Technique

Expect vigorous debate on how best to orient your moving map. Here, I’ll address that debate about the best orientation. But rather than reiterating all the opinions, I’ll focus on what the published scientific research completed in the 1980s and 1990s had to say on that specific question. Life Before Moving Maps Remember the old […]

During a heated conversation have you even crossed the line? Have you been told you did? Assuming so, unpleasant things happen after crossing that line you know shouldn’t be crossed. Same goes for approaching a runway that you shouldn’t be on. The only difference in this case is FSDO and a lot of other people […]

Aspen is home to the rich and famous—senators, movie stars, and industry titans all have second homes here. Aspen is the home of the $10 cup of coffee. And aside from the high prices, what’s not to like? Aspen is the ultimate cute little mountain town that progress has not spoiled. There is fresh air […]

Assume you want to buy an airplane. You wouldn’t just go with your buddy’s suggestion to get a Cloudpuncher simply because he said it’s a good one, would you? No, the prudent buyer will first carefully outline the typical mission, the purpose for the craft. Then, you’d select what you think best meets that mission. […]

Operations below minimums on an instrument approach can be quite simple if the ceilings and visibilities are significantly above minimums. But when the chips are down along with the ceilings and visibilities, things aren’t quite so simple. Let’s take a deep dive into what it takes to get an airplane on the ground after a […]

Just like pilots, controllers get plenty of questions, comments, concerns, and sometimes complaints. Bonus: Writing these articles gives me an opportunity to address some items in print. Of course, I’ve dealt with my share of good and bad remarks on and off frequency. It’s not at all unusual for a pilot to wonder; “What is […]

Recently I attended a Rusty Pilot session and learned (or re-learned as the case may be) several aspects of our aviating world that laid dormant in my little gray cells for far too long. Although I have been an active presenter of this constructive AOPA educational series for three years, it has been on hold […]

Sitting in seat 34F of a 737 MAX-9, I’m leafing through the dog-eared inflight magazine. It makes a big fuss about the airline’s offerings. Wi-Fi onboard, A/C power, luxurious first-class (in which I am not seated, alas). What isn’t advertised? Unexpected aerial thrill rides. Who would’ve guessed violent maneuvers weren’t big sales movers for the […]

Instrument training is littered with acronyms and abbreviations. Altitudes like MEA, MCA, MOCA, OROCA can end up being the bane of students. And that’s just the en-route altitudes. When we get into the terminal environment, we then have the procedural MEAs on SIDs and STARs and, of course, the minimum—and sometime maximum—altitudes for the various […]

You’re flying along, listening to a controller issue instructions to many aircraft. From one second to the next, you suddenly start hearing a different controller’s voice. You haven’t changed frequencies. They’re seemingly picking up where the first one left off. Controllers are used to hearing voice changes from an aircraft. Many times a day, I’ll […]