System

Its odd, considering how closely pilots and air traffic controllers must work together, that each tends to be unfamiliar with the others working conditions. At times it may feel like a marriage in distress, neglecting each others needs while trying to run the household of aviation. peaking from personal experience, two major keys to a good marriage are communication and empathy. Whats likely to happen if both parties express their needs, limits, and concerns effectively? A smoother operation with fewer surprise twists will hopefully result.

They almost made it. The aircraft was on a very short final when the nose started down. The flight crew pushed the thrust levers for both wing engines up to stop the sink but the left engine spooled up faster than the right engine and the aircraft started a turn to the right, from which there was no time to recover.

The national news seldom trains its eye on the FAA. So it was unusual when FAA Administrator Michael Huerta made the news with a speech he gave to the Flight Safety Foundation last October. His speech centered on a newly effective Compliance Philosophy which could represent a sea change for better relations between pilots and the FAA.

As a pilot you most certainly know that just about everything in aviation has a checklist. We controllers have our own checklists for a multitude of hazardous situations, unauthorized laser illumination included. I pulled up the appropriate checklist while the helo maneuvered.

Cirrus Aircraft officials had been hoping to deliver the first SF50 Vision jet by the end of last year, but the company said in January that schedule has stretched to sometime in the first half of this year. Mooney International Corp.s M10T proof-of-concept model completed its first flight, in December, from Chino Airport in California. The M10T, unveiled in 2014 at the Zhuhai Airshow in China, is aimed at Chinas flight training market, and will be manufactured there. The FAA launched its drone registry in late December, and within the first three weeks, about 180,000 drone users had registered. In the NTSBs annual list of most-wanted safety improvements for aviation, loss-of-control accidents repeated from last years choice for general aviation. Anticipating that Congress will consider changing how the FAA is funded in this years spring session, 15 general-aviation advocacy groups signed a letter in December asking the U.S. House to hear their real and long-standing concerns about the expected proposals.

Basic altimetry is well covered in various texts, but some aspects can be confusing. Theres not enough material for a full article, but here are a few basics. To my knowledge, the only reason that a speed restriction would be used on an ODP is to reduce the turn radius. Since this procedure has a defined route, thats probably whats happening here. Regardless of their ability to actually see the airport, they were flying under IFR in weather below VMC.

It seems pretty obvious-start the procedure turn (PT) past the remain within fix and dont exceed the specified distance. But, there are other considerations such as having enough time and distance to make the FAF altitude inbound. Then, theres the Buchannan Field VOR Runway 19R approach at Concord, CA (KCCR). Here, the chart clearly shows that the procedure turn begins after HUKVI. Or does it?

Winds aloft charts have long been a staple of flight planning, if at least just to figure wind correction angles and groundspeed. But in Wx Smarts, we try to help you more fully exploit weather products to think more like a forecaster than a person just checking off boxes during preflight.

For years Ive been suggesting to NACO to stop using nonsense five-letter identifiers that were impossible to pronounce and usually led to confusion in actual IMC, and replace them with numerical identifiers. I read Decembers Need a Sim Instructor? with great interest because I have a FlyThisSim TouchTrainer BATD with a current LOA. BWI was recently clearing departures to fly the TERPZ FIVE from Runway 15R. The plan view of the procedure has the notation in the top-right corner of the first page: Top Altitude 4000.

Like many active pilots, Ive enthusiastically embraced the transition to digital technology in the cockpit. The panel in our V35B Bonanza is well equipped for instrument flight, with Garmin navigators and an Aspen Evolution EFD1000 Pro primary flight display. But, I also wanted to add ADS-B traffic and weather information, and a way to carry instrument charts electronically without compromising safety.

In the October 2015 issue of IFR, I noted that the VOR reduction plan included a provision for something called the Minimum Operational Network, or MON. The FAA says that MON is specifically aimed at lower-end GA IFR aircraft in case of a GPS outage. I added that MON is a transitional strategy to get to something called APNT, or Alternate Positioning and Timing. Lets dig into this and explore the GPS backup support you can expect in the future as we transition from terrestrial to satellite navigation.

Loss of control in-flight (LOC-I) is the leading killer in GA, with more fatal accidents than the next six causes combined. The Colgan 3407 and Air France 447 crashes brought LOC-I to the forefront. Were forced to ask how we can lose control of perfectly good airplanes. The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics identified LOC-I as the most significant cause of commercial aviation fatalities worldwide.