IFR Magazine

I was westbound on a sunny day just south of Duluth, Minn., when the following conversation regarding situational awareness occurred:Delta 2234: Minneapolis Center, Delta Twenty-two Thirty-four. What is the large lake in front of me?Minneapolis Center: Uh, which one? Minnesota license plates do say, Land of 10,000 Lakes. Delta 2234: The one at my 12 oclock.Center (annoyed or flabbergasted, Im not sure): Uh, Lake Superior!Delta 2234: Oh, Wow!There was a brief period of radio silence likely due to Center employees rolling on the floor laughing and crying at the same time.

On page 14 of the February issue (Glass Panel Scans), you state that a case can be made for flying track instead of a heading assigned by ATC. This I have to hear. When a controller assigns me a heading, that is what he wants me to do, and doing something else would seem to constitute failure to follow an ATC instruction. Your thoughts?

I recently heard a radio story about training New Yorkers to use chain saws. Pretty funny deal to a guy who grew up heating on wood and now lives in Maine. One chain-saw expert made this biting comment: Can you believe they sell these things in Home Depot?In a way, thats my take-away from the latest NTSB finding that glass-cockpit aircraft dont appear to be safer than those with conventional instruments. My inbox was all atwitter with people commenting on this, and everyone seemed to think these findings supported their point of view.

From my base in Santa Barbara, Calif., I often fly north to San Jose (KSJC). At San Jose, GA aircraft operate from Runway 29, parallel and to the west of the two main runways, 30L and 30R for jets. All the runways have straight-out IFR missed-approach procedures.One night, while I was waiting for release on 29, Southwest 376 (a 737) reported on final and asked, How close is 376 to the killer bee ahead? He was referring to a 757 and its reputation for leaving a brutal wake.

If youve ever seen the dramatic final scene of Strategic Air Command with Jimmy Stewart, youve seen a Precision Approach Radar, or PAR, approach. A PAR begins with vector- to-course, much like an ILS, but also adding trend info to help the pilot build situational awareness.

Youre descending on the glideslope for the ILS 29 with a 25-knot tailwind. Winds at the surface are eight knots from the southwest. Quick: What two corrective actions will you need to make over the next three minutes? With enough experience youll get it right, but ask yourself: Is this brand of analysis second nature to you? Sure, you can just follow the needles and correct, but thats accepting being behind the curve rather than mastering it. An understanding of the variables affecting an approach path give you the capacity for proactive, rather than reactive, piloting.

The FAA published its proposed rules for integrating unmanned aerial systems into the national airspace in February and drew a mixed reaction. The rules, which will apply to drones weighing up to 55 pounds used for commercial purposes, were less restrictive than many expected, but still would not allow some key technologies. For example, Amazons proposed delivery drones, which would operate autonomously or by remote control, are not allowed under the proposal-the FAA said drones can only be flown within sight of the operator. However, many uses, such as search-and-rescue, crop monitoring, and aerial photography, would be possible under the proposal, which is open for public comments until mid-April.

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A pilot came in for his FAA physical. He was notably irritated. He flew in from Tyler, Texas, to my office in Kirbyville, Texas. He had just spent a fortune on his beloved C150-new Garmin panel, VGs, leather interior, tuned prop, and more.Enroute he heard the following exchange from ATC and traffic:Center: Bonanza 2131Z, turn right 20 degrees immediately.Bonanza: Right 20 degrees. Is there a problem?Center: Yes. Theres a Cessna 150 ahead. Hes backing into you!That was such a major ego deflation for the Cessna 150 owner that it seemed to ruin his whole day.

I see a lot of confusion between the terms VFR and VMC (as well as IFR and IMC). VMC and VFR are often used interchangeably, in fact.To me, VFR and VMC are in fact not the same because VFR refers to a set of rules that govern flight (visual flight rules), which includes airspace and so on. There are certain weather minimums to operate VFR. However, VMC can be interpreted as conditions that allow you to keep the plane upright by looking outside. You can be VMC but in VFR weather by simply being 1500 feet away from a cloud.However, while I could find VFR and IFR defined in FAR/AIM, I couldnt find anything for VMC. Are you aware of any FAA guidance on this?