Features

Probably the most difficult task on the Instrument Rating (IR) practical test is Area VII, Task D: Approach with Loss of Primary Flight Instrument Indicators. But why is the FAA so interested in this? In their own words from the IR Practical Test Standards (PTS): The FA A is concerned about numerous fatal aircraft accidents […]

We love a pilot who accidentally says over the mic something everyone has thought at one time or another. When arriving at the first stop on our pilots association’s annual poker run, one of our pilots said on the frequency, for all to hear: “Geez. There’s more than one runway here. That makes it kinda […]

Maintaining your IFR currency isnt that hard. Just fly and log in actual or simulated conditions six instrument approaches, holding procedures and tasks and intercepting and tracking electronic courses within the preceding six months, and youre golden. Even if you find yourself slightly out of currency in the 11th month, you can go out with […]

In 1929, Amelia Earhart and 18 other female pilots set off from California to race to a finish line in Ohio — and this Friday, historian Bill Meixner will be telling that story, full of adventure, courage, and tragedy, at the International Women’s Air & Space Museum at the Burke Lakefront Airport in Cleveland, Ohio. […]

Late on a low-traffic night, an Ozark flight requested landing instructions into Des Moines, reporting his altitude as 6,000 feet. He was given clearance since no other traffic was in the area. After a few seconds, the Ozark pilot again called, saying:“Uh, that 6,000 feet — that shoulda been 5,000 feet. Gee, this thing’s got […]

Letter of the Week:The Rest of the Story The new rest rules do not cover cargo flights, nor do they cover foreign flights in U.S. airspace. But the basics should be that professional pilots take care of their bodies, including getting adequate rest. Carriers give crew regulated rest periods, but unless the FAA wants the […]

You are on approach in busy airspace with an even busier cockpit…you are changing frequencies, receiving vectors, looking for traffic. You are well into the descent phase. As you flip through your kneeboard to get ready for the final phases of flight, you instinc- tively start looking for the runway. You see one in front […]

It might be winter for much of the U.S., but at Eagle Roost Airpark in Aguila, Ariz., it’s predicted to be 77 degrees and sunny this weekend — nice weather for browsing at a fly-in flea market. The Saturday event, one of the many that pilots can find via the free SocialFlightwebsite or app, will […]

Letter of the Week:Volunteer Controllers? My response to the letter from Tom Lanhamand his effort to justify the FAA charges for air traffic controllers at aviation conventions: Have any of you FAA controllers ever thought about volunteering? I was always under the impression that these guys were aviation enthusiasts and were volunteering, just like the […]

It was the late 1980s, and a Pan Am 727 was holding at Berlin Tegel. Another Pan Am 727 made a less than graceful arrival, clouds of smoke from the tires, clouds of smoke from the reversers, horizontal stab shaking alarmingly, and the whole thing bouncing around until it safely vacated the runway. The Holding […]