System

Maybe it’s time to renew your medical certificate or even obtain your first. The first step is to complete the online application at MedXPress.faa.gov. Benign as it may appear, it can cause unneeded misery if not completed accurately. Here are some angles, tips, and things to bear in mind as you weave your way toward […]

Airlines and other operators have been using rad alts in safety-critical and supplemental applications for decades without having to worry about data corruption from cell phone towers. Conversely, the telecommunications industry has paid billions of dollars to acquire the rights to transmit on the assigned frequencies. In this article, we’ll discuss use of the radio-frequency […]

Air Canada Flight 759 almost landed at night on a taxiway adjacent to closed SFO Runway 28L on July 7, 2017. At the last moment, the pilots aborted. The NTSB estimated it came within 14 feet of another aircraft. Investigators discovered the NOTAM closing the runway was buried on page 8 of their 27-page flight […]

FAA’s Office of Aerospace Medicine (AAM) in Washington, D.C., led by Dr. Susan Northrup, the Federal Air Surgeon, has jurisdiction over CAMI. The divisions of CAMI we care most about are Aerospace Medical Certification (AMCD), Medical Specialties, and the nine Regional Flight Surgeons (RFS), who can issue or deny most medicals. They can help resolve […]

A while back we were transitioning Omaha’s airspace, and heard the following: Omaha: “American 123, climb and maintain 10,000, one zero thousand.” American 123: “One-zero thousand. Your timing was stupendous, I was just picking up the mic to ask for higher.” Omaha: “Actually, the clearance just came in from Center.” After several unrelated calls, Omaha: […]

The FAA’s IFP Information Gateway offers all published Instrument Fight Procedures for download and status checks such as whether procedures are new, up for amendment, or on the block for cancellation. Uniquely, it gives pilots a fast, efficient way to query IFP designers concerning any issues. It even offers automatic notification of changes to a […]

Cruising along under IFR, there’s an MOA or restricted airspace ahead. On FIS-B, you pull up a page that shows its size and status: Scheduled in green, activated in yellow, red if in use. The display is as dynamic as visual TFRs that come and go. Transparent real-time access is helpful during flight planning and […]

Remember when you were a student pilot prepping for the cross-country flights with a sectional chart, using your plotter to calculate the true course to the destination? Then using magnetic variation (east is least, west is best) to get magnetic course. GPS navigation and all our apps have changed that, but the basics remain. You […]

Back in the bad old days of VOR navigation you could find your position by tuning in two different VOR’s. Each radial from a VOR was a “line of position” from that VOR. Your position could be anywhere on that line. Where the two lines from two different VORs intersected was your location. For accuracy […]

Okay, what is engine-out automation? It includes automatic propeller feathering and rudder boost. New innovations are being introduced that extend this automation into more twin-engine aircraft (see sidebar Latest Trends). While engine-out automation is usually provided only as an aid, the automation may be required to meet the aircraft certification requirements. As with other cockpit […]