Flight Planning

The new BasicMed FAA rule took effect on Monday, and according to AOPA, 1,354 pilots already have completed all the requirements to qualify for the program. Those pilots are now eligible to fly under the BasicMed rules. Another 3,897 pilots have completed the online medical education course quiz, and 2,412 pilots have begun the course, […]

Anchorage Approach:“Skylane X, traffic four miles at your one o’ clock, type and altitude unknown. Possibly birds.” Skylane: We have the birds in sight. Approach: Say type and altitude. Skylane: They’re ducks at 4300 feet, westbound. Don’t get to give a PIREP on ducks every day! William Fraley

I like the Black Knight scene in the movie Monty Python and the Holy Grail. The Black Knight is getting beat in a sword fight by King Arthur and losing one limb after the other. He won’t admit he might be in over his head, instead he tells King Arthur, “Tis but a flesh wound.” […]

The National Weather Service is now providing a new product, Graphical Forecasts for Aviation, which is intended to provide a complete picture of the weather that may impact flight in the continental U.S. The webpage, which is built with modern geospatial information tools, includes observational data, forecasts and warnings that can be viewed from 14 […]

About 25 years ago I was hauling cargo in a beat-up C210 at dusk near PFN, FL, and overheard the following: ATC: “Comair 1234, Nat’l Wx Service just advised us they have recently released a balloon in your area and they say “it should be approx your altitude, and it’s pretty large.” Pause of a […]

Some years ago I was flying into a very congested London Heathrow Airport when I heard the following exchange with Heathrow Approach. Heathrow: “Speedbird 123, what is your position in the hold at Lambourne?” Speedbird: “We are just turning outbound at flight level 200.” Heathrow: “Roger, Speedbird, could you possibly cross Lambourne inbound at 3000 […]

I recently had a beautiful IMC flight on which I relearned how wonderful our capability to operate in the IMC world is. It’s easy to lose that awe for the beauty of our environment and the utility of the machines at our disposal as we move safely through this environment. Such is the stuff of […]

I heard this on my scanner and almost fell out of my chair. Jet Blue: “Jet Blue 123 climbing to eight thousand”. No response Jet Blue: “Jet Blue 123 how do you hear?” Bradley Approach: “With my ears: turn left direct Norwich VOR”. Stephen Fogarty

Much to the surprise of drone pilots who assumed it was already illegal, the FAA announced today that it will restrict drone flights up to 400 feet within the lateral boundaries of 133 military facilities. Flight above 400 feet by unmanned vehicles is already prohibited without special authorization. The restrictions will be effective starting on […]

AVweb speaks with Paxton Calvanese, maker of the wx24 Pilot app for iOS products, about long-distance flight planning for light GA aircraft, teaching pilots a new way to view weather and future data visualization products. Two key feature of the wx24 Pilot app are its annular presentation of 24 hours of TAF data, including overlapping […]