Flight Training Advice And Analysis
Class C airspace surrounds airports that are very big, but not as big as airports in Class B airspace.
It is shaped like an upside-down wedding cake but with fewer rings than class B airspace has.
For example, Lehigh Valley International (pictured below) has an inner ring that extends from the surface up to 4400 feet MSL. Continue reading “Class C Airspace”
I was on a progress check flight early in my commercial training and the Chief Flight Instructor decided to play a trick on me. I learned an important lesson from this flight.
We got the plane started at Chandler (KCHD) and he asked me to fly him to Gateway (KIWA). I noticed the 2 class D airspace areas are squished together with no space in between! Continue reading “Flying Between Towers”
Visual Flight Rules, commonly called VFR, are a set of rules that apply to planes flying by visual reference. This is in opposition to IFR (Instrument Flight Rules), flown without visual references.
This set of rules allows a pilot to fly in most airspace without a flight plan, clearance, or ATC communication.
VFR flying requires constant vigilance for other traffic and reliance on oneself for navigation.
When you are flying VFR you must be in VMC.
Of course, while flying VFR you may choose to use air traffic control services to:
Did you file and open an instrument flight plan? If not, then you are flying VFR. You must comply with all VFR regulations including visibility and cloud clearance minimums.
Class B airspace surrounds large, busy airports.
Its shape is generally an upside-down wedding cake but it can vary quite a bit. The main idea is that there are layers that get progressively wider and have a higher floor than inner layers.
For example, in St. Louis (pictured below) the inner ring extends from the surface up to 8000 feet MSL. Continue reading “Class B Airspace”
Here are a few different tips for remembering what the emergency squawk codes mean.
7500 – Hijacking
7600 – Lost Comms
7700 – Emergency Continue reading “Remembering Squawk Codes”
Most pilots know that way back in 2010 the FAA retired the phrase “Position and Hold”. Instead “Line Up and Wait” came into usage, indicated to an aircraft at a towered field that they are to taxi onto the runway, line up for departure, and then wait until takeoff clearance is given. Continue reading “Line Up and Wait”