Flight Planning

Santa Barbara Municipal Airport has intersecting runways. Runway 7/25 handles all of the airlines and most private jets while the parallel 15/33 pair is for private piston aircraft—long as the normal westerly winds cooperate. Juggling the vast differences in approach speeds and timing on the intersecting runways requires a lot of skill and experience on […]

A couple of relevant PIREPs from the East Coast noreaster on March 2: AVL UUA /OV AVL170002/TM 1720/FL001/TP CRJ9/WV +15-20KTS/RM LIKE A BULL RIDE IAD UUA /OV KIAD/TM 1238/FL040/TP CRJ2/TB MOD-SEV/RM VERY BUMPY ON DESCENT. PRETTY MUCH EVERY ONE ON THE PLANE THREW UP. PILOTS WERE ON THE VERGE OF THROWING UP. AWC-WEB

A mere five months had gone by when a bill arrived from Cincinnati Lunken airport for a landing incurred from when I landed a friend’s Cessna 340 there. A long billing cycle no doubt, but the fee was almost comical if not wasteful. But, upon receipt, we sent the check for the $6.00 fee. I […]

ATC: Cessna XXXX, traffic is going to be an HH-60 departing to the North at 1,700. Me: Roger, we are looking for the traffic now. Pause: Me: Tower, we have the traffic in sight and we are turning to avoid. ATC: If I were in charge, I would paint all aircraft blaze orange. My instructor: […]

The morning fog rolled across the airport like a vast cotton blanket, smothering runways, parked airplanes and the airport terminal. Within minutes, it pushed up against the tower windows, trying to seal us inside like something out of Stephen King’s The Mist. We quickly flipped on the airport beacon and cut a new ATIS reflecting […]

ATC: Squawk 0007 maintain 4500 direct to XXXX Me: Maintain 4500 direct XXXX, squawk licensed to kill ATC: Only if your name is Bond, James Bond Me: Since my name is Dave I guess I will just squawk 0007 Dave Gagliardi

On the market since the mid-1990s, the FDA-cleared Reliefband wearable therapeutic neuromodulation device may be worth a try for motion-sick-prone passengers, and the company recently released the next-gen device called the Reliefband 2.0. Aviation Consumer Editor Larry Anglisano took it flying. view on YouTube

Heard on Denver departure XXXX: “Just off Centennial” Center: “Squawk 6666” Center: “Umm, do you want another? We could give you a different one.” silence XXXX: No, it’s okay, we’ll keep that one.” John C. Lamb

Flying back from St. Augustine Fl (SGJ) to Stennis International (KHSA) just before Christmas, my destination was very low IFR. The whole region and surrounding airports were either very low IFR or Zero Zero. Planes were going missed at Gulfport (KGPT) and surrounding airports and tensions were high with the controllers. I was cleared for […]