Search Results for: vfr

As I was rummaging around in my brain for some interesting stories to amuse pilots, I kept coming across the same thing again and again: Maiden. It dawned on me that much of my career has revolved around Maiden. From the day I walked in the door at Atlanta Center, to the present day, Maiden […]

After what felt like an eternity, I finally soloed. I then completed my three supervised solos, flights where I stay in the pattern and John my instructor watches from the ground rather than from the seat beside me. I say that I flew all by myself, but of course I had my imaginary instructor in […]

I have heard that flying at night can be something extraordinary, but I didn’t fully understand the experience until I did it for myself. Like most things beautiful, night flight has more inherent dangers and potential problems, but my goodness it is lovely. Last night was my introduction to flying at night, as I completed […]

During my primary training, I had a fascinating experience. I was allowed to shadow an Air Traffic Controller for an evening. I sidled up, plugged in, watched and listened for over four hours. This may lead some to believe that there is something seriously wrong with me, and they may be right, but that’s not […]

For some years now, companies like Elite and Jeppesen have sold software that can power PC training devices on which students can actually log training time. Microsoft has sold a similar product for entertainment purposes. Well, look out Elite; watch it Jeppesen. Microsoft has upped its game with the issuance of the 2002 version of […]

No, I’m not telling you where to go. Or perhaps I am, you figure it out. “SIAP” is FAA-speak for “Standard Instrument Approach Procedure,” and frankly, they’re not very well understood. I don’t profess to understand them fully, myself. Yeah, you heard that right. I certainly don’t begin to understand all the “stuff” that makes […]

What would you do if you thought that you had an electrical system failure and a vacuum system failure at the same time in a single-engine airplane? The chances of that happening are pretty slim, but the pilot of a Cessna T210 was convinced that he had both failures at the same time while flying […]

Orlando – Many segments of general aviation sufferedunnecessarily under the often-nonsensical constraints of our”post-nine-one-one” airspace system:  flight training, electronicnewsgathering and other operations heavily dominated by helicopters. In fact,some helicopter-dominated segments continued to bleed the red ink borne ofillogical restrictions for nearly a dozen weeks after the terroristattacks-by-airliners; some still do. This state of affairs generated […]

We’ve all heard the expression “staying ahead of the airplane” but what does it really mean to each of us? To different people it may well mean different things. Rod Machado advocates that, when in IMC (instrument meteorological conditions – in cloud), a pilot should at all times have determined what are the next two […]

Welcome back, class. For those that cut the last session, you can review it here. For the rest of you, here’s a quick review of the highlights from the last session. We covered beacon code assignments, handoffs, initial callups and student pilots using ATC services. In this session we’ll build upon those subjects, explore some […]