Technique

Long ago, an instructor explained to me that knowing the various options for using the airplane, the different ways to make it do what’s needed, and the savvy to use those different models as appropriate; differentiated aviating from rote piloting. In the case of using climb abilities to your benefit, the best preparation begins with […]

14 CFR 91.123 says, “When a pilot is uncertain of an ATC clearance, that pilot shall immediately request clarification from ATC.” Complying with the reg seems easy enough, but under pressure of time, heavy weather and busy controllers we are tempted to assume that ATC knows its intentions and to accept a clearance as given. […]

Letter of the Week:Altimeter Under Pressure I am a single-engine aircraft owner and private pilot that only flies VFR. So the following question is based on my 2,000 hours of flying over the past 33 years. My Grumman Cheetah is equipped with the standard altimeter, and my airplane has a Mode C transponder. I also […]

Most casual discussions of hand-propping begin and end with the admonition “Don’t.” That’s not bad advice, except when there’s no other way to start the engine. In fact, hand-propping is a time-honored practice, dating to the beginning of heavier-than-air flight. That it’s still employed says as much about the legacy of aviation as it does […]

Not long ago, an airline began to receive notices that crews flying the RNAV (GPS) RWY 36 approach into Birmingham, Alabama (BHM) were receiving GPWS alerts while descending from the MDA to the runway. Since it wasn’t an isolated incident, the airline suspected that the approach was flawed and notified the FAA, who flight checked […]

A pilot can learn a great deal by stripping his or her flying down to its fundamental roots. Flying an aircraft without an electrical system puts you in touch with the basics of flying by altimeter, whiskey compass, pilotage and pure stick-and-rudder skills. On the mechanical side, it’s a chance to commune with the engine […]

Over the next week or 10 days, I’ll be writing a few blogs on aviation risk assessment—how people judge it and how they mitigate it. While I’m getting started on that, a reader wrote to challenge my assessment of the J-3 Cub’s safety and crashworthiness. I touched on this in the Aviation Consumer article that […]

It’s a fact of aeronautical life that virtually every pilot has to complete some form of recurrent training every two years to fly as pilot in command in Part 91 operations. While FAR Part 61.56 outlines a number of methods of meeting its mandate, another fact of aeronautical life is that most pilots comply by […]

Probably the most difficult task on the Instrument Rating (IR) practical test is Area VII, Task D: Approach with Loss of Primary Flight Instrument Indicators. But why is the FAA so concerned about this? In their own words from the IR Practical Test Standards (PTS): “The FAA is concerned about numerous fatal aircraft accidents involving […]

We bow to no one in our willingness to reject ATC clearances and forcefully but politely seek what we want and need from a controller. Since our chair usually is moving faster than their’s, we cop the attitude that our needs are more important than ATC’s. At the same time, we certainly understand controllers often […]