IFR Magazine

Southern California, the land of Zen mountain centers, surfer vibes, and the Big Lebowski, is one laid-back place. Is there a better spot then, to introduce the most relaxed and no-big-deal of all arrival descents, the vertical navigation profile? You’ve just completed a retreat in Palm Springs, finding inspiration for your big screenplay, and now […]

• Editor’s Log
• Unicom
• Flying Twins
• Engine Failures
• A/P Fail
• Turned Loose
• Accident Probe
• NTSB Reports
• Learning Experiences
• Squawk Box

Alternate Mins NA? As the FAA is transitioning the National Airspace System (NAS) to Performance Based Navigation (PBN), more and more we see VORs becoming unmonitored or unserviceable. When a VOR is NOTAMed “unmonitored,” my understanding is that if you can identify it in the aircraft (Morse code) and have a good signal, you can […]

Earlier this year, there were a number of near misses during airport operations. These included one aircraft nearly landing on top of another that was taking off while both were operating under an ATC clearance. Then an aircraft crossed an active runway without a proper clearance. The list goes on. As you might expect, I’m […]

Canada Eyes Tightening Medical Standards Canada’s Transportation Safety Board is recommending Transport Canada update guidance to civil aviation medical examiners to tighten pilot medical standards. The TSB found a heart attack suffered by a pilot to have contributed to a 2021 crash. The pilot died and his passenger was badly hurt. The board cited a […]

Our training for the instrument ticket focused on flying by reference to instruments, how to shoot approaches, holds etc. By that point pilots were presumed to have mastered the art of landing, so who needed any more instruction on that? (Or, so the argument goes.) Your approach speed is an essential precursor to a good […]

Per reader request; we’ll jump straight to the question. “Who changes—or how does the system change—the IFR flight plans I file?” When filing IFR, you have the option to file the exact route you want. However, in doing so, you might or might not get it. A route in the ATC system depends on a […]

Exploring new places with your airplane can be fun, but sometimes that requires being comfortable with operations you don’t do often. It can also mean flying in conditions you’d consider challenging. Or, all of the above. In that case, previous experience is a plus. The more recent, the better. Even then, “recent” is a judgement […]

My wife and I went out to a morning FAA safety seminar on Long Island. One gentleman in the audience said, “For flying, I love foreplay.” My wife looked at me and asked, “Is he talking about the mile-high club?” I said, “No, Dear. I think he means ForeFlight.” By then the laughter had subsided. […]