Flight Planning

While flying in New York air space I heard this controller: Controller: Piper turn right 20 degrees. No response Controller: Piper turn right 20 degrees Still no response (must have seen Piper turn on screen) Controller: Piper instead of nodding your head, key your mic and answer me!!! Alan Kane

The aviation community is continuing to respond to the Trump administration’s proposal on Monday to privatize the air traffic control system. FAA Administrator Michael P. Huerta released a brief statement, saying he supports “looking at new ways to help us provide stable and sufficient funding to more rapidly modernize our system, while maintaining the highest […]

Holding at the holding point Nelson, New Zealand, we were waiting for the cabin to be cleared before calling ready.Tower:“Link XXX, are you ready?”Link XXX:“Just waiting on the cabin.”Tower:“It’s right behind you.” Justin Zangerl

The newest version of ForeFlight’s electronic flight bag software will include advanced fuel and performance planning tools for an additional $100 per year ($200 per year over the basic subscription price). Tyson Weihs, ForeFlight co-founder and CEO, said, “The new performance product that we’re launching delivers high performance flight planning for high performance airplanes.” The […]

Heard at JFK one summer day after a very long ground roll and subsequent lift off by a British Airways 747. Tower: “Speedbird XXX noise violation.” Speedbird XXX:”Send it to the ()(*&^% Queen.” Real story. Dan Jenkins

Heard recently one morning on JFK tower frequency. JetBlue: Tower, is our speed compatible with the aircraft ahead of us? Tower: As long as you don’t go to warp factor 6, you should be fine. Marty Twersky

The Bahamas is the first neighboring country to the U.S. to accept BasicMed as a medical qualification for U.S. pilots flying in its airspace. BasicMed went into effect on May 1 and allows pilots to fly up to five passengers on day or night VFR or IFR pleasure flights (not for compensation or hire) in […]

Aviation weather columns typically talk about hazards in terms of elements: “Watch the 0 to -20 degrees C layer for icing.” “Be cautious of wet, clear nights because of fog,” etc. We can always learn more from a change in perspective, and we can do so using surface charts from the Aviation Weather Center website. […]

I was at HEF and heard this on ground frequency. RJXXX: HEF ground this is RJ NXXX at APP FBO ready to taxi with ECHO, ECHo, ECho, Echo, echo, ec Jerry Dahl

Anytime you get a group of flight instructors together, the topic of weather will enter the conversation in some form. It may range from how crummy it always seems to be when a CFI has nothing but primary students on the schedule to how miserable it is to preheat a Cessna 152 in the winter […]