IFR Magazine

• Smooth Way Down
• ATC Uses Checklists Too
• Circling Revisited
• Fuel Blunders
• Quiz: Oh Say Can You See
• Those Grey Areas
• Convection

Space Traffic Jam Addressed The FAA says it will try to ease disruptions to air traffic caused by increasing numbers of space launches. Airlines complain that airspace closures raise routing challenges. The FAA has established guidelines “to optimize and equitably manage the airspace in the vicinity of launch sites.” Most disruption is in Florida and […]

General Aviation is quite safe, still largely due to the see-and-be-seen principle. Recent technology advances aid that mandate, but we still should see traffic to avoid it. Let’s take a survey: Raise your hand if you have some kind of electronic traffic display in your aircraft, either certified or portable. Hmmm… With an informal count, […]

Turning in the opposite direction of the regulatory traffic pattern during a circling approach is an almost constant topic of discussion in instrument pilot circles. In “Going Below Minimums” (May 2022 IFR), we wrote: “At a non‑towered airport the Instrument Flying Handbook in Figure 10‑13 seems to indicate that you can circle in any direction […]

These ASRS reports show many ways to get something simple wrong. You’ll see how creative errors can sneak in and deprive us of the fuel that keeps us airborne. Flight Planning A pilot encountered 32-35 knot headwinds at cruise. At 2.5 hours airborne, the pilot decided to land for fuel because only eight gallons remained. […]

Most instrument trips end with one approach and one landing, after which you go about your day. For those times when one approach doesn’t result in a touchdown, the choices are: A second approach, or a diversion, hopefully somewhere with coffee and cookies. The common protocol is to decide that ahead of time, based on […]

A number of years ago we were talking with Edmonton Center. We heard Cessna 123 check in with Center requesting flight following to Calgary International. Edmonton responded, “Maintain VFR and contact approach on…” We knew the weather was not that great. We switched our number two radio to monitor the situation and we heard: “Calgary […]

What do operations of any two aircraft, be they a heavy Boeing 777 or the tiniest piston-engine light sport aircraft, have in common? Checklists, of course. These straightforward, functional documents provide guidance for each standard phase of flight, from firing up the engines, to cruise flight, to shutting it down. Specialized checklists also help crews […]

As always, January’s “Incommunicado” is an excellent article from Tarrance Kramer. The article about the fun-and-games of losing communication between pilot and ATC, from the controller’s point of view, prompted some thoughtful discussion around here, confirming once again we periodically need to review the pilot’s rules for NORDO (none of us could recite, from memory, […]