Search Results for: vfr

The annual adventure trip to Arizona with my buddies would have been better if we could fly around the desert in a rented Cessna as we planned. An important part of that plan included my checkout and endorsement to rent the FBOs Skyhawk. Unfortunately, scheduling the checkout turned out to be more difficult than I […]

At AirVenture, Jeppesen has introduced a new app that runs a little against the trend in app development in general and frankly, Im happy to see it. As described in this video, the app is called Mobile FliteDeck VFR and its aimed specifically at VFR-only pilots. And given the way flying habits may be changing-less […]

Jeppesen has introduced the Mobile FliteDeck VFR for U.S. GA pilots to use on iPads. Until now only the IFR version was available but the VFR option has been available in Europe for a year. It offers numerous charting, navigation and flight-planning options with charts and data covering the whole continental U.S. Jeppesen said in […]

While it might be true that fear is just fear, the kind that comes in knowing youre running out of gas has a particular texture that seems uniquely capable of turning your brain to mush. I know this because like many pilots, Ive had the experience of nearly running an engine on air. I could […]

Automation is a routine part of our lives now, dictated by sweeping new technologies and consumer preferences. Arguably, the trend toward automation began in aviation in the 1970s. It has been debated and resisted by many in the aviation community, but the game has recently changed for both the airlines and general aviation. Yet, our […]

I’ve been an avionics tech long enough to remember when the extent of new avionics upgrades included a couple of flip-flop Navcomm radios and an audio panel. Even back then, some owners stumbled with otherwise simple switchology. Worse case was a missed radio call. Things have changed. Today’s avionics upgrades usually involve tightly integrated glass […]

The maneuver by an Airbus 319 crew over Michigan on Monday, briefly diving the jet in response to a TCAS warning, may seem routine to aviators, but it’s been getting a lot of coverage in the mainstream press, citing terrified passengers and jostled flight attendants. “Screaming passengers feared the plane was going to crash,” says […]

Especially in military operations, it’s impossible to eliminate risk, but it can be minimized. Many of their risk-management techniques can apply to your flying. No matter what we do in an aircraft, we cannot eliminate risk entirely. Instead, we can manage that risk and take positive steps to mitigate or reduce it; in rare cases, […]

Now that the iPad and tablet-type computers have become all but standard equipment in the cockpit, so are reports of their failures trickling in. I got a note from a former airplane partner last week reporting that a primary app on his tablet failed and wouldn’t restart, killing access to charts and approach plates. How […]

Operational guidelines followed by professionals would not have allowed a circling approach into the weather, terrain and lighting conditions this pilot attempted. Flying under Part 91 gives us an incredible amount of aviation freedom. Yet, it is this relative freedom from heavy regulation which is largely responsible for General Aviation’s safety record, a safety record […]