Instrument Flight

I’ve been an avionics tech long enough to remember when the extent of new avionics upgrades included a couple of flip-flop Navcomm radios and an audio panel. Even back then, some owners stumbled with otherwise simple switchology. Worse case was a missed radio call. Things have changed. Today’s avionics upgrades usually involve tightly integrated glass […]

Now that the iPad and tablet-type computers have become all but standard equipment in the cockpit, so are reports of their failures trickling in. I got a note from a former airplane partner last week reporting that a primary app on his tablet failed and wouldn’t restart, killing access to charts and approach plates. How […]

Operational guidelines followed by professionals would not have allowed a circling approach into the weather, terrain and lighting conditions this pilot attempted. Flying under Part 91 gives us an incredible amount of aviation freedom. Yet, it is this relative freedom from heavy regulation which is largely responsible for General Aviation’s safety record, a safety record […]

As federal agencies scramble to cope with looming federal budget cuts, GA advocacy groups are pressing to minimize the impact on flight operations. NBAA President Ed Bolen this week asked FAA officials to consider more factors than simply the total number of operations at an airport in deciding which towers will close. For example, Tracon […]

Popular aviation charts vendor Air Chart Systems has sent a notice to its subscribers that it’s ceasing publication of the spiral-bound paper atlases that were its signature product for more than 50 years. In a note attached to the March 7 electronic update of en route charts and approach plates, the company suggests it’s out […]

Deviations happen, even to the best pilots. Some also may come with a heart stopping “call this number on the ground.” Knowing how to handle the call can improve your odds of keeping it from becoming a violation. Even pros flying hundreds of hours a year slip up once in awhile. Those of us who […]

Flight training syllabi for the Private Pilot, Instrument Rating, Instrument Instructor Refresher, Crew Resource Management, and Part 135 Initial and Recurrent online training courses are the among new courses announced this week by King Schools. The company says its Part 135 training courses are crafted to fit smoothly into operators’ own pre-existing training packages. And […]

The IMC Club, a nonprofit project based in Norwood, Mass., to help instrument pilots maintain their efficiency, continues to grow and develop, co-founder Radek Wyrzykowski told AVweb at EAA AirVenture this week. “Our motto is essentially that currency is not enough,” said Wyrzykowski. “You might be legal, but that doesn’t mean you’re proficient.” The clubs […]

One of the hardest parts of flying instruments is making the transition from on-the-gauges to visual flight at the missed approach point. Visual and instrument pilots also have difficulty at times landing in the proper touchdown zone because they’re too fast or too slow on final. One way to make safe, consistent landings, and to […]

This article originally appeared in IFR magazine, Sep. 2006. Getting tired of reading how someday WAAS-in-it-for-me technology will offer near-precision approaches to every ma-and-pa airport in the nation — but it’s not ready yet? Dreading the day when you’ll have to choose between plunking $20,000 worth of new avionics in your panel or not flying […]