Readback: December 2015

IFR reader feedback from November's issue. Covers instrument currency, TEC routes, and aircraft landing.

Editorial Staff

Friday, December 04, 2015 at 12:00 AM ET

Verified

Key Takeaways:

Instrument currency is category-specific (e.g., airplane) and not tied to individual aircraft class or type, meaning a pilot current in one airplane is considered instrument current in all airplanes.
TEC (Terminal En Route Control) routes originated during the 1981 controller strike to facilitate low-altitude IFR traffic through local towers, reducing Center controller workload in high-density regions.
When cleared for an ILS approach while in a missed-approach holding pattern at a multi-purpose fix (IAF/FAF), pilots must remain at holding altitude until established inbound on the final approach, with the option to extend the outbound leg to manage the descent profile.

See a mistake? Contact us.

Instrument Current

September’s “Readback” column includes a statement that gives me faint hope that I may have been working too hard to track instrument currency. Please squash that before it blossoms into excitement.

At work I fly Citations, along with a Beech Premier and the occasional Mustang. (The Cessna kind, not the fast one with the cool-sounding engine.) Then, when I’ve flown enough to save up a little gas money, a friend lets me use his Cirrus for fun.