System

Even though glass panels dominate the pages of aviation magazines and seem almost required to get flight training students in the door of a flight school, there are plenty of pilots and aircraft trolling the skies with conventional instruments. Retrofitting electronic flight information systems (EFIS) often exceeds the hull value of the aircraft. Even adding a simple electronic attitude indicator ends up being over $5000 in investment.

There is a lot of talk about the paperless cockpit these days, and some airlines have even embraced the iPad as a replacement for a bag full of charts. I have been committed to this for several years, and the best-integrated, most reliable package I found before Jepp FD was from Anywhere Map, who make a bulletproof product, and recently announced a new, cross-platform product for iPad and Android.

In-betweens are always tough, and have the potential for trouble. Flying some IFR practice in VFR conditions is a perfect example. Youre emulating one set of rules (IFR) but youre actually bound by another set (VFR). There are all sorts of potential traps here: maintaining cloud clearances, conflicting with traffic youd normally be separated from, and blundering into airspace without the required communication or permission.

The controller is usually a great resource. But sometimes other demands can produce some real challenges.

Ever plan on running an errand on the way home only to arrive home having made no stops? It happens to me all the...

It's been a pretty smooth flight so far, but out of the haze, you see the emerging outline of a huge towering cumulus. Oh,...

We recently had a thought-provoking exchange of e-mails with Henry, a reader who asked a multipart question: What equipment does he need in his...

Just Let DownAs an instrument student, thank you for a great magazine. I especially always look forward to the Killer Quiz.But the Canadian rules...

My student and I were on an IFR flight. Nearing our destination, it occurred to me that we hadn't heard from ATC in a...

A flying friend of mine likes to say that you know you're into something interesting when you have to sign a waiver beforehand. In...

At my day job flying airliners I get a lot of idle time for my brain. To avoid the clich of that becoming the...

In spring 2003, I was halfway through my flight training. My instructor and I were chatting about air traffic control. He'd just visited the...