Pilot Proficiency

Both spherics and NEXRAD have blind spots and neither is infallible. Spherics devices can have false negatives because they dont see those static discharges until they happen. While most cells with dangerous opposing currents also produce significant static, nature is inherently unpredictable and the static discharges can lag. Of course, the delays in getting NEXRAD images to the cockpit can lead to significant errors. Plus, radar only seeing precipitation, not turbulence, can cause difficulty interpreting the image.

John, Dr. Williams is dead. I thought you’d want to know.” The news hit me like a thunderbolt. The caller was an FAA inspector. Just two weeks earlier, I had asked him to talk with Dr. Williams. Dr. Williams was a towering figure. He was a physician, a radiologist, and an Episcopalian priest. He was […]

Early on in every pilot’s lifetime there’s a moment when he or she is faced with the yin and yang of flying alone. Viewing the majesty of the sun as it disappears below the horizon from a vantage point that no one else shares is a reason many of us learned to fly. Then there […]

As the Boeing 737 descends through 25,000 feet, we break through a thin overcast layer over the Columbia River and a stunning Cascades panorama appears before our eyes. It’s an unusually clear day for early spring, and from my jumpseat perch there are incredible views from Glacier Peak all the way south to the Three […]

I now have thousands of hours in my logbooks, but despite my best efforts, none represent a perfect flight. Many come close, but there was always something I could have done just a little bit better. So I reflected on the opposite type of flight entry: Which one represented my worst flight? That would be […]

One of the most valued intrinsic benefits to having contributed to this publication for almost 15 years has been the opportunity to interact with some special and unique people. Individuals that were the subject matter of this column have remained a fond and integral part of my writing. On most occasions, we part ways with […]

Josephine Marie was supposed to be born in mid-May, but she got into an argument with her mother long before then. As January ice-walked into February during a cold Boston winter, the argument grew testy and then became life threatening. Kelly, her mother, reluctantly took to bed and soon thereafter submitted to hospitalization at Brigham […]

After my purgatory in West Chicago and three mostly great years in the Indianapolis FSDO, the FAA offered a transfer to Cincinnati. It was a bittersweet decision, and my boss, Jay Peterson, rather obliquely suggested I might want to stay put. He understood I was anxious to get back home, but he also knew the […]

When you took the exam to get your pilot certificate, you were asked questions that perhaps did not relate to the realities of everyday flying. You got the written test out of the way and promptly forgot the stuff that didn’t seem important. Now, with new test standards due out soon, there’s a solid link […]

According to BRS, tests have shown that its parachutes can be pulled and still fully inflate at altitudes as low as 260 feet and speeds as high as 187 knots. Individual pilots have testified that they successfully deployed their chutes ­below 100 feet. BRS does not provide a specific minimum-altitude limitation (Cirrus recommends a minimum […]