- Using The Radio – Some Helpful Tips And ScriptsEveryone starts out flying the same way – with ZERO hours in their logbook. This means we also have ZERO time using the radio for the first time, which is essentially a common-use party line where everyone will be listening. Then the anxiety ramps up when we first need to interact with someone sitting in …
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- Mythbusting – You Don’t Need Both Strobes And Beacon Working To FlyThis is another topic that appears on many forums with a lot of poor assumptions being made by both pilots and instructors (but with very little in the way of facts, research or references) to back up an assertion that if one is working, but the other is not, it is still legal to fly …
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- (Don’t) Line Up And Wait – Non-towered Airport OpsThe common ATC directive for an airplane at a towered airport to “line up and wait” is regularly used to facilitate efficient traffic flow, but at a non-towered airport this should not to be performed because, you know, safety. There also several other procedures the FAA wants to make clear. In addition to Part 91.126, …
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- The Departure Briefing – Having A PlanOne pre flight item that is typically overlooked, brushed off or (sometimes) not taught at all is the Departure and Emergency Actions Briefing or the Pre Takeoff Briefing. Not to be confused with a “SAFETY” briefing that should be performed just before starting the engine, the departure briefing is typically made after the ‘run up’, …
- Mythbusting – You MUST (Not) Monitor “Guard” 121.5This is one of the more obscure topics that pops up from time to time about an old FDC NOTAM and requires careful reading of the topic and the language used to understand it better. There are some pilots and instructors that will reference a NOTAM from 2004 declaring that anytime an airplane is in …
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- The Best S-A-F-E-T-Y Briefing – IMHO……Before a flight begins, more importantly before the engine(s) start, there are a number of items that need to be addressed not only by rule, but also for safety’s sake and good sense. First is to declare who will be Pilot In Command of the flight. Someone (i.e. a rated pilot) is required to be …
- Engine Failure In Flight – My ‘A-B-C’sOver the years of receiving and providing instruction on this I’ve developed what I’ve found to be the best method (so far) of how to handle this emergency and all the DPEs I’ve sent my students on to test with seem to agree. The acronym A-B-C-D-E covers everything. When the dreaded phrase “Your engine just …
- Engine Leaning – Not Just For Mountain FlyersSince I began my flight training amongst the Sierra Mountain Range around Lake Tahoe with airport field elevations over 4,000′, ‘leaning the mixture’ was something I was taught from the first lesson – even though I really didn’t understand what I was doing until later on in my training. What surprised me when I began …
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- Everyone Loves GPS – Until It FailsThe Global Navigation Satellite System is amazing. It allows us profound situational awareness and navigational guidance. However, it is so pervasive and reliable that many pilots have forgotten the basics of pilotage, dead reckoning and how to use the non-subscription-based radio navigation aids available on the ground. The need to stay proficient in pilotage by …
- NEVER Say This On The RadioWhen operating out of an non-towered (a.k.a. uncontrolled – a.k.a. ‘pilot controlled‘ – a.k.a. ‘out-of-control‘) airport there is a lot of responsibility on each pilot to know where the other airplanes are in the pattern, approaching and departing the area, and on the ground. It is also important for pilots to announce their position and …
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