Pilot Proficiency

Yesterday, the FAA’s Part 107 small UAS rule took effect, essentially eliminating the need for commercial drone operators to file time-consuming exemption paperwork to use their machines, as long as pilots abide by Part 107, of course. The agency’s explanation yesterday of efforts to minimize risk to people on the ground and in the air […]

Standing on the ramp, glancing at Runway 17/35 at North Houston Airport (9X1), I took a deep breath as I ticked off items on the preflight checklist for N9271U, the 1976 Cessna 150M that had been my primary trainer so far. The brutal heat and humidity of the Houston-area summer had not yet set in, […]

The new airman certification standards (ACS) unveiled in June were created to update elements of the private pilot and the instrument rating knowledge exams, both of which were often riddled with outdated or confusing questions that did little to evaluate an applicant’s decision-making or risk-management skills. Along the way, the ACS morphed into a systematic […]

Recently, I was working with a student pilot on the subject of inflight diversions — a topic I thoroughly enjoy teaching with pilots of all experience levels because a diversion can result from an unlimited number of variables and external pressures. I liken the exercise to a timed puzzle, which often has more than one […]

While the use of tablet computers as portable electronic flight bags (EFB) has certainly cut down on the paper most pilots carry with them these days, one item that hasn’t changed in the move to electronic charting is the symbology displayed on those charts. No EFB in the world will help a pilot who doesn’t […]

A new FAA order — specifically JO 7110.65, paragraph 5-7-1 — may leave some pilots wondering if they’ve misunderstood ATC’s instructions when they’re asked to fly airspeeds such as 255 or 195 knots, speeds all calculated in 5-knot increments. At or above FL 240, crews can expect Mach number instructions in 0.01 increments for turbojet […]

Nearly as long as I can remember, I’ve wanted to be a pilot — nothing more, nothing less. I said as much in a second-grade project that my mother saved for posterity. Over time I developed additional interests and even dabbled with the idea of becoming an architect or practicing law, but I never seriously […]

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 […]

Whenever I start wondering if the well will run dry, I find myself embroiled in something so preposterous, spectacular, outrageous or dumb that it’s worth writing about. But I have to confess: I was less than proud about this latest escapade and made several attempts to explain it away as a minor, moderately embarrassing but […]

I didn’t know Irving Smith all that well, but I learned an awful lot at his funeral. As my wife, Cathy, and I huddled with other mourners beneath a tent stretched above to shield us from the heat, I heard of Irving’s years in the Navy and his subsequent service for 25 years as an air traffic […]