Flight Planning

One of the highest uses for a general aviation airplane is to take your family someplace enjoyable. Done right, the trip is much faster than in the family car and a heck of a lot more fun for all involved. I won’t even comment about the joys of family travel on the airlines, baggage fees […]

Canadian GA and business aircraft can again take shortcuts over U.S. airspace on their way to Canadian destinations. The FAA has amended a NOTAMissued a couple of weeks ago that made such overflights illegal without special security measures. As we reported last week, the NOTAM, apparently issued at the request of the TSA, cancelled the […]

ForeFlight has acquired JetFuelX, a Web-based fuel card management service for turbine aircraft operators. The service allows users to manage multiple aircraft and fueling locations on one site and features quick-search pricing and fuel management tools. ForeFlight says the acquisition enhances its flight planning app with a unique feature. “We are thrilled to announce this […]

While landing a Beech Sierra at Sioux City Gateway Airport (KSUX) one blustery summer day (winds 32, gusting to 40, more or less straight down the runway), I chose to use full flaps in an attempt to achieve the minimum possible landing roll — just for practice. Well the gusts got the best of me. […]

Pilot groups in Canada and the U.S. are hoping the FAA backtracks quickly on a NOTAM posted Jan. 1 that is causing major inconvenience for some Canadian pilots and operators. The NOTAM tightened security regulations for aircraft not registered in the U.S., specifically requiring security waivers for foreign aircraft flying in U.S. airspace. What changed […]

Why do holiday newsletters begin with, “It’s hard to believe another year has passed”? Have we not yet accepted the earth’s orbit around the sun? Or is it truly unfathomable that no matter what reality dictates we’re doomed to repeat the same dumb things year after year? And I’m not just addressing you folks in […]

Fort Wayne Approach:“NXXX, switch to tower on 119.1.” NXXX:“Switching to tower on 119.1.” NXXX:“Fort Wayne tower, this is NXXX with you.” Fort Wayne Approach:“NXXX, you are still on the approach frequency.” NXXX:“I was just practicing.” Robb Rosebrook

Out of respect for you following a three-day weekend over the New Year, the thoughts are succinct and paragraphs short in a conversation about some of the basic truths of staying alive, happy and well when flying. Okay, there might be a few opinions mixed in. Pushing It The weather is not going to get […]

When was it, to avoid compromising personal limits, you decided not to fly? Sure, serious deteriorating weather conditions are an obvious one. As I write this, severe turbulence SIGMETS from surface to 5000 feet have been issued over northwest Europe, which for me is an obvious “no flight.” But there are some diehards (or dare […]

Way back in 1957, when I was an air traffic control trainee at RNZAF station Ohakea, I heard a Bristol freighter report:“We have just passed the Comet.” … then, a few seconds later, add:“The Comet was going the other way.” (The humor relates to the lumbering Bristol compared to the sleek inbound RAF Comet.) Murray […]