Flight Planning

The FAA is adopting the ICAO format for domestic flight plans starting sometime early next year, likely by the end of January. What this means is that you will need to provide additional information when filing flight plans, using the format previously used for international flights. Pilots are encouraged to use the ICAO format for […]

At the NBAA Business Aviation Convention and Exhibition in Orlando, Florida, Jeppesen introduced a new software product aimed to streamline the work of flight departments. Jeppesen teamed up with BoldIQ, experts in on-demand flight operations and optimization, to create Jeppesen Operator, which integrates the many levels that go into managing aircraft and crew in an […]

There are airplanes out there, and I know it because they’re all stepping on each other over the radio. The CTAF is a cacophony of squeaks, squawks and indecipherable gibberish clearly announcing that everyone and their brother is flying today. And why not? It’s a gorgeous Saturday in coastal California. It would be nice to […]

Although landing excursions outnumber takeoff excursions by a margin of four-to-one, the FAA believes not enough attention is being paid by pilots to the dangers of the latter type of incident. Aiming to change that, the agency issued a Safety Alert for Operators (SAFO) that encourages the use of standard operating procedures to ensure accurate […]

“It’s that lake right … there,” he said. When he removed his finger from the chart, all I could see was a mass of hundreds of lakes. It was to be our briefing for the flying adventure of a lifetime, but it was occurring in a restaurant bar, and it was clear that by the […]

I’m not proud to say it, but last winter got the best of this northern aviator. The face-numbing cold and monochromatic gloom wore at me until I just couldn’t take it anymore. The breaking point came on a brutally raw January morning as I attempted to preheat and start my Piper Pacer after it sat […]

In a move that could put some pilot logbook app makers out of business, ForeFlight has added its own integration into its popular flight planning app, allowing users to automatically log flights, track hours, review currency and receive electronic flight instructor endorsements. The new feature includes a web-based import tool that lets you pull in […]

Tornadoes had caused extensive damage and loss of life in central Kansas — the area from which we had departed in our airplane that very morning. There had been a wild weather rampage all the way from Oklahoma to Nebraska. The video on TV that evening was dramatic. Had I taken an extreme risk to […]

Plan your flights on your desktop or laptop computer, automatically sync them to ForeFlight Mobile on your tablet and then use ForeFlight Connect to sync directly with your avionics in the cockpit. That’s the vision ForeFlight’s creators have for their flight planning subscription service with new web browser capability now in beta testing. Whether they […]

Summer is upon us and so is the best flying season for most. While flying to a nice resort with all the creature comforts you could dream of is by all means a terrific experience, flying into a remote area will get you far away from the hustle and bustle. If you want to get […]