IFR Magazine

One of the battlefields for continued airport existence is the use or misuse of hangars by the airport residents. A common argument cited by airports to justify their existence is the airports economic benefit. To document that economic benefit, airport tenants are shown to provide both direct (rent, fuel, taxes, etc.) and indirect (promoting business, transportation hub, etc.) revenue. If tenants simply store stuff in their hangars, neither of those purposes is served very well. To compound that problem, federal funds to build those hangars are predicated on aviation use to promote, you know, flying.

Two general-aviation aircraft designs, the Turbine Mallard and the all-metal tandem SAM LSA, are up for sale. Thierry Zibi said he enjoyed designing and building the SAM, but doesnt want to run a production company. The SAM is certified in Canada as an Advanced Ultralight, and is compliant with the LSA rule in the USA. Frakes Aviation acquired classic Grumman Mallards type certificate some years ago, and upgraded the fleet with turbine engines. The TC is back on the market now, as the current owners are ready to retire. Were looking for someone to take on the entire project, said Sam Jantzen, of Mallard Aircraft, who is working with Frakes. That would include not just the type certificate but the inventory of parts and several partially-built aircraft now owned by Frakes and based in Texas.

Last months clinic began a detailed look at the reports we are required to give ATC or FSS during an IFR flight. Specifically, we began looking at the reports other than the position reports required by 14 CFR 91.183(a), which well cover separately. The remaining reports come from three sources: 14 CFR 91.183 (paragraphs b and c), 14 CFR 91.187, and AIM 5-3-3.

Pilots want ways to mitigate bad weather. The Coded Departure Route (CDR) is one of the least-known such tools in GA, although its been available since 2007. The AIM tells us, CDRs provide air traffic control a rapid means to reroute departing aircraft when the filed route is constrained by either weather or congestion. So, if youd rather not wait, a CDR might be for you.

When we started our sim-training business, we thought our strongest selling point would be logging cheaper time, such as the 20 hours of the instrument tickets required 40. We were wrong. The sim is a more efficient pilot training environment and shouldnt be seen as a replacement for the airplane. Time logged is a nice bonus, but the real value is the learning efficiency and effectiveness. Once pilots and CFIs understand this, the training opportunities are vastly expanded.

Preflight weather planning has long consisted of calling an FAA Flight Service Station. Years ago, you might have even visited one. But, using the Internet, you can now draw on the same resources that meteorologists use. While the 2000s brought weather data to the cockpit, were now getting some Internet tools to the cockpit via dedicated datalink. Although we cant yet cheaply surf the web at cruise, we connect to the Internet at the FBO, on the ramp and in the plane on the ground, using phones and tablets with WiFi and cellular data.

Remember that web sites outside the FAA and NWS domains should be considered supplementary tools to be used in combination with a weather briefing through official sources.

The main article covers a lot of things to consider for your various briefings. Here, though, is a view of the items you might want to brief for each phase of your flight.

Good judgment and quick thinking are hallmarks of the aviation mentality. Both pilots and air traffic controllers are in the decision-making business. For controllers, every moment our headsets are plugged in, were making choices that affect the safety and flow of traffic in our airspace. Some choices are easier than others, such as not clearing anyone for takeoff when Ive got a Gulfstream IV on short final.

Training is only as good as the teacher. When using a sim, even solid instruction can be unnecessarily inefficient (expensive), defeating the simulators major advantage.