Pilot Proficiency

Last week brought record heat to the west coast, with temperatures reaching beyond 100 degrees in my neck of the woods. It was a perfect time to fly to Phoenix for a story — not. But alas, a trip to the city in the desert was on my schedule. It was a good opportunity to […]

Over the last few days I’ve been getting a lot of advice from a lot of people who I would say are a lot smarter than me and who have a lot more experience, in aviation and in life. It’s gratifying to know there are accomplished folks who are willing to take the time to […]

As I shuffled charts and pages of the latest Jeppesen revision into various binders and folders, my copilot introduced herself. Lisa had recently returned from medical leave and was glad to be back at work. Upon reflection, perhaps the medical leave aspect was a foreshadowing of what was about to come. Our flight planning review […]

The service was at a Presbyterian church in a small town east of Cincinnati — about a 30-minute flight in the Cessna 180. I had planned to fly there and commandeer the airport’s retired police car, but my airplane wouldn’t start. When I jumped in and “cranked,” it wouldn’t fire — odd, because it was […]

Thankfully midair collisions are rare, but when they do occur they’re usually fatal. As you probably know already, see-and-avoid techniques remain the foundation of avoiding midair collisions when flying VFR, but there are other precautions you as pilot in command can take to reduce your risk of tangling with other traffic inflight. A rash of […]

In my March Aftermath column on the 2012 crash of a Pilatus PC-12 in Florida, I faulted the National Transportation Safety Board for mixing up indicated and true airspeeds. Actually, it was I who misread the report. I am indebted to reader Timothy Burtch, an accident investigator with the NTSB, for pointing out that the […]

When flying into uncontrolled airports, you rely on other pilots in the area to help avoid midair collisions by following the recommended procedures and communicating intentions on the common traffic advisory frequency (CTAF). Without a controller providing guidance, it is important to follow the recommended arrival and departure procedures to minimize the risks. While radio […]

Some pilots aren’t totally sure of the differences between a spin and a spiral dive. That’s OK in the classroom setting when discussing aerodynamic theory, but it can be dangerous in the cockpit should either flight condition be allowed to develop and the pilot doesn’t immediately know what’s going on or the corrective actions to […]

10 m wind corresponds exactly to the wind as would be observed. The model data also offers gust strength and maximum wind for the hour.

In Wx Smarts we focus on outsmarting the weather through heightened weather-situational awareness. Yet, in my three years here, I havent discussed forecast models. Its time.Models dont yet belong in the cockpit, but they can be valuable for planning and understanding whats going through the minds of the forecasters. Plus, models are useful for long-range outlooks.