Short Final

Traveling southwest to New Orleans through southern Mississippi, our IFR clearance always includes a pair of VORs, EWA and LBY, to steer clear of the numerous military facilities in the area. I queried Memphis Center about their names, Kewanee and Eaton. Baron 658M: “Center, I can understand the name Kewanee and ID of EWA, but […]

As a new pilot I was nervous about ATC communications … until I heard this exchange. Now I know they are human after all. As background, in the New York Terminal Area there’s a commonly used VRP, namely the Tappan Zee Bridge. A few years ago the New York Governor decided to name it instead […]

On a recent trip, I came across the NOTAM shown above and had to chuckle a bit. Well, at least they’re not planning any indecent maneuvers. Or, perhaps they mean that their maneuvers will be properly performed. Almost makes you want to fly through to find out what’s up. David ChuljianPort Townsend, Washington

On one of my first IFR flights, my filed route ended JFK‑COL‑KBLM but Clearance told me to drop the Colts Neck VOR (COL) and go direct KBLM after JFK. Later, passing over JFK, I made my turn direct to KBLM as cleared. This was my last waypoint, so as I made this final turn towards […]

I’m originally from eastern North Carolina, and have family in Greenville, North Carolina. My office has a business in Pinehurst, North Carolina, and several times a year I will fly to either Greenville or Pinehurst and then swing by the other location on my way back to Virginia. There is a military base, Fort Bragg, […]

My brother‑in‑law told me of an incident at a Class C airport where he parked for a day or so. Upon returning to his aircraft to leave, he did not know exactly what to say to Ground control when he wanted to taxi. After receiving his clearance he listened to the frequency for a little […]

On a recent LightHawk flight, we were approaching Willow Run, Michigan, just before sunset. The weather was clear enough for a visual approach to 23, but with the hour and the abundance of airports we hadn’t seen before, we thought it would be a good idea to utilize the RNAV 23 to make sure we […]

One of the joys of being based at an airport with a very active flight school (Orange County, Montgomery, New York) is the entertainment value of some of the radio transmissions. Witness: Slightly bored instructor voice: “168 Lima Alpha, 45‑mile final Runway 22.” Overly excited voice, hence probably a student: “Did you say 45‑mile final?!” […]

I had an early departure planned the next morning from my towered home airport, but I forgot what time the tower opened. I wanted to know so I could plan to get my clearance from them or know if I’d need to get it remotely. Since I was taxiing in the evening before, I just […]

We had just received our handoff from SoCal Departure to LA Center after departing Palm Springs International in our Praetor 500. We hadn’t even had a chance to check in when we heard this exchange: N1AB: “… requesting direct destination.” LA Center: “Who … who was that?” N1AB: “N1AB requesting direct to our final destination.” […]