Proficiency

uAvionix SkyBeacon ADS-B Installations In his article on the uAvionix SkyBeacon, Larry Anglisano said that a pilot could ask ATC if they see his ADS-B. It is true that ATC has the capability to see whether an aircraft is ADS-B equipped, we discourage pilots from asking that question. It encourages unnecessary frequency congestion and the […]

Let’s start by dispensing with the obvious: “Loss of control in flight” is a lousy explanation, and not much better as a description. Eventually we’ll come up with something better, which hopefully will reflect the myriad ways pilots can let aircraft get away from them. Spatial disorientation in IMC is as different from a moose […]

AOPA will be celebrating its 80th anniversary at its upcoming Frederick, Maryland, fly-in with a fly-over by the D-Day Squadron, a drone show and some new educational offerings for attendees. The fly-in, which will take place on May 10-11 at Frederick Municipal Airport (KFDK), will kick off a series of paid ground school workshops that […]

Iowa … you know, fly-over country, as in Minnesota pilots fly over us on their way to Sun ‘n Fun, and Sou’westerners cross when heading to Oshkosh. Unless you’re running for president—and who isn’t?—it’s perceived that there’s little reason to land in Iowa. But skip us at the risk of losing New Hampshire and, more […]

In aprevious article on altimetry we discussed various matters that affect the accuracy of the barometric altimeter. The major factor being atmospheric pressure, and to compensate we dial the “altimeter setting” or QNH into the Kollsman window. However, another factor typically ignored is the effect of temperature—perhaps because it’s less crucial compared to atmospheric pressure. […]

Legendary P-51 guru Lee Lauderback hit the remarkable milestone of 10,000 hours in the Mustang during Sun ‘n Fun and is being inducted into the Florida Aviation Hall of Fame. Lauderback hit the big number while performing his solo P-51 demo routine in Crazy Horse, his mint Mustang, at the opening day airshow on Tuesday. […]

The Society of Aviation and Flight Educators (SAFE) is challenging CFIs young and old to sharpen their own hand flying skills to pass that knowledge along to students. In an announcement at Sun ‘n Fun 2019 the national association of instructors said it’s launching the SAFE CFI-PRO workshop to reduce the number of inflight loss […]

FlightSafety International and Textron subsidiary TRU Simulation + Training have jointly launched FlightSafety Textron Aviation Training, a new company that will offer training services for 48 Cessna, Cessna Citation, Beechcraft, Beechjet, King Air and Hawker aircraft models. FlightSafety Textron Aviation Training will operate out of 16 locations using 89 simulators. “Our main goal in establishing […]

As a flight service specialist, I was trained to understand National Weather Service charts, radars, satellite pictures and data. My job was to stay on top of how weather would affect flights primarily in my own geographic area, and in general throughout the country. I studied how terrain and upper air movement would affect weather […]

Boeing and the FAA say they expect to finish a software and training update for the 737 MAX series of aircraft shortly. Boeing said it’s been working on the update since the crash of a Lion Air MAX 8 last October but the crash of an Ethiopian MAX 8 in early March prompted the issuance […]