IFR

Piper PA-24 Sturgis, South Dakota / Injuries: 1 Serious, 1 Minor The pilot reported that he was conducting an instrument approach in instrument meteorological conditions. Upon reaching the decision altitude, the front-seat passenger reported the runway was in front of the airplane. The pilot looked up from the instruments, but could not see the runway […]

Selfies, in case you have recently emerged from solitary confinement, are those self portraits, preferably set in interesting or unusual surroundings or amid a clump of friends, that one takes with a cellphone camera, sometimes holding it on the end of a selfie stick to gain a wider field of view. They have spawned a […]

In VFR Conditions: Squawk — 7600 Continue flight VFR at a VFR altitude (even in Class A airspace) and land as soon as practicable at the nearest suitable airport. Do not continue to your destination if there is a suitable airport for you to land at unless you’re just minutes from your original destination. Flying another […]

The following is an excerpt from official NTSB summaries of general aviation accidents in the United States. NTSB investigators either traveled in support of this investigation or conducted a significant amount of investigative work without any travel, and used data obtained from various sources to prepare this aircraft accident report. Piper PA-32 Cuba, Missouri/Injuries: 1 […]

Every pilot has a plan. But if it’s an IFR flight plan, canceling that plan is not always as simple as just saying the magic words. Here are the points you should consider before canceling IFR. You may cancel IFR with ATC at any time in VFR conditions below 18,000 feet. You may cancel with […]

“You just flew through a military training route.” The controller was agitated. Since whatever had happened had happened, and we were already within 10 miles of Thermal’s nontowered airport, John told the controller we were leaving his frequency to get airport advisories. John then switched our transponder to 1200, the VFR squawk, and changed frequencies. […]

Few things are more important than being at the right altitude on an instrument approach. In the abstract that sounds easy, but in practice I often see pilots make mistakes in this most unforgiving aspect of instrument flight. Most of my flying is in aircraft with moving maps, as part of either a GPS or […]

Last week, I flew to McClellan-Palomar Airport, just north of San Diego, California. It reminded me of my long solo cross-country flight as a student pilot. Being all alone in the airplane, far away from home took me way out of my comfort zone, but the experience was priceless. Completing that flight without a hitch […]

What are the biggest challenges new instrument students face? (February 2011) — Eric Radtke is an airline transport pilot, Gold Seal flight instructor, advanced ground instructor and NAFI-accredited Master Flight Instructor. Eric has been involved in aviation education since 1998 and currently serves as president and chief instructor of Sporty’s Academy, the educational arm of […]

With the passing of daylight savings time, we’re now faced with fewer hours to fly in sunshine. For many single-engine pilots, that means fewer hours of flying, since they prefer not to fly at night. For those who do, filing and flying an IFR flight plan is even more advisable. Having a second set of […]