea level so we are about 2,500' above the ground.
If you now look over your right shoulder you will clearly see Dobbins Air Reserve Base about 5 miles away. Select the arrow pointing to toward the upper right (northeast) to see the view of Dobbins from here. This is as close as we normally get to Dobbins. You can now geta closer view of the rail yard on the left side of the aircraft.
When we arrive over the tank farm, we turn slightly to the left and look ahead to pick up our next visual navigation point, Hiram, and fly directly to it. Select the arrow pointing to the left (west) of the tank farm to see what Hiram will look like from here. Roads are very easy to see when they are going directly away from you but very difficult to see at low altitude from the side. From this point we can easily follow U.S. 278 to Paulding County Region Airport PUJ. If we continue to follow U.S. 278 it will take us to Rockmart, GA.
Continuing up 278, the next significant feature beyond Hiram is Dallas, GA. This is a good example of what a small town will look like from the air. Notice also the water tower. These are frequently on sectional charts and make good navigation landmarks.
Select the arrow pointing up/north between Dallas and PUJ. This is a view of the power line which runs along the west end of the practice area. Power lines are very easy to follow but, like roads, can be difficult to see from the side. If we follow this power line to the south it will lead us to Earl Small Field/Stockmar Airport at Villa Rica, GA.
The last picture on the outbound leg of the journey is Paulding County Regional Airport, which only recently opened and has very little activity. This is a great place to practice landings.
 From PUJ, we can follow U.S. 278 back to the rail yard or set a heading of 115 degrees to go directly across the working area. Select the arrow in the middle of the practice area to get a good idea of the relationship between the rail yard, tank farm, FTY, and Atlanta. FTY is just barely visible from here because it is in a low-lying area next to the Chattahoochee River and just to the east of a high ridge. Two hangars are visible in this picture as white dots just above "FTY" to either side.
Select the remaining arrows in order as we proceed inbound to the field across I-20 and around the south side to land on runway 26.
To the left is a picture of the kneeboard card which is used at Atlanta Sport Flight to help us remember how to get back and forth to the practice area. Click on the image to see a full-size example. This is easily accessible while you are flying and is used as a reminder until you have done it enough times to have it committed to memory. The procedures themselves are not mandatory but early in your training it is helpful to do it the same way every time.
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