IFR Magazine

Many pilots understand that the NEXRAD image they see on datalink weather doesnt exactly show where the rain is falling at that moment because of the delay in broadcasting the information up to the satellites and down to the weather receiver.

I had the pleasure of lunch several years ago with one of the designers of the Boeing 777 cockpit. She said something that has stuck with me for years: Good design obviates the need for training. Held up to this standard, our efforts for GA glass cockpits are a dismal failure. (Perhaps the 777 cockpit is as well; I dont know.)

Like many of our clinics, this one started with a readers letter. This particular fellow was a flight instructor who had to go old-school with a Private student in a Diamond DA20 equipped with a Garmin GNS 430 GPS. They were following V86-365 from the Bozeman VOR to the Livingston VOR at night through the mountains. Happily motoring along on GPS, they ran into a snag with the bend in the airway.

Those of you who once held paper certificates may remember the ill-fated Advanced Automation System (AAS), one of the worlds most ambitious software projects. Launched in 1981 and terminated in 1994, it cost over $3.7 billion and didnt produce a single piece of software.

Once upon a time it was considered just fine to polish frost smooth rather than scrape the junk off. Now the FAA has changed its mind. The rule is only binding on Parts 125, 135, or 91 subpart F (fractionals), but nine of the 12 frost-related accidents the FAA identified were with non-fractional Part 91 operations, so all of us might take note. Previous FAA guidance recommended removing all wing frost prior to takeoff, but allowed it to be polished smooth if the aircraft manufacturers recommended procedures were followed. But manufacturers never published standards for polished frost, and the FAA said it has no data to determine how to polish frost to satisfactory smoothness.

Back when I used to teach science classes for elementary school students and their teachers, we used to say that a great question was one that generated an answer plus two more questions. Such it is with the RNAV (GPS) Rwy 33 approach to Easton, Md.

Ground Delay Program and EDCT Program notices are transmitted to ATC facilities in a format that tells the receiving facility the type of program, the reason for the program, and when they should receive an update.

With time travel still being science fiction and all, there arent many options for predicting the future. That hasnt stopped the government from doing their best to create software tools to do just that.

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Heard on the Glendale, Ariz., Tower frequency one Saturday morning:Cessna 21KL: Glendale Tower, Cessna Two One Kilo Lima, over I-10. I have information Juliet.Glendale Tower: Cessna Two One Kilo Lima, I-10 runs all the way from California to Florida. Could you be a little more specific?