Search Results for: Lear 45

Any activity that regularly kills between one half and one percent of its participants has room for improvement. Cutting the GA accident and death rate has been a cause celeb recently, and we heartily approve. Here at IFR, we decided to make our own contribution by delving into the accident rate specifically for IMC, focusing on where the outcomes were fatal.

We’re not talking about the anxiety of a slam-dunk vector. The subtleties of the mundane altimeter setting really matter—especially for IFR in the high hills.Of all of the weather elements measured by sensors located at airports, atmospheric pressure is perhaps the most important—and the least appreciated—for IFR pilots. Without it, pilots have no way to […]

Reminiscing on my time at IFR had me looking over old OTAs. I cant share all the good ones, but here are a few from 2009 and earlier.

Judgment is the cornerstone of the air traffic control profession. This basic trait, common among thousands of successful air traffic controllers worldwide, allows controllers to face a variety of situations-including unusual pilot requests-and act appropriately.

Airlines, large corporate flight departments and the FAA all have a sufficiently vested interest in keeping aviation safe that they dump money into safety research. Because pilot error is one of the leading killers, it stands to reason that the biggest opportunity for improving safety comes from reducing pilot errors.

Ive got a Cessna 172 rolling out on the runway, an American Eagle Embraer 145 on two-mile final, a Beechcraft Bonanza in the downwind with a pair of V-22 Osprey tiltrotors inbound to follow, a Lifeflight medical helicopter departing a hospital next door, and a pair of Navy T-45 Goshawk jet trainers calling me, ready at the hold short line.

Coming back from Oshkosh, we air-filed an IFR flight plan to easily get across Canada en route to the Northeastern U.S. It was a simple direct and we expected to get a bunch of airways when we picked up the actual clearance over Michigan. We were pleasantly surprised to get, Cleared as filed. But it didnt last more than five minutes:Saginaw Approach: Seven Two Zero Echo Charlie, I have a routing amendment for you when…

Maximizing DatalinkThere’s plenty more to using datalink weather than, “Don’t fly through the red stuff.” By layering information, you can build a more complete picture.Datalink weather is a staple food of most IFR cockpits theses days. And why not? It give us critical information directly into our hands to make more informed decisions in the […]

Circle-to-land gets a bad rap as a dangerous maneuver fit for only the expert or the insane. Then again, maybe thats a bit deserved. The circle-to-land maneuver is the proverbial enough rope: Give it to a pilot who isnt careful and hell hang himself on an unseen tower just when he thinks hes about to pull off another successful flight.

Flying the system without an IFR GPS these days can be a frustrating experience. Youre plodding along the airways while you listen to more-equipped birds getting time-saving directs off-route.