Flight Planning

In spring 2003, I was halfway through my flight training. My instructor and I were chatting about air traffic control. He’d just visited the local TRACON. From his description, I pictured a dark room filled with the intense chatter of men and women half-lit by radar scopes and blinking sci-fi lights. A few short years […]

When I was a controller in south Texas, a Piper Tripacer called me in the tower asking to transition through the airspace. Me:“Piper 123, squawk 4352.” Tripacer:“What’s that, tower?” Me:“Piper 123, squawk 4352.” Tripacer:“Tower, I don’t understand you.” Me:“Piper 123, your transponder code: 4352. Do you have a transponder on board?” Tripacer:“No, just me and […]

As anyone who’s paid attention to Central U.S. weather the last few months knows, it’s been a particularly violent spring across “Tornado Alley.” Midwest storms made national news and reintroduced repeat targets—such as Moore, Okla. Well ahead of the storms and far in front of the inevitable miles of destruction images, Americans coast to coast […]

Operators of unmanned aerial systems now can submit their flight plans online, and those operations will be displayed graphically to general aviation pilots when they file their flight plans, Lockheed Martin said on Monday. “Our objective is an open, standards-based system that individual operators and other private UTM [UAS traffic management] systems can use to […]

No doubt about it, Red Sox fans, Boston loves baseball! And here’s a NOTAM to prove it: !FDC 5/2196 BOS STAR GENERAL EDWARD LAWRENCE LOGAN INTL, BOSTON, MAQUABN THREE ARRIVAL…ALL TRANSITIONS, ATC MAY ASSIGN HOLDING AT ONDEC (ON-DECK) AS DEPICTED ON CHART. EXPECT DIRECT UROWT (YOUR-OUT) AND TO RESUME THE QUABN STAR WHEN CLEARED FROM […]

Here’s a funny exchange I heard on the radio: Cessna Pilot (sounding like a nervous newbie):“Charlotte Approach, Cessna 12345 at 5,000. Would like to descend to 7,000.” Charlotte Approach:“Cessna 12345, I think you mean you’d like to climb to 7,000.” Cessna Pilot:“Uh, sorry. I’m still a new instrument pilot.” Charlotte Approach (chuckling):“Cessna 12345, climb and […]

Naming IFR fixes after celebrities and notable landmarks is a common practice, but renaming them due to political controversy is not. However, that’s going to be the case with three waypoints for West Palm Beach International named after the real estate mogul and would-be presidential candidate: DONLD, TRMMP and UFIRD. The FAA said this week […]

DTC DUAT, which lost its bid with the FAA to continue providing online flight services, is fighting for survival with a week left before it is shut down. DTC filed formal protests with the FAA over the recently awarded contracts that included two other current providers, Lockheed Martin and CSC DUATS. DTC also asked the […]

At San Carlos Airport, there is a lot of pilot training that occurs, so it is common to hear interesting radio calls. One day, a helicopter pilot reported to the tower:“We’re with you at 700 feet.”… but did not provide a location. The tower controller responded:“If I were in the airplane with you, where would […]

The FAA plans to eliminate two of the less frequently used resources provided to pilots in the coming months – Airport Advisories and World Aeronautical Charts. In two separate moves, the agency cited declining usage of both due to the digital information available to pilots. There’s a public comment period on Airport Advisories, but the […]