Technique

Its true-sometimes pilots forget to close their flight plan altogether. A long time ago ATC placed my little Tiger in an NDB hold in weather with 20-mile legs, obviously a delaying tactic, awaiting the ILS. Then a Short 360 commuter (the Winnebago with wings) showed up, also seeking the ILS. On inquiry, ATC told us that an aircraft had flown the approach and not closed its flight plan. Sure enough, the airport manager found the airplane at its tiedown, pilot long gone. Claiming minimum fuel, we landed first with only half an hour of fuel left in the tanks.

What is that green piece of plastic sent to you by our friends in Oklahoma City called? If you answer license, crack open the regulations. The FAA issues certificates, not licenses. This bit of precision is useful for winning bar bets with flying buddies-serves them right for not reading IFR-as well as understanding the regulatory structure of certification; particularly, the advantages of certification over licensing.

The regulations only talk about a flight instructor certificate, yet no one says they are an FI. They state they are a CFI. Where did this C come from? What does it stand for?

For this look, well cover about half of the reports other than position reports per 14 CFR 91.183(a) that Fred Simonds briefly mentions in his Radar Service Gotchas on page 14. Well thoroughly cover those later.

On page 11 of the July issue, Jordan Miller implies that you can slow down to extend your range to the alternate. That makes a ton of sense to me since I sometimes do that anyway. But I seem to remember reading that the FAA doesnt agree with that method. I believe they expect you to use the full normal cruise speed for the whole flight, including to the alternate.

Many young aspiring pilots think that being an airline pilot is the pinnacle of the aviation profession. Maybe it is; maybe it isnt.

On Thursday, December 28, 1978, a United Airlines DC-8 enroute from Denver, Colorado to Portland, Oregon, crashed 6.9 miles east-southeast of Portland International Airport.

A beautiful VFR day in south Florida was coming to a close. The shadows of beach-front hotels were stretching across the sand 3500 feet below. For my first cross country after getting my private, my wife and I flew VFR from Miamis Opa Locka airport up to Stuart for some Mexican food-a $100 burrito run, so to speak. We were headed home along the coast.

Whenever I plug in to work traffic, well over half the targets on my scope are unidentified VFR targets. There could be over a hundred depending on the hour. Each is perfectly legal, remaining clear of all Class B, C and D airspace.

The main article covers a lot of things to consider for your various briefings. Here, though, is a view of the items you might want to brief for each phase of your flight.

Good judgment and quick thinking are hallmarks of the aviation mentality. Both pilots and air traffic controllers are in the decision-making business. For controllers, every moment our headsets are plugged in, were making choices that affect the safety and flow of traffic in our airspace. Some choices are easier than others, such as not clearing anyone for takeoff when Ive got a Gulfstream IV on short final.

When we started our sim-training business, we thought our strongest selling point would be logging cheaper time, such as the 20 hours of the instrument tickets required 40. We were wrong. The sim is a more efficient pilot training environment and shouldnt be seen as a replacement for the airplane. Time logged is a nice bonus, but the real value is the learning efficiency and effectiveness. Once pilots and CFIs understand this, the training opportunities are vastly expanded.