Technique

Destination alternates are common elements in any plan, but not so much takeoff alternates. They can be a big help should a flight get cut really short.

Winter means tighter limits on weather, fuel, and time. But this doesn’t eliminate all the risks, even with a solid alternate—so be prepared, which often means proficient.

You do the most comprehensive planning and review that you can. But there are times when the situation changes. Have you considered contingencies?

Today’s autopilots can arm for glideslope capture to make life easier. But, it’s possible to intercept a false glideslope if you haven’t managed flight path and autopilot correctly.

One has only to monitor the GPS NOTAMs to conclude that our near-100 percent confidence in GPS is misplaced. Here’s a story of a real GPS outage.

Approaches with both GPS and VHF sources are common, so don’t forget how to use all your navigation functions. Sometimes you need ‘em all, and at the same time.

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 […]

In 1997 the worst runway incursion in aviation history occurred in foggy weather on the island of Tenerife when a KLM 747 began a takeoff with a lost Pan American 747 on the runway. In all, 583 people lost their lives. More recently, runway incursions remain in the news. Fortunately, there have been no accidents. […]

These ASRS reports show many ways to get something simple wrong. You’ll see how creative errors can sneak in and deprive us of the fuel that keeps us airborne. Flight Planning A pilot encountered 32-35 knot headwinds at cruise. At 2.5 hours airborne, the pilot decided to land for fuel because only eight gallons remained. […]

Southern California, the land of Zen mountain centers, surfer vibes, and the Big Lebowski, is one laid-back place. Is there a better spot then, to introduce the most relaxed and no-big-deal of all arrival descents, the vertical navigation profile? You’ve just completed a retreat in Palm Springs, finding inspiration for your big screenplay, and now […]