Narrative:

I was acting as safety pilot for a trip that was partially in instrument conditions. We were flying in and out of the clouds along V12 between ctw and jst; following the VOR indications of our flight instruments and using a portable GPS for increased situational awareness. ATC informed us we were moving off the airway; while our VOR indicated we were still on it; though a bit to the side. The GPS path conflicted with the VOR indication and appeared to confirm the statement from ATC. The flight was planned using the appropriate low altitude enroute charts. However; we were unable to acquire any paper versions of charts; despite checking with numerous airport fbos both prior to departure and at two stops along our route. We had electronic versions available but the small display made it difficult to use it to troubleshoot our issue at the time. While turning back toward the direction of the airway; ATC informed us we were crossing it; while our instruments showed us as being approximately two miles off of it. I suspected that when making the flight plan for the trip; I may have noted the frequency for the wrong station along V12; or noted the wrong radial. So we would have been following approximately the correct route along V12; but not exactly where we should have been. Not having a readily accessible chart made it difficult to confirm that. As we were sorting this out; ATC cleared us direct jst; which made figuring out the problem moot. The remainder of the flight proceeded without incident. Another contributing factor was a malfunctioning push to talk switch on my side and the other pilot's lack of proficiency with the ATC system; which I was unaware of until the middle of the flight. In previous flights with the same pilot during our instrument training; I hadn't noticed the same lack of understanding of the system. This hindered the process of diagnosing the problem. I believe this deviation was a minor issue that could have been quickly sorted out with ATC if I could have spoken directly with them instead of having to explain to the other pilot what I needed him to convey to ATC. In the future; I will not be flying as a safety pilot without confirming prior to the flight that my push to talk button is functioning. While the lack of an easily accessible chart wasn't the cause of this; it prevented a quick confirmation of the suspected problem. For future flights; I intend to acquire a more accessible means of having electronic charts. While I prefer paper charts; I can't find a place locally to buy them.

Related reports:

Google
 

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A pilot acting as the safety pilot in IMC on an IFR flight discovered the pilot was not IFR proficient; an airways chart was not available; the aircraft's VOR was not accurate and the interphone did not work well enough for him to adequately aid the flying pilot.

Narrative: I was acting as safety pilot for a trip that was partially in instrument conditions. We were flying in and out of the clouds along V12 between CTW and JST; following the VOR indications of our flight instruments and using a portable GPS for increased situational awareness. ATC informed us we were moving off the airway; while our VOR indicated we were still on it; though a bit to the side. The GPS path conflicted with the VOR indication and appeared to confirm the statement from ATC. The flight was planned using the appropriate low altitude enroute charts. However; we were unable to acquire any paper versions of charts; despite checking with numerous airport FBOs both prior to departure and at two stops along our route. We had electronic versions available but the small display made it difficult to use it to troubleshoot our issue at the time. While turning back toward the direction of the airway; ATC informed us we were crossing it; while our instruments showed us as being approximately two miles off of it. I suspected that when making the flight plan for the trip; I may have noted the frequency for the wrong station along V12; or noted the wrong radial. So we would have been following approximately the correct route along V12; but not exactly where we should have been. Not having a readily accessible chart made it difficult to confirm that. As we were sorting this out; ATC cleared us direct JST; which made figuring out the problem moot. The remainder of the flight proceeded without incident. Another contributing factor was a malfunctioning push to talk switch on my side and the other pilot's lack of proficiency with the ATC system; which I was unaware of until the middle of the flight. In previous flights with the same pilot during our instrument training; I hadn't noticed the same lack of understanding of the system. This hindered the process of diagnosing the problem. I believe this deviation was a minor issue that could have been quickly sorted out with ATC if I could have spoken directly with them instead of having to explain to the other pilot what I needed him to convey to ATC. In the future; I will not be flying as a safety pilot without confirming prior to the flight that my push to talk button is functioning. While the lack of an easily accessible chart wasn't the cause of this; it prevented a quick confirmation of the suspected problem. For future flights; I intend to acquire a more accessible means of having electronic charts. While I prefer paper charts; I can't find a place locally to buy them.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of April 2012 and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.