Pilot Proficiency

Once upon a time it was considered just fine to polish frost smooth rather than scrape the junk off. Now the FAA has changed its mind. The rule is only binding on Parts 125, 135, or 91 subpart F (fractionals), but nine of the 12 frost-related accidents the FAA identified were with non-fractional Part 91 operations, so all of us might take note. Previous FAA guidance recommended removing all wing frost prior to takeoff, but allowed it to be polished smooth if the aircraft manufacturers recommended procedures were followed. But manufacturers never published standards for polished frost, and the FAA said it has no data to determine how to polish frost to satisfactory smoothness.

Through the darkness across the Hudson River, New York City’s dazzling all-night light show served as the backdrop for the Beech Baron’s descent into Teterboro Airport. For the relatively inexperienced pilot in the left seat, this was a golden opportunity to sit beside the company’s high-time training captain and soak up knowledge from the veteran […]

The forecast said that deep, moist convection was likely for your afternoon flight. On your drive to the airport, you second-guess the 10,000-foot altitude you filed. Should you have filed for the low to mid teens? Perhaps you should have filed a much lower altitude to try and stay below the clouds?

In the wake of a “cluster” of recent GA accidents, AOPA’s Air Safety Institute is urging pilots to take a pre-holiday “safety pause” to consider the risks of upcoming travel between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day. Noting that the pressure of completing holiday travel plans can increase the risk of a given flight, AOPA is […]

While the weather data that we can now collect live in the cockpit on our avionics suites or on a portable tablet is fairly well updated and accurate, there is some weather information that can only be delivered by a human inside a cockpit. Critical information, such as cloud tops, cloud layers, turbulence and icing […]

Regulations are often vague, occasionally on purpose. What do you need to log instrument experience in an airplane? The rules state the tasks must be performed in actual weather conditions, or under simulated conditions using a view-limiting device. I get a kick out of the wording, when are you not flying in actual weather, whether VMC or IMC?

Every year structural icing claims a small but steady number of airplanes. Many of the accidents are on approach in clear air-after the airplane has already collected a load of ice. We look at it afterwards and wonder-the airplane had been doing fine-why did it crash well after it escaped from icing conditions?

Next to poor visibility and low ceilings, ice is one of winters most common weather hazards. A recent study of icing accidents showed that 71 percent of the pilots were instrument rated, averaged 2000 hours, and over half of the flights received a proper icing forecast. This strongly suggests that ice is not well understood or is ignored.

Lately I’ve grown convinced that it’s only a matter of time before a rogue quadracopter collides with an airplane or helicopter in flight, possibly sending innocent victims plummeting to their deaths. For a few brief moments last month, I worried I might be among the first casualties. Knowing what I do now, I probably should […]

If you haven’t checked out the new interactive Flight Path Tool at the Aviation Weather Center on aviationweather.gov, you owe it to yourself to have a look. Representatives from Jeppesen provided a great overview of the FPT at the recent Flying Aviation Expo in Palm Springs, California, during a series of well-attended IFR pilot proficiency […]