Grandad of the Magenta Line

 Instruments or Eyeballs; which might make your flight less risky

Deepak Mahajan

28 February 2026

I recently filed two near-miss or Air-Prox reports (as they are officially called) and having experienced many close calls in the circuit and in the vicinity of Damyns Hall Aerodrome, I wonder if we are getting closer to the stage of becoming “Grandads of the Magenta Line”. 

The gentle pejorative “Children of the Magenta Line” was coined in 1997 by Captain Warren Vanderburgh of American Airlines to describe newly qualified, young commercial pilots who relied too much on automation in the cockpit, the line of the gps display and other electronic gizmos in cockpit with some degradation of situational awareness.

During the past two decades, avionics in small private aircraft have evolved downwards from commercial jets and also upwards to modern airliners due to innovative processes and the advent of the ubiquitous smart phone, the iPad and other tablet computers. This has allowed the demise of the paper map used in aviation, ground transport and water transport. It has seen the spread of tactical collision avoidance systems in small aircraft.

Recently, Lawrence Bell (flight instructor) wrote in Microlight Flying Magazine about how pilots might tend to focus on the line on the iPad to the detriment of keeping a safe lookout to avoid collisions and sometimes getting lost and busting airspace by not maintaining their own situational awareness during the flight.

I am a grandad myself, teaching teenagers as well as other mature students, I am obliged and pleased to teach “traditional” navigation techniques as well as current methods of electronic navigation. A china-graph pencil and measuring string as well as a fully charged iPad are essential tools of the trade for aerial navigation.

After the recent near miss instances mentioned above, it makes me wonder if experienced pilots who have transitioned from preparing detailed, time consuming navigation plots with maps, whiz wheels, paper NotAm, phone calls, weather reports, consulting Forms 214 and 215 along with their own bag of experience are now using tablets with navigation apps and planning their routes (sometime within a couple of minutes) just before take off.  They may also be more reliant on wireless devices, rather than their own eyes, to warn them of traffic in their vicinity and thus avoid mid-air collisions.

Once the iPad is switched on, aircraft set on course, height and speed, do we stop looking out of the aircraft to enjoy the scenery and are we too busy talking to passengers, taking selfies, recording vlogs for uploads to our socials?

The human factors involved are quite straightforward. It takes a few seconds for one’s eyes and brain to orient, when changing focus from inside the cockpit to outside to look for other aircraft “bandits”.  Also, a confirmation bias says that if there is no warning on the display about nearby traffic or airspace, there isn’t any around, so we carry on.

The reliance on electronic conspicuity devices may also be a contributory factor to becoming “grandad of the tablet”. The pilot may think that their “TCAS” will always warn them of potential collision without realising that there may be a latency and even incompatibility, in the signals between other aircraft and the EC unit, plus the “startle factor” when the danger is spotted, brain processing time to take any avoiding action to prevent collision.

The older the pilot, the slower the reaction time is a fact, which cannot be disputed. The older the pilot, the worse their eyesight, especially at distance. The older the pilot, the longer the time taken to change from instrument panel to external viewing at infinity focus.

We must not ignore the effects of age on pilots or car drivers. Most private pilots tend to fly the minimum hours annually to keep their privileges current, unless they own their own aircraft or are part of a group. I have written in the past that a good guideline for keeping current and keen on flying skills is to fly annually the number of hours according to their age. i.e. 70 year old pilots should fly 70 hours annually to keep on their path to becoming “old and bold” pilots.

The CAA have recently (19 November 2025) issued an alert to their new consultation that flight instructors should have a Class 2 medical and not rely on a personal medical declaration of fitness, because of the duty of care towards their passengers and students or members of the public that they fly with.

Personally, I maintain my Class 2 medical as it allows me to maintain my flight licenses throughout Europe. I feel validated every time I pass the medical examination by a qualified doctor, have my eyesight, hearing, physical dexterity evaluated and all major organs and senses are deemed fit to fly. I believe the expense of the medical exam provides me a confidence and keeps me incentivised to stay fit to fly. Passing my CAA medical exam also reassures my wife that I will be available to be bossed around for a while longer.

I would like to say that I consider myself a “grandad of the magenta line” flying with experience built up over the past 50 years with maps, whiz wheels, GPS of various vintages, modern tablets, smart phones; there was even a very short trial with Google Glass aviation maps a few years ago, but they never caught on!

Wonder what the next few years may bring to this Old & (Bold within limits) Pilot.

Deepak Mahajan

28 February 2026