Pilot Proficiency

Certification for flight into known icing is expensive. Since most GA airplanes are Sunday drivers the benefit doesnt justify the cost. Instead, airplane manufactures and aftermarket providers may offer pieces of a full system. This piecemeal application of anti-icing or de-icing equipment circumvents the testing requirements while providing a pilot with some additional-if not certified-options. Four methods of anti/de-icing exist: hot air, electrical resistance, liquid and boots.

Growing up in the land of conquistadors and cowboys, my opportunities for IMC involved attacking thunderstorms or slipping into shallow ponds of fog. Neither was good for gaining instrument time or icing experience. My instructors and peers shared the same background.

Understanding the four different intensities of icing allows for better decision making and better PIREPS.

From a weather perspective, what makes a flight a no-go? Sometimes its a simple glance at a stormy sky, an icing SIGMET, or winter weather warnings on the TV. But more often its the TAF that calls the shots. Whether its freezing rain, low ceilings, or a gusty crosswind, the buck stops with the TAF. That report comes straight from a highly qualified aviation forecaster at a local National Weather Service office and represents the best available predictions.

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I read with interest and obvious necessity for possible future application, your article on hypoxia, Get Your Mask On, in December, 2014.I fly a Malibu Mirage PA 46. Ive had several decompressions in the low 20s that were attributed to squat switch/pressure switch failures. Ive now added another immediate action to pressurization problems:

You may be one of many people who allow their dogs to roam freely as they drive in the car. While it is not a good idea to have your dog run around while you are driving, allowing a canine to be loose the cockpit can be a huge safety issue. Here are some tips […]

Many new pilots are apprehensive about very long trips — those of much farther distances than the run-of-the-mill two- to three-hour cross-countries. But really, these longer trips are no more difficult to plan and fly than shorter hops, and the time goes by more quickly than you might think. When planning your route, it’s a […]

The Piper Super Cub is essentially a J-3 Cub airframe equipped with a few space-age refinements like flaps and an electrical system, and powered by a 150 hp Lycoming — in some cases a 160 or 180 — in place of the original’s 40 hp Continental. Piper produced nearly 3,000 of them, many of which […]

I had to land within 200 feet of the white mark to pass the last phase of the checkride. Easy, I thought, as I turned the Schweizer 2-33 sailplane onto final. I’ll show this guy how good I am. I’ve got to hold 45 knots, 300 feet — that’s a little fast; let’s apply more […]