October 31, 2016 – 7:56 am
AIM Chapter 7, Safety of Flight, is an important chunk of the AIM which contains descriptions of weather services and severe weather flying, flight hazards like icing and volcanic ash, wake turbulence, and safety, accident, and hazard reporting. Under Section 6 “Safety, Accident, and Hazard Reports”, we find this: 7-6-4 Unidentified Flying Object (UFO) Reports […]
October 27, 2016 – 7:11 am
Earlier in 2016, the FAA renamed the Airport/Facility Directory (A/FD) to “Chart Supplement U.S.” The FAA made this change to bring the publication in line with specifications under the Interagency Air Cartographic Committee (IACC). Not all that important why it was done; what is important is the fact that the name has changed. The information […]
October 24, 2016 – 8:48 am
Chapter 26, “En Route Navigation,” of the new fourth edition of The Pilot’s Manual Volume 2: Ground School focuses on how to go about the business being an effective pilot/navigator with minimum interruption of safely flying the airplane. The components of successful pilot/navigation are: flight planning; chart-reading (also known as pilotage) which means determining your […]
October 20, 2016 – 8:30 am
An instructor and student are preparing for an early afternoon flight to conduct maneuvers out in the practice area. The student receives a weather briefing and the instructor asks how the weather conditions are for the flight. The student responds that the weather looks to be VFR. OK, that’s great, but remember, the instructor’s specific […]
October 17, 2016 – 11:35 am
This week we’ll expand on what we’ve discussed about regulations. Chapter 19 in the brand-new fourth edition of The Pilot’s Manual Volume 2: Ground School has a great overview of the FARs you’ll need to know. Beyond that, of course, is our FAR/AIM; the complete up-to-date set of aviation regulations. Today, we’ll feature an excerpt […]
October 13, 2016 – 8:42 am
Drag as it relates to aerodynamics in aviation is just one of those things that must be dealt with and overcome – literally overcome. When we talk about drag in aviation it is usually discussed in relation to one of the four forces: lift, weight, thrust, and drag. It is the force that acts opposite […]
October 10, 2016 – 9:00 am
We’re talking about aerodynamics again this week. Today, an excerpt from the Pilot’s Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge on the forces in climbs and descents. Forces in Climbs For all practical purposes, the wing’s lift in a steady state normal climb is the same as it is in a steady level flight at the same airspeed. […]
October 6, 2016 – 7:55 am
Today I would like to discuss weather, specifically the all-important topics of Galactic Cosmic Radiation and Solar Eruptive Activity. Wait, say what? That’s what I thought when reviewing my newly printed edition of the FAA Advisory Circular (AC) Aviation Weather (AC 00-6B). I came across a new chapter 23, titled “Space Weather.” To say the […]
October 3, 2016 – 8:57 am
For the first time since 1975, the FAA has updated Aviation Weather (AC 00-6B replacing AC 00-6A). A lot has changed since then in our understanding of meteorology and in the data available to pilots and how they can put it to use. The AC 00-6B is now available from ASA in print, PDF eBook, […]
