TAA Instrument Approaches: How to Navigate Terminal Arrival Areas

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The Terminal Arrival Area (TAA) approach is designed to provide a transition from the IFR enroute segment to the approach environment with little required interaction between the pilot and air traffic control (ATC). This is accomplished by publishing operationally usable altitudes in lieu of a traditional minimum safe altitude (MSA) altitude defined within a circular sector.
CHOOSING AN IFR ALTERNATE

How to Choose the Best Alternate Airport: A Guide for Instrument Pilots

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One of the most important skills pilots learn during flight training is sound decision-making. Every flight, regardless of the complexity of the airplane or the distance of the trip, is comprised of a continuous series of decisions involving a host of variables that the pilot must make in order to safely get from point A to point B.

Video Tip: How to fly an LPV (GPS) approach with a Garmin GTN 650

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LPV instrument approaches provide ILS-like precision to over 4,000 runways in the U.S. In this week's video tip, we'll explain the differences between a traditional LNAV and LPV instrument approach, and show how to fly one using a Garmin GTN 650 navigator.

How to perform a self-weather briefing for an IFR flight (video tip)

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The FAA encourages pilots to use the self-briefing technique when checking the weather before each flight. In this video, we'll highlight various sources of weather products you can use and how to ensure you always get a complete briefing.

IFR challenge from Pilot Workshops: What would you do?

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In this PilotWorkshops IFR Mastery scenario, you own a Beech Sundowner equipped with upgraded instruments, an IFR GPS and an autopilot. The Sundowner will take you, your spouse and a family friend from Abilene, Texas (KABI) to McAlester, Oklahoma (KMLC). On approach to your destination, you execute a missed approach in low IFR conditions. Should you try this approach again or cut your losses and head to the alternate?

Keeping One Step Ahead of ATC when flying IFR

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Gone are the days of making an educated guess on a route, only to have ATC respond with a full route clearance with intersections and airways. It now takes only a moment in ForeFlight, Garmin Pilot or FltPlan.com to enter a departure and destination airport and then see recently issued clearances to other aircraft flying the same route.

ILS approach with Spencer Suderman to Jacksonville Int’l

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The Instrument Landing System (ILS) is a precision approach that provides instrument pilots with both lateral and vertical guidance to a runway. In this video, Spencer Suderman demonstrates what it's like to fly an ILS in a Cessna 172 with a Garmin G1000 avionics system, and how to use the runway approach lighting system to descend below the decision altitude and find the runway when the ceiling is less than 200' AGL.

Understanding TEC routes in busy IFR airspace — Advanced IFR, by Pilot Workshops

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The flight will utilize and explain a Tower Enroute Control (TEC) route which is an FAA program of standard routes that keep a flight solely within approach control airspace instead of working with air route traffic control centers.

Basic attitude instrument flying – the foundation for IFR flight

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As the complete instrument pilot, you should be able to maintain heading, altitude, and airspeed at speeds ranging from cruise to approach. Within the normal speed range of an airplane, there are many combinations of power and pitch which will maintain altitude at different airspeeds.

Choosing an IFR arrival procedure (STAR) — Advanced IFR, by Pilot Workshops

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STARs may have mandatory speeds and/or crossing altitudes published. Other STARs may have planning information depicted to inform pilots what clearances or restrictions to “expect.” Learn to the nuances of selecting an appropriate STAR from Pilot Workshops.