Flight Training Advice And Analysis
Being a professional pilot does not mean that you work for an airline or fly a jet.
In fact, even a student pilot can be a professional. This is because professionalism is not a job or a set of skills, it is a choice.
I begin each flight review by asking the pilot what kind of flying he normally does. This often happens ahead of time, on the phone, when we are scheduling the review. I also want to know what licenses he carries, and I let him know that I want him to plan a cross country. I usually tell him where to plan right away but sometimes I want to think about it and I will call him back later.
I generally choose a destination a few hundred miles away that will require more planning than the typical private pilot cross country. I like to find a destination that will require a lot of airspace knowledge and some challenging terrain or a water crossing. Continue reading “How I conduct a flight review”
To enter class C or D airspace you only need to establish two-way radio communications. You will also need two-way communications to enter class A or B airspace, along with some other requirements. Continue reading “Establishing Two-Way Radio Communications”
In order to continue flying a pilot must stay current. This means keeping up with the medical requirements and doing some takeoffs and landings so that passengers may be carried. But the biggest part of staying current is the Biennial Flight Review.
This review must be conducted every two years. Specifically, it runs by calendar months, so if you had a flight review on July 15th, 2018, then it will expire on July 31st, 2020.
The review requires a minimum of 1 hour of flight training and one hour of ground instruction. Continue reading “What is a Flight Review?”
I saw this question on Facebook recently:
Do you call yourself a pilot after you have your PPL? I don’t do it but tried once recently during an interview as a kids aviation interest group instructor and she asked which airline I’m in. I said I’m not an airline pilot in which she replied, “Then you’re not a pilot!” Share your opinion.
A student and I were practicing ground reference maneuvers near our local airport, minding our own business when I caught sight of some traffic approaching our area. I advised the student to turn to the South to get clear of the area so we could get back to maneuvers.
The other aircraft got closer and I recognized it as a Yak trainer out of one of the T-hangars from our airport. Continue reading “Is Formation Flying Legal?”
When I got my private pilot license I did what many new pilots do. I took family and friends up for a ride.
On a clear day with calm winds I was preparing to fly a Cessna 152 with a friend of mine who had asked to go up. This was my third or fourth flight with a passenger.
During preflight, I found that the fuel tanks were not full but they appeared to be near the top. I did not use a fuel stick to measure the exact amount but I reasoned that it was enough. This was a big mistake. I considered asking for fuel but I didn’t want to bother the line service guys.
We departed and flew over our houses and to a nearby airport. Finally, we decided to return, although I very easily might have continued flying. Fuel was the farthest thing from my mind.
We landed and put the plane away. But that’s not the end of the story.
A few days later I was called into the Chief Flight Instructor’s office. He informed me that the fuel records showed that I had less than 20 minutes of fuel left when I landed.
Landing with this small reserve can happen on a well planned out flight if the winds change, but it was particularly dangerous in my case because I was not aware of the urgency of the situation!
I learned a lot from that experience. I never flew again without knowing exactly how many gallons of fuel I had onboard.
In addition, I set personal minimums in excess of the legal minimums.
If you feel like you are bothering line service with a small fuel request then say something like “Hey, this might only take 2 or 3 gallons but I want to be totally sure.” If the line service technician isn’t a complete sociopath then they will understand and be more than happy to help you.
The legal minimum amount of reserve fuel that you can depart with is enough to fly for 30 minutes after you reach your planned destination. If you are flying IFR or at night, then you need 45 minutes of reserve fuel.
I very strongly encourage you to use a safer personal minimum. The fuel gauges in many light aircraft are very bad and give you little idea of your current fuel quantity.
I use a personal minimum of 1 hour for day flying and for night or flight in IMC I want to have a lot more than that, sometimes double the required fuel.
Fuel exhaustion is the most common cause of engine failure. So by following a safe personal minimum and taking no chances with fuel, you can significantly decrease your odds of having to face this emergency.
Consider these questions:
Instrument Flight Rules, commonly called IFR, are a set of rules that apply to planes flying by instrument reference. This is in opposition to VFR (Visual Flight Rules), flown by visual references. Basically, if you can see where you are going, then VFR is an option, but IFR is always an option.
This set of rules requires a pilot to have an instrument flight plan and follow a set of procedures that govern communication and navigation.
IFR flying requires constant communication with ATC and a mixture of visual traffic separation when you are in VMC and reliance on ATC for separation when you are in IMC.
If you have to ask, you’re not flying IFR!
But seriously, to fly IFR you will need to file an IFR flight plan, get a clearance from air traffic control, and comply with that clearance. You can fly IFR in VMC, but you can only log IFR, or “flight by reference to instruments” time when you are flying in actual IMC.
Instrument meteorological conditions (IMC) exist when an aircraft is in weather conditions that are not within the VFR visibility and cloud clearance requirements.
This means that you are in IMC if:
• You are inside of a cloud
• The visibility is too low
• You are too close to a cloud
When you are in IMC you need to be flying an instrument flight plan. Flying VFR into IMC is very dangerous and there are a multitude of accidents that occur this way. Don’t be a statistic! Stay away from the clouds.
In fact, I recommend having personal minimums for visibility and cloud clearance that are even more restrictive than the rules.
Visual Meteorological Conditions, or VMC, are a set of weather conditions that allow for flying VFR.
Generally, VMC means good weather, but it also technically means that you are far enough between the clouds to allow for safe VFR flying.
For example, when flying IFR you might be popping in and out of clouds every few minutes.
If ATC notifies you about traffic then you must try to find the other plane. However, this only applies if you are in visual conditions at that moment. If you happen to be inside of a cloud you just respond with “IMC”.
In addition, it is also possible that you are near clouds and you can’t see the other plane because he is in a cloud. I will always take a quick look but if there is a chance that I can’t see the other plane because there is a large cloud right where he should be, I will still say “IMC”.
I am letting the controller know that the conditions where I am flying are not sufficient for VFR, even though I may be outside of a cloud at that time.
I’ve devised a set of easy rules to help you remember the cloud clearance and visibility requirements for VMC.