February 6, 2018 – 8:08 am
The mechanical operation of an airplane at night is no different than operating the same airplane during the day. The pilot, however, is affected by various aspects of night operations and must take them into consideration during night flight operations. Some are actual physical limitations affecting all pilots while others, such as equipment requirements, procedures, […]
September 25, 2017 – 9:15 am
Eyes provide the brain with a visual image of the environment. Each eye acts as a natural and very sophisticated digital camera. Its basic function is to collect light rays reflected from an object, using the lens to focus these rays into an image on a screen (the retina), and then converting this image into […]
September 21, 2017 – 8:22 am
Yesterday, the FAA Safety Team distributed a newly published Fly Safe Fact Sheet, Avoiding Pilot Deviations (PDs). Now listen, if you’ve read this blog over the years you know we have discussed this topic before. However, it’s worth discussing on the regular since PDs can lead to serious consequences in the form of accidents or […]
Of the senses, vision is the most important for safe flight. However, various terrain features and atmospheric conditions can create optical illusions. These illusions are primarily associated with landing. Since pilots must transition from reliance on instruments to visual cues outside the flight deck for landing at the end of an instrument approach, it is […]
Today we are featuring a guest editorial column by Elisabeth Almekinder RN, BA, CDE, and originally published by TheDiabetesCouncil.com. We hope you will find it useful and we thank The Diabetes Council for allowing us to share it with our readers. In this article we will explore whether or not you can become a pilot if you have […]
One of my favorite times to fly is during the night or in the wee hours of the morning while it’s still dark. Ever since my first night cross-country flight, I have enjoyed being in the skies when most people are at home sound asleep. Often, flying during these nighttime hours can be a much […]
Flying at night? Several things can be done to help with the dark adaptation process and to keep a pilot’s eyes adapted to darkness. Some of the steps pilots and flight crews can take to protect their night vision are described in this excerpt from the Pilot’s Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge (FAA-H-8083-25B). Sunglasses If a […]
January 26, 2017 – 9:53 am
Did you know the percentage of oxygen in the atmosphere is a constant 21% regardless of altitude? Well it’s true! So you may be wondering why then that it gets harder to breath as you increase in altitude. The simple answer is quantity and pressure. As you increase in altitude, the quantity and pressure of atmosphere […]
January 9, 2017 – 9:16 am
Of all the senses, vision is the most important for safe flight. Most of the things perceived while flying are visual or heavily supplemented by vision. As remarkable and vital as it is, vision is subject to limitations, such as illusions and blind spots. The more a pilot understands about the eyes and how they […]
December 15, 2016 – 1:59 pm
Am I fit to fly? I like to think of myself as pretty fit, I hit the gym 3 or 4 times a week, eat healthy (most of the time), I even ran the Runway 5K this year at AirVenture in Oshkosh and absolutely crushed it! Ok, maybe I didn’t crush it but I did […]
