I try to fly our airplane at least once every two weeks because just as it’s not good for a plane to just sit in a hangar, it’s also not good when a pilot doesn’t practice their skills. Sometimes, even on clear days, I will fly instrument approaches at a nearby Class C airport. I do this for several reasons: to verify that all of the navigational instruments work properly, to practice working with ATC and if things don’t work, I am in VFR conditions and am at very little risk.
On one of those clear days, as ATC vectored my wife and me to intercept the localizer for a practice approach, I noticed static in my headset. The controller also noticed it and said, “That static may be on my headset; I’ll check.” He then turned us over to the tower for the remainder of our approach. As the tower cleared us for the option and gave us our climbout instructions, I noticed that the static was still with us. However, at that point, I could hear the tower’s directions clearly.
