Search Results for: vfr

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 […]

My two previous columns about CAF’s “new” C-131 and the development of our normal-procedures checklist for it drew such a phenomenal response, and I got so many excellent suggestions by email, it appears to be in my own best interest to put the emergency stuff up here for comment and critique. Keep those cards and […]

When Garmin first announced its forthcoming big-screen color mapcom in 1999, my salivary glands took on a life of their own. I just knew I had to have one! It’s been a long wait, but it was definitely worth it. After four months of flying with the GNS 530, I can say without reservation that […]

Remember when the holidays meant a big turkey dinner at Grandma’s? The table would be overflowing with family, friends, mashed potatoes and pumpkin pie. That used to mean about a two- or three-hour drive. Now it means we agonize over when and where we fly. Do we visit my wife’s parents on Thanksgiving or do […]