Pilot Proficiency

Student pilots are taught about proper leaning technique, but how does it really work?

From the 1930s until the 1980s, many pilots got their weather briefings from a meteorologist at a flight service station or airline dispatch counter. The counter often ended up being a center of discussion about the World Series and chatting with other pilots who arrived for their briefing. Those in-person briefings gave way to weather […]

A FLYING reader has a question about backing in the iconic Boeing B-17 bomber, and Martha Lunken has the answer.

The FAA released an advisory circular on self-briefing in 2021, but what are the details?

You’ve probably heard someone tossing around the term “GOES satellite” at one time or another. This refers to a NOAA satellite program that has been in operation for 47 years. GOES stands for Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite, in other words, a weather satellite that’s parked 22,236 miles (35,786 km) above the Earth’s surface, directly above […]

Learning how to accurately determine the density altitude is a critical skill that all pilots must master to fly safely. Airplanes simply cannot perform as effectively in low-density air, potentially putting pilots, passengers, and other aircraft at risk. Specifically, a high-density altitude can impact aircraft performance during takeoff and climb. It can also affect the […]

To handle all the traffic flying in the sky in a safe and consistent manner, the FAA developed the National Airspace System. It divides the sky into sectors that serve different volumes of traffic or contain specific activities. Each airspace has different operational rules, pilot responsibilities, and even weather requirements to operate. How are Airspace […]

Aviation is filled with acronyms. Two of the first pilots are required to learn are IFR and VFR. IFR stands for instrument flight rules. VFR is visual flight rules. So what’s the difference? Let’s break it down. What Is VFR? Visual flight rules (VFR), created by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), govern how to pilot […]

When gusty weather enters the mix, use these tips to climb safely.

A FLYING reader wonders if they should take the step, and finds out why taking it would give benefits they hadn’t thought of.