Winter flying may almost be over but arctic blasts are still possible. Do you understand all the field-condition reporting jargon? After this, you will…

Every flight, even a VFR flight, has a departure procedure and an arrival procedure. On VFR flights that might just be make a left turn and remain in the pattern. Often times, particularly at a non-towered airport, you will make up procedures yourself. But on an IFR flight things are never so simple. There must […]

Robert, my student, called me the other day. He bases his Cirrus SR22T out of Eagle Colorado (KEGE). He wanted to know if I was interested in attempting some of the maneuvers he had found in the Pilot’s Workshop document called the Pilot Exercise Program. It’s in a PDF for $49 or $69 if you […]

We all learned how to fly procedure turns when we got our instrument rating. We probably even had to fly a procedure turn or two on the practical test to qualify for the certificate. But since then it has been vectors to final nearly every time and our ability to fly a procedure turn correctly […]

Aspen is home to the rich and famous—senators, movie stars, and industry titans all have second homes here. Aspen is the home of the $10 cup of coffee. And aside from the high prices, what’s not to like? Aspen is the ultimate cute little mountain town that progress has not spoiled. There is fresh air […]

Operations below minimums on an instrument approach can be quite simple if the ceilings and visibilities are significantly above minimums. But when the chips are down along with the ceilings and visibilities, things aren’t quite so simple. Let’s take a deep dive into what it takes to get an airplane on the ground after a […]

Whether it’s a result of faulty instruction or an accumulation of bad habits over time, I often see pilots who come in for a Flight Review or Instrument Proficiency Check who exhibit habits that either make no sense or worse yet, contribute to poor piloting technique. Being able to recognize these mistakes and correct them […]

Back in the bad old days of VOR navigation you could find your position by tuning in two different VOR’s. Each radial from a VOR was a “line of position” from that VOR. Your position could be anywhere on that line. Where the two lines from two different VORs intersected was your location. For accuracy […]

How many times have you heard a report like this? “Podunk Municipal airport, automated weather observation, 2347 Zulu. Weather, wind 050 at 12 knots, gust 23 knots. Visibility 7. Sky condition, clear below 12,000 feet. Temperature 29 Celsius, dew point 17 Celsius. Altimeter 30.00 inches of mercury. Remarks, intensive glider activity 20 miles north east […]