Pilot Proficiency

Safety in flying is all about having alternatives. Each trip may offer several different possible routes and a variety of alternates. The departure time and sometimes even the date of departure can be changed if necessary. Once en route, the present and forecast conditions must be analyzed to determine which of various alternatives offer the […]

The best part of flying small airplanes is being able to use so many more airports than the airlines do. But if you need to visit an airport that has a mix of big jet and piston/turboprop traffic, it’s best to scope out your plan well in advance. Even non-airline airports that have intense heavy-iron […]

First-time passengers in light airplanes can be a skittish breed. You never really know how they’ll react. Hero types sometimes dissolve into ashen-faced putty. Shrinking violets sometimes prove to be the most adventurous, pressing you for steeper and steeper turns. Sometimes it can be hard to recognize when someone is less than enthusiastic about going […]

If you fly in or near congested airspace, you might have wondered at the rhyme or reason to some of your IFR routings, or the vectors you were issued when receiving VFR flight following. A good way to remove some of the mystery is to visit an air traffic control center. Though your training provides […]

As a human being, you have no doubt evolved your own individual habits when it comes to organizing your inflight record-keeping chores. Whether you own your own airplane or rent, you probably keep your pen in the same place every flight, consult your checklists at the same time and any number of other procedures that […]

Even if you fly a lot, you’ll agree that recurrent training is a good investment. But too often, pilots find that the time they spend with an instructor is largely wasted on procedures that simply don’t match up to the way they fly. For example, some instructors insist on ignoring GPS in favor of conducting […]

If you have a portable GPS for emergency backup, or if you use it in your airplane for its terrain awareness or for receiving satellite weather, then your commuting time in your car can be put to good use. Even if you have the road database, it can be more helpful to stick with the […]

If you’re a scuba diver you’d never dive without a buddy. Some say that’s because, if you meet a hungry shark, there’s a 50-50 chance he’ll choose your buddy from the menu. There are other good reasons for flying with the companionship of another pilot; if not all the time, at least occasionally. This is […]

It can be frustrating, the morning of a cross-country flight, to discover that you’ve forgotten something that can’t be rectified without delaying your departure. Updating the database of your backup GPS; ordering the most recent sectional for your destination; or recharging your handheld transceiver. It’s usually not the absolute no-go items that slip your mind, […]

Most pilots have a backup handheld comm radio, and perhaps a handheld GPS receiver. Some go further, organizing emergency equipment in a “grab bag” and occasionally reaching for it when all is calm, just to rehearse their act. One good idea is to relegate a retired headset (or one you can buy cheap on eBay) […]