Like many aviation enthusiasts, my introduction to general aviation and piston airplanes was Flying magazine. As a kid in the 1990s, I always looked forward to heading to the barbershop with my dad where I could read the latest copy of Flying while waiting my turn for a haircut. I hoped to see a full parking lot with a long wait inside so I’d have plenty of time to flip through all the pages and check out the latest pictures of Beech Barons, King Airs and the new Cessna 172s and 182s that were coming off the line again in Wichita, Kansas.
How To Fly Single-Pilot IFR with a Digital Copilot
Key Takeaways:
- Inspired by aviation legend Richard Collins, the author emphasizes that effective single-pilot IFR flying requires extensive preparation to "stay ahead of the airplane," beyond just executing instrument approaches.
- Traditionally, this involved meticulous manual planning with paper charts and navlogs to manage high workloads and contingencies.
- Modern Electronic Flight Bags (EFBs) on devices like iPads now serve as "digital copilots," significantly enhancing single-pilot IFR safety by automating tasks and providing critical alerts across all flight phases (preflight, in-flight, and post-landing).
- While EFBs offer substantial assistance, the pilot remains the ultimate PIC, needing a thorough understanding of the technology's capabilities and alerts to effectively leverage them for safety and to break the error chain.
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