IFR Magazine

I now fly a 1947 35 Bonanza that my father owned for many years. My mother didnt like to fly in small planes so when they traveled, my father flew the Bonanza and my mother would fly commercially. They arrived at this expensive but satisfactory arrangement after many years of disagreeing about how they should travel while on vacation. …

Back in the day, I had an opportunity to fly in the right seat of a U.S. Navy P-3. Not unique but unusual in that I was the crew navigator. We were on a cross country training flight at FL220 with a stopover in my home town. Life was good and we were getting closer to our intermediate destination.Unbeknownst to me, my next door neighbor was the ATC approach controller that evening.Approach: Navy Lima Zulu…

While flying through South Carolina, I overheard the following conversation.Roanoke Approach: Piper 123 you have traffic 12 oclock 3 miles, opposite direction, 500 feet above you.Piper 123: (student pilot after a brief pause) Ah…roger Roanoke approach…this is Piper 123 and…understand that there is (longer pause)…traffic at 12 oclock…500 feet above me…and…and…opposite direction. Right now we cant see traffic but were looking.Roanoke Approach: Piper 123, traffic no longer a factor. They were fast. …

Its not uncommon for an airline pilot to mistakenly make a PA announcement on the radio. When that happens, other pilots waste no time mocking the error. After an airliners lengthy passenger announcement over guard:Well done!Hey, wait, whats for dinner!?Honey Badger dont care! Rune DukeFort Rucker, Alabama…

I was coming out of Long Island, New York on a Saturday afternoon recently, when I heard this:NY Approach: DL 123, say your airspeed.DL 123: Were indicating 270, slowing to 250, DL 123.NY Approach: DL 123, you have two choices: slow to 250 or lose your place in line. Which will it be?DL 123: Ah, DL 123, were slowing to 250.NY Approach: Good choice. …

A few years ago while flying toward Boise, Idaho on V113, I heard the following: Centurion XYZ: Boise Approach, Centurion XYZ, 70 DME south of Boise on the 170 radial at 15,000, landing Boise. Boise Approach: Centurion XYZ, you are in the middle of the Owyhee MOA. The Idaho Air National Guard is having gunnery practice today. Say intentions. Centurion XYZ: Boise Approach, Centurion XYZ, can you give me a vector for the quickest way…

It was the Christmas season. I was departing Palo Alto airport in the San Francisco Bay Area, with Class Bravo airspace above me. I contacted Departure while in a climb and was asked what my cruising altitude would be. I told him and he responded, Cleared through Class Bravo at…, then stopped short and admonished me since I was already in Bravo airspace. I apologized and he responded, Okay, this time! …

On Top…Of What, Where?Thanks for Joe Shelton’s article on VFR-on-top operations in the August, 2013 issue. Your information was excellent and quite helpful. I have found VFR-on-top very useful out here in the mountainous western U.S., where MEA’s are high and some bumpy cumulus buildups make flying uncomfortable or even impossible at IFR altitudes in […]

Just Let DownAs an instrument student, thank you for a great magazine. I especially always look forward to the Killer Quiz. But the Canadian rules also have another twist. CARs 602.73 says “A pilot-in-command may file an IFR flight itinerary instead of an IFR flight plan where the flight is conducted in part or in […]

Can I Really Do That?I read with amazement Paul Bertorelli’s sidebar regarding “IFR in Class G Airspace” in the June issue. Just so I’m clear on this…I can file an IFR flight plan, climb into my plane at a non-towered airport which lies within Class G airspace, fire it up and climb out into the […]