Pilot Proficiency

Checklists get taken for granted-settle into your seat in the cockpit, pull out the booklet or laminated cards, turn to the Before Engine Start page and start following the steps. Fire up the engine(s) and proceed down to After Engine Start and Before Taxi. Sound familiar? For most flying under 14 CFR Part 91, this read-then-do routine is the norm all the way to Parking and Securing. While many pilots with a fair amount of experience-particularly those with their own aircraft-will often go a step beyond and make their own checklists, there are far more efficient methods to get things done on time and in the proper order.

When I first started flying Part 135 on five-day rotations, I ­anticipated meeting up with earthbound friends on overnights in ­Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, New Haven, Boston and Bozeman. I further expected to fetch up in various locales with flying friends on their trips. For airline friends, I thought Baltimore, New York, LA, Oakland, […]

There are airplanes out there, and I know it because they’re all stepping on each other over the radio. The CTAF is a cacophony of squeaks, squawks and indecipherable gibberish clearly announcing that everyone and their brother is flying today. And why not? It’s a gorgeous Saturday in coastal California. It would be nice to […]

“Keep it in tight.” These words, sometimes uttered by frazzled tower controllers working busy traffic patterns, should set off a pilot’s internal master caution alarm. Loss of control is now the No. 1 killer in general aviation and a high safety priority on the radar screens of both the National Transportation Safety Board and the […]

When my cellphone buzzed to life at 0402, I knew it wouldn’t be good news. (A phone call at that time of morning is never good news.) The caller ID displayed “Crew Schedule.” According to the dim red glow of the alarm clock, my reserve assignment period had just begun two minutes prior. I hadn’t […]

Yesterday, the FAA’s Part 107 small UAS rule took effect, essentially eliminating the need for commercial drone operators to file time-consuming exemption paperwork to use their machines, as long as pilots abide by Part 107, of course. The agency’s explanation yesterday of efforts to minimize risk to people on the ground and in the air […]

Standing on the ramp, glancing at Runway 17/35 at North Houston Airport (9X1), I took a deep breath as I ticked off items on the preflight checklist for N9271U, the 1976 Cessna 150M that had been my primary trainer so far. The brutal heat and humidity of the Houston-area summer had not yet set in, […]

Recently, I was working with a student pilot on the subject of inflight diversions — a topic I thoroughly enjoy teaching with pilots of all experience levels because a diversion can result from an unlimited number of variables and external pressures. I liken the exercise to a timed puzzle, which often has more than one […]

Nearly as long as I can remember, I’ve wanted to be a pilot — nothing more, nothing less. I said as much in a second-grade project that my mother saved for posterity. Over time I developed additional interests and even dabbled with the idea of becoming an architect or practicing law, but I never seriously […]

In VFR Conditions: Squawk — 7600 Continue flight VFR at a VFR altitude (even in Class A airspace) and land as soon as practicable at the nearest suitable airport. Do not continue to your destination if there is a suitable airport for you to land at unless you’re just minutes from your original destination. Flying another […]