The majority of airports have some type of lighting for night operations, and the variety and type of lighting systems depends on the volume and complexity of operations at a given airport. We’re going to be examining these types today with help from the FAA’s Pilot’s Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge.
…Tag: feature
View All CategoriesThe first step in becoming a pilot is selecting an aircraft (whether it’s airplanes, gyroplanes, weight-shift, helicopters, powered parachutes, gliders, balloons, or even airships). The second step is obtaining a medical certificate and Student Pilot’s Certificate if the choice of aircraft is an airplane, helicopter, gyroplane, or airship. Today, with
…Today we’re taking another look at flight instruments, specifically the altimeter. Understanding the instrument and altitudes is critical in learning to fly. This post comes from on of our favorite textbooks, Bob Gardner’s The Complete Private Pilot.
Aircraft altimeters are aneroid (dry) barometers calibrated to read
…In March we looked at the basics of how an internal combustion works. Your airplane’s engine is a four-cycle engine: on the intake stroke, a fuel/air mixture is drawn into the cylinder as the piston moves down; the mixture is then compressed on an upward piston stroke;
…This post on spins is derived from the FAA Airplane Flying Handbook, available from ASA in print and in PDF format.
A spin may be defined as an aggravated stall that results in what is termed “autorotation” wherein the airplane follows a downward corkscrew path. As the
…We’ve had a few posts about the Very High Frequency Omnidirectional Range (VOR). Take a look at our introduction and at our CFI’s posts on VOR service volumes and a couple questions that might show up on your exam. Today, we’ll
…A VFR Sectional Aeronautical Chart is a pictorial representation of a portion of the Earth’s surface upon which lines and symbols in a variety of colors represent features and/or details that can be seen on the Earth’s surface. Contour lines, shaded relief, color tints, obstruction symbols, and maximum elevation figures
…This week, we’re taking another look at aviation forecasts and focusing on the terminal aerodrome forecast (TAF), one of the printed forecasts that all pilots need to be familiar with. TAFs are designed to be useful in the preflight planning stage. Here’s how the FAA breaks down a TAF in
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