Pilot Proficiency

By now we’ve seen plenty of inflight videos taken from vantage points outside the airplane after intrepid pilots affixed their GoPros and Garmin VIRBs externally, usually with a suction cup mount. Is this legal in the eyes of the FAA? Surprisingly, the answer is yes. But as is often the case, it’s a qualified yes. […]

Generally I steer way clear of temporary flight restrictions, which means that I’m grounded any time the president is in town. And generally when the president is in town, I am aware of it days in advance. But recently, when President Obama was visiting the Los Angeles area, I had no idea until I was […]

When I was a little girl growing up on the west side of Cincinnati in the ’50s, I was obsessed with airplanes, but the closest I came to any were the distinctive V-tails that flew regularly over our house. And I remember my father saying, “There go the Hogans,” referring to four brothers who operated […]

Pilots want ways to mitigate bad weather. The Coded Departure Route (CDR) is one of the least-known such tools in GA, although its been available since 2007. The AIM tells us, CDRs provide air traffic control a rapid means to reroute departing aircraft when the filed route is constrained by either weather or congestion. So, if youd rather not wait, a CDR might be for you.

The main article covers a lot of things to consider for your various briefings. Here, though, is a view of the items you might want to brief for each phase of your flight.

Preflight weather planning has long consisted of calling an FAA Flight Service Station. Years ago, you might have even visited one. But, using the Internet, you can now draw on the same resources that meteorologists use. While the 2000s brought weather data to the cockpit, were now getting some Internet tools to the cockpit via dedicated datalink. Although we cant yet cheaply surf the web at cruise, we connect to the Internet at the FBO, on the ramp and in the plane on the ground, using phones and tablets with WiFi and cellular data.

Remember that web sites outside the FAA and NWS domains should be considered supplementary tools to be used in combination with a weather briefing through official sources.

Last months clinic began a detailed look at the reports we are required to give ATC or FSS during an IFR flight. Specifically, we began looking at the reports other than the position reports required by 14 CFR 91.183(a), which well cover separately. The remaining reports come from three sources: 14 CFR 91.183 (paragraphs b and c), 14 CFR 91.187, and AIM 5-3-3.

For you instrument-rated pilots, and even you VFR-only fliers, how often do you look up the published departure procedure for a given airport before taking off into clear blue skies — or maybe not-so-clear skies? The answer should be every single time. Over the years a number of fatal accidents have been attributed to controlled […]

“Let’s get one thing straight. There is a big difference between a pilot and an aviator. A pilot is a technician. An aviator is an artist in love with flight.” So said Elrey Borge Jeppesen. As I try to migrate from pilot to aviator, I’ve discovered, or I should say rediscovered, an important truth. It […]