Search Results for: vfr

Pipistrel Ramps Up Electric Aircraft Production Muucho Kudos to Pipistrel. They recognized a legitimate aviation niche market, designed an airplane and power-plant combo to fill it, certified and built it, and are selling, building, and delivering those airplanes at a profit. No pie in the sky hype bolstered by virtual reality video by companies who […]

Until 2004, Flight Service conducted most preflight briefings. Then self‑briefing arrived. By 2017, 96 percent of all pilots self‑briefed and 83 percent of flight plans were filed online. But many of us don’t know how to get a thorough self‑briefing. Between 2010 and 2013, the NTSB could find not weather briefing records in 32 percent […]

It might’ve been old flight-school technology, but the unsung weather tool, HIWAS, is no more. The NOTAM announcing its passing read like a heartless obituary: “…outlet decommissioned Jan 8, 2020-permanent.” Permanent. So cold for a reliable friend that, frankly, few of us understood. HIWAS means (meant), Hazardous In-Flight Weather…um, something, something; its purpose in life […]

Pilots are taught to take off and land into the wind, and avoid landing or departing with a tailwind. There is a reason: The performance penalty of a tailwind is much greater than the benefit of a headwind. How big a penalty? Go to your POH and calculate it. The most common figure is to […]

We were returning from a trip to Milwaukee Timmerman after visiting the EAA AirVenture and were on VFR flight following from Chicago Approach on a busy frequency when we overheard this exchange: Chicago Approach: “N1234 are you a flight of three?” N1234: “Say again?” Chicago Approach: “N1234, are you a flight of three?” N1234: (After […]

The earth’s surface is about 71 percent water. Most of us will never pilot a personal aircraft long distances over oceans, but eventually flying over some body of water while beyond gliding distance to land is almost a certainty. When we do that in a single-engine aircraft, the adverse consequences of an engine failure increase […]

The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) has announced locations for three fly-in events to be held next year, including a return to San Marco, Texas (KHYI) where it held the first of its annual fly-ins in 2014. In addition to San Marcos, which will take place on May 29-30, the 2020 fly-ins are scheduled […]

While flying as co-pilot (actually, the radio operator) on a VFR Angel Flight blood delivery mission to San Bernardino Airport (KSBD) near Ontario, we were handed off to the tower by SoCal approach. Unbeknownst to us, the KSBD tower doesn’t have radar even though it has a FedEx depot, a big FBO, an airliner graveyard, […]

It was a foggy mid-week morning when I stopped into the pilot’s lounge at the virtual airport. I was doing some research for an article in our sister publication Aviation Consumer and I needed Wi-Fi access, so I figured I’d tap into the flight school’s system. Karver, recently instrument rated and Kary, a long-time pilot […]

The Air Force says it needs more room to train fighter pilots but GA pilots in New Mexico are worried it will come at their expense. The Air Force has come up with three alternatives to get the elbow room in military operating areas (MOA) it says it needs to overcome a crippling shortage of […]