Short Final

My friend Ron has several pet peeves regarding radio etiquette on CTAF. I was inbound to our home base Charlotte‑Monroe Executive Airport when I heard him on frequency one afternoon and decided to see how many of his pet peeves I could check off in one transmission: “Monroe traffic, Skyhawk 2055E is turning left final […]

I often fly a piston twin into Boston’s Logan Airport. Normally, whether VFR or IFR this requires talking to Center, three handoffs for Approach, two Tower frequencies, and Ground. Each frequency sounds like an auctioneer selling an estate, and it’s difficult to get a word in. But when the pandemic hit its nadir, I was […]

Flying north from Florida, Jacksonville Center asked for an assist. JAX: “Meridian 821J, we’re not sure the Savannah VOR is working. Would you tune 115.95 and see what you get?” Me: “Sure. (pause) It’s working fine.” JAX: “Thanks a bunch. I bet you haven’t done that in a long time!” Patrick Jebaily Florence, SC

One day we were finishing some instrument training at Lancaster, Pennsylvania, an area well known for its fairly large Amish presence. It was very windy that day and as we were headed outbound, the Tower told a landing Piper, “I think I just saw a horse and buggy pass you.” The Piper responded, “Yeah, we […]

While flying cross country from South Carolina to California we planned a stop in Reno, Nevada. I complained to the controller when he released me for the visual approach 7000 feet above and just five miles from the airport. Flying into Reno is like flying into a bowl, this was my first time in (on […]

Recently my wife and I flew to Harris Ranch (California) for breakfast. On the return flight, I dropped my wife off at Sierra Sky Park Airport before flying to Madera Municipal Airport, our home base. Madera Municipal is about 20 miles north of Sierra Sky Park. In winter we usually have ground fog in the […]

Soon after getting my PPL I took my parents for a ride in a C172. The flight from El Monte, CA, to Apple Valley was fairly uneventful. After crossing the San Gabriel mountains and starting the descent into Apple Valley, the wind over the desert picked up a little but not a big deal. We […]

While the Star Wars movie series has ended (spanning 42 years), it is alive and well at the Hartsfield‑Jackson Atlanta International Airport (KATL) on the JEDII TWO ARRIVAL (RNAV). There are up to 11 Star Wars movies, depending on how you count. The original movie (1977) was Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope (NEW […]

This happened a few years ago, in the pre‑pandemic world. I was chugging along in my Piper Dakota from North Central Arkansas heading toward the busy Dallas‑Fort Worth airspace on a Friday afternoon. Fort Worth Center was talking fast, directing the arriving airline traffic, dealing with a few military training flights and a couple of […]

Recently, I took my Piper Arrow out for a late afternoon Bay tour from Oakland to the Golden Gate Bridge. The NORCAL frequency was unusually quiet. Only one other airplane, a Cessna, checked in. The friendly controller gave him instructions that contained a number of semi‑official local waypoints. The instruction went something like, “Stay north […]