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When I was in high school, I did a project which involved interviewing military veterans. There were four veterans I interviewed – two who were in the Vietnam War and two in Korea (one was my grandfather). The main focus was to interview them about their personal experiences, and about combat. To do this I had to […]
There are many ways to calculate airplane weight & balance with an iPad, but the best method we’ve found yet is with the Aviation W&B Calculator app. Available for $9.99 in the app store, this app makes it a breeze to perform routine weight & balance calculations. After instantly calculating takeoff/landing weight and center of […]
TAFs are a valuable pre-flight planning tool, and they are created by experts who carefully consider a variety of different models and weather reports. But don’t be seduced by the precision of these forecasts. As you conduct your pre-flight weather briefing, consider the TAF a single data point, and nothing more.
You’re in the third hour of a cross-county flight which will push your landing in to the night hours. Your destination is a first time visit and ATC instructions will require a non-standard pattern to the unfamiliar airport. Or perhaps, arriving at a pilot-controlled airport, the temptation to fly a non-standard arrival is too great due to the lack of activity at this late hour. Sound realistic or something that has happened to you ?
When stressed learning to fly approaches, it is very easy to get behind the airplane. During my IFR training, it was not uncommon for my instructor to ask me, “What is the next thing to do?” And sometimes it was difficult, if not impossible, to answer! In any stressful situation, the human mind easily can […]
Takeoff performance calculations start with a chart from the airplane’s POH but there may be more to the story. We’ll take a look at one of these charts along with the conditions and notes on the chart that many pilots overlook. We’ll also address what to do when the runway just doesn’t fit the mold defined by the chart.
This week I will celebrate the 29th anniversary of my 29th birthday. Birthdays, which are so anticipated when you’re young. I can’t wait until I’m 6 and go to school. I can’t wait until I’m 10 and can take a tractor to the field by myself. I can’t wait until I’m 16 so I can […]
Presidential TFRs will be popping up more and more throughout the year as we approach the 2012 election this fall. Find out how you can stay informed about them and not get caught off guard.
One of the best ways to become a better pilot is easy, free and doesn’t require a flight instructor. Sound too good to be true? Hardly. In fact, you may already do it, at least in some form.
Pressure and Density Altitude on FAA Tests and in the Real World One of the things that you must learn as a pilot is how to determine the approximate performance you can expect out of your airplane on a given day. I say the “approximate performance” because there are simply too many variables that will […]
