IFR Magazine

An autonomous landing system that Diamond Aircraft officials call an electronic parachute has been successfully tested in Austria, the company announced in September. Tested in a DA42 twin, the system uses fly-by-wire technology and has been in development for about three years. The aircraft, with two test pilots on board, flew the approach and landing to an uncontrolled field without any input from pilots in the cockpit or on the ground. The airplane touched down gently right on the centerline. CEO Christian Dries said the technology may be available as an option within a few years. An auto-takeoff feature also is in the works.

Ive spent many hours in a hotel listening to the briefer from 1-800-VFR-not-recommended drone on about places I couldnt visualize while simultaneously trying to grasp the big picture. There has to be a better way, and the answer is simply not to get rid of the FA.

I was once an active airport bum, hanging around the home drome in much of my spare time. Then things got busy, the complexion of the airport changed and, well, I miss those days.

Its no surprise that many pilots go into hibernation during the winter. Winter flying has its own set of risks and operational challenges. Its cold. Theres the potential for frost on the wings and ice in the clouds. The winds are generally stronger. There are icy ramps and runways with poor traction. Oh, and did we mention that its cold?

Youre basking in the glow of your high-tech primary flight display and make a slight attitude correction to level the wings. The bank hadnt even resulted in a heading change because you caught it so quickly.

Prognostic charts (progs) rank among the most used weather charts in aviation. Progs are published four times a day and provide a comprehensive overview of weather across the United States out to 24 hours. Theyre found many places, but the source is the NOAA Aviation Weather Center website under Forecasts > Prog Charts > Low Level. There is also a separate chart set under the Surface tab that ranges out to 8 days in the future, but there are no precipitation markings after 48 hours.

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I file IFR in the Los Angeles Basin because it makes things easier transitioning the complicated airspace. Usually, ATC likes to leave you high over the Ontario traffic and then slam dunk you into Santa Ana.

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The FAA raised concerns this summer over the escalation of pilot reports of drone encounters, with 650 reports in the first half of the year, nearly three times as many as in all of 2014. Encounters occurred at altitudes up to 10,000 feet and were reported by aircraft from helicopters to airliners. Conflicts with firefighters also were on the rise. In August, the Transportation Departments Office of Inspector General said it would launch an audit to scrutinize the FAAs procedures for allowing drone operations in the national airspace.