Search Results for: foreflight

The past few years have been the most exciting and dynamic stretch of time for me since I started flying 20 years ago. Much of it has been driven by the changes and benefits resulting from the implementation of the FAA’s NextGen plan, as the national airspace system transitions from 1950s-era ground-based radar and VHF […]

Just as learning doesn’t stop with earning your license, debriefing doesn’t have to stop when there’s no instructor around. Seasoned pilots wanting to increase their proficiency can review and debrief their own flights, thanks to data conversion software such as CloudAhoy. Developed by instrument-rated pilot and software engineer Chuck Shavit, CloudAhoy allows pilots to replay […]

Around here, we call it the “trip of a lifetime,” though that hardly does it justice. You might remember last month’s column that left off at an improbably tasty restaurant in Kangerlussuaq, Greenland, after just the first day of a 23-day private jet tour of Europe. Air Journey organized the trip, and it featured three […]

As I gained more experience, including an instrument rating, my weather understanding never really progressed beyond those big three hazards, plus airframe icing as I logged more IMC. It was more a matter of convincing myself I didnt need that additional knowledge-Id already made up my mind that I wasnt going to fly in those conditions-than an outright refusal to learn more. On one of my first forays into IMC as the pilot in command, I learned a hard lesson on cold fronts.

Mr. Bencini-Tibos excellent article, Regulation Fine Points in July might possibly leave the reader thinking that the safety pilot could log time when the flying pilot was not under the hood. FAA Office of Chief Counsel makes it clear in a legal interpretation on this matter dated June 22, 2009 to Jeff Gebhart, that the safety pilot can log only that time that the flying pilot is under the hood. Since the flight is made in an aircraft that does not require a SIC the safety pilot was not a required crew-member during the time the other pilot did not have the hood on, so the safety pilot does not get to log anything during that portion of the flight.

CloudAhoy is used by pilots at all levels for post-flight debrief. CloudAhoy provides “Flight Debrief in the Age of Technology“. It is data-driven and incorporates artificial intelligence technology, advanced analysis, state of the art visualization, integration of video, and automatic scoring of flights (currently in beta). The ability to relive the flight, to quickly identify […]

Annapolis, Maryland-based Epic Optix has partnered with Textron Aviation on a $2,000 head-up display for general aviation that runs on aircraft power and mounts to the glareshield. The full-color HUD receives data via Wi-Fi from an Apple iPad or Android tablet running any electronic-flight-bag software, allowing users to view critical flight information without the need […]

If youve been flying for very long, its likely theres a route you frequently use. It could be a quick out-and-back to the nearest $100 hamburger or cheapest avgas, or an hours-long trek to Grandmas house. Its something youve flown often and know well enough to almost do it without a chart. You understand the topography along the way, where the bolt holes are and how any weather may influence the flight. You may even have a couple of the frequencies memorized, along with expected ATC routings.

While wildfire TFRs dont usually come with the threat of a pair of F-16s, the red circles depicting wildfire TFRs pop up every summer on aviation charts like weeds. While they can and are created any time special flight operations need to be protected from typical civilian traffic, theyre especially pernicious in the western U.S. Staying safe should be simple, right? Just load the TFRs onto your moving map and skirt their boundaries, right? It isn’t that simple: Skirting the boundary is perfectly legal but it may not provide much of a safety margin. In fact, skirting them actually could increase your risk. To truly reduce the flight safety risks related to wildfire TFRs, we need to understand their implications.

True, it wont tell you how far youll have to go to find good barbecue, or even whether theres a courtesy car. It will, however, give you the hours at which someone should be there, the kinds of fuel available and whether theres 24-hour self-service, phone numbers for the airport manager or to request after-hours services (if available), the dimensions and pattern orientations of all runways…plus latitude and longitude, bearings and distances to the nearest navaids, frequencies for approach control, weather, and the CTAF or tower and descriptions of possible conflicts such as banner tows or skydiving. It even details what repair services are available, though you might have to look up the codes. (S4 means major airframe and powerplant.) Thats a lot of information for seven bucks-and the batteries never run down.