Training & Sims

Many of us feel that an IPC is as much fun as a visit to the dentist. We go through the checkup and if things are OK, we go on with our lives til the next appointment. Worse, for some the IPC is akin to a root canal-something to dread because theyve neglected the preventive care. Its the penalty for losing currency past the six-month window specified in 14 CFR 61.57.In any case, IPCs dont pique much excitement. They are an occasional formality for those who fly the system often, or a major chore for those who dont. It doesnt have to be that way. Rather than something to avoid, an IPC can improve your skills while you brush up on procedures you dont use often. You can even go further and have a bit of fun.Yeah, fun. In daily IFR flight, predictable and comfortable are good. The best response to How was your flight? is Uneventfully successful. We dont want unusual or difficult. Actual equipment breakdowns or emergencies are thankfully rare, but you want to be on your game when they happen. Unfortunately, all that routine doesnt keep you on your game for the abnormal situations.Use the IPC to stretch your skills. Figure out what youve neglected and refresh those basics. Then tackle new things. This keeps you proficient while you continue to expand your IFR repertoir. As a bonus, youll never worry about staying current.

Youre in the muck on your hometown localizer approach at 3000 feet. You intercept final, center the needle and catch a glimpse of the highway below. A mile from the FAF and seven miles from the runway, still at 3000 feet, you begin to make out the runway. With visibility only three miles, you wait until crossing the FAF before descending to land. Can you log that?

Efforts from companies like Swift Fuel and GAMI to find a replacement for 100LL may get some more serious attention now that the EPA has released its advance notice of proposed rulemaking regarding the need to eliminate lead from fuel. Converting in-use aircraft/engines to operate on unleaded aviation gasoline would be a significant logistical challenge, and in some cases a technical challenge as well, the EPA said. The EPA also acknowledged that a joint effort with the FAA will be critical and has not set a date for the rulemaking, but said it would like to see leaded fuel phased out as early as 2017.

Heres one of those questions that has a simple answer masking hidden subtleties: Youre on the approach to Orlando Executive with the family for a couple well-earned days in The Land of the Mouse. You loved the idea of flying in to Executive rather than putting the family in seats 27 A through D into nearby Orlando International.But now the reality of getting established on a back-course localizer in bumpy clouds has you behind the curve and working hard to meet the mandatory altitudes on the stepdowns. You barely made the restriction to cross MARYB at 1500 and now are at 1100 heading for BRICE, struggling with reverse sensing and losing. You decide its best to go missed now and start again. But, how to do it?

Arriving or departing IFR around big-city airports can be an intimidating, high-workload experience. Surrounded by pilots who know the ropes, its easy to stand out if you make greenhorn mistakes. Getting a tongue-lashing from ATC can be avoided with a little research and planning.

Where all aviation has its classic ABC of aviate – navigate – communicate, instrument flying has its own twist. We could call these maneuvers – procedures – communications. They are the building blocks of instrument flying and they atrophy just like any other flying skill. While you cant practice them completely at your desktop, you can keep at least the first two basically in tune. That is, so long as you treat this non-loggable desktop time as serious IFR practice.

Controllers have some tools right at their scopes that most pilots dont know about. By typing one of the following commands and clicking on an aircrafts target, the scope will highlight the nearest airport to the aircraft within a certain criteria, and give me a range and bearing to it:

If there was ever a 400-pound gorilla that dared pilots to ignore their checklists, procedures and situational awareness, its the emergency. Pilots often practice What if … but when it really happens its more like What the hell? If there was ever a time to lean on ATC, this is it. There are no limits to the types of emergency scenarios and, therefore, no single response from ATC. The ATC rulebook (FAA Order 7110.65) recognizes this in paragraph 10-1-1 (d): Because of the infinite variety of possible emergency situations, specific procedures cannot be prescribed. However, when you believe an emergency exists or is imminent, select and pursue a course of action that appears to be most appropriate under the circumstances. We controllers have extensive information, resources and people at our disposal, but were out of the picture unless you tell us whats going on and ask for what you need.

Consider the scenario of a pilot departing into a 4000-foot overcast (above the MEA) in a non-FIKI aircraft after a weather briefing that contained no PIREPs for icing but with conditions potentially conducive to it. After takeoff and a hand-off to Departure but prior to entering the cold goo, does the pilot have a responsibility to query the controller for reports of icing? If he doesnt ask and then starts flying a popsicle, was he careless for not asking? What if there were reports just on the frequency that he might-or might not-have heard?

Its particularly a pilots nightmare: Youre sitting across the table from an FAA investigator trying to explain how your actions seemed reasonable at the time. Somehow you didnt know about the thunderstorm/icing/closed runway/TFR that the investigator has neatly printed out and was presumably public knowledge at least five minutes before you took off.The problem is really FAR 91.103. It requires that each pilot in command shall before beginning a flight, become familiar with all available information concerning that flight. Thats a tall order. The next two subsections specify the minimum information that must be obtained. For every flight, this includes takeoff and landing distances. For IFR flights and those VFR flights not in the vicinity of an airport, the reg adds weather reports and forecasts, fuel requirements, alternates and known traffic delays.