Flight Planning

I was flying IFR in VMC between St. Petersburg and Orlando Executive. Central Florida TRACON (Orlando Approach) was vectoring non‑commercial traffic over the top of Orlando International for an eventual turn to the north or continuation to the east. In my case, after passing over Orlando International, I would get a descending north turn followed […]

Effective and efficient use of the IFR system requires you to know the essence of the FARs and AIM. Essentially FARs are typically written to define what the controller cannot let you do. But only your imagination and operational needs will determine what the controller can let you do. So, you must be somewhat creative, […]

After a half-century of experience in the cargo flying sector, long-time pilot Stan DeLong has seen it all. He claims to be semi-retired, but he still flies a Piper Navajo Chieftain during United Parcel Service’s peak season, and is chief pilot and check airman for Gem Air, LLC. If you make the mistake of assuming […]

I was flying near Salinas, California, when the Goodyear blimp was passing over the airport. Tower advised an inbound aircraft of the blimp in the area. Tower: “Beech 1234 be advised there’s a blimp at your two o’clock, three thousand feet.” Beech 1234: “Is that from the top or from the bottom? Doug Anderson Salinas, […]

The small universe of general aviation advocacy groups usually forms a united front, working together to promote common interests, but this week that changed. On Thursday, Women in Aviation International withdrew its support of AOPA’s protests regarding FBO fees, leaving AOPA now the only major GA group still pushing the initiative. “As a pilot myself, […]