IFR back issues from January 2008:
Make it a low-cal ILS.(REMARKS)(instrument landing system)
Jan 01, 2008; ... Chatting recently with Paul Bertorelli, editor of our sister publication Aviation Consumer, we agreed the barrage of articles in the popular aviation press on the "Greening of General Aviation" are just misting rose water on a steaming dung heap. The simple fact is that we burn ...
Icing decision tree.(JUST AHEAD IN IFR)
Jan 01, 2008 ... When the ice starts building on every unprotected surface, you ...
Stupid pilot tricks.(JUST AHEAD IN IFR)
Jan 01, 2008 ... Our yearly round up of the less-than-stellar performance shown by ...
Cheating on the ILS.(JUST AHEAD IN IFR)
Jan 01, 2008 ... Yeah, you went full-scale, but can you ...
NASA will release "secret" pilot safety survey.(BRIEFING)(National Aeronautics and Space Administration)(Brief article)
Jan 01, 2008 ... Associated Press tried for 14 months to get NASA to release the results of a pilot survey on aviation safety. NASA stonewalled, saying, "Release of the requested data, which are sensitive and safety-related, could materially affect the public confidence in, and the commercial welfare of, ...
Bust a TFR, go to jail.(BRIEFING)(temporary flight restriction)(Brief article)
Jan 01, 2008 ... It's hard enough to steer clear of temporary flight restrictions (TFRs), what with sometimes-short lead-times and clueless AFSS briefers. Now, if you bust a TFR, you may be held criminally responsible. A new passage in the TFRs says, "Any person who knowingly or willfully violates the ...
Pilot-optional Gulfstream 550?(BRIEFING)
Jan 01, 2008 ... There are lots of options available on a Gulfstream 550 but Boeing intends to make the flight deck crew one of them. Lacking a suitable platform of its own, the Chicago-based company has purchased one of the $43 million state-of-the-art bizjets to turn it into a drone for maritime ...
Controller's union disputes FAA staffing stance.(BRIEFING)(National Air Traffic Controllers Association, Federal Aviation Administration)(Brief article)
Jan 01, 2008 ... In October the FAA issued a press release saying it had exceeded its hiring goals for air traffic controllers in the last fiscal year, attracting 1800 new air traffic controllers, and was on track to meet its long-term goals. However, the National Air Traffic Controllers Association ...
The next extreme sport: skydiving from space.(BRIEFING)(Space Diver)(Brief article)
Jan 01, 2008 ... Entrepreneur Rick Tumlinson has started a company called Space Diver to develop and promote skydiving from high-altitude rockets. The thrill-seeking has a practical side: Equipment developed for that ultra-long thrill ride can also be used as safety gear for ...
Robert Sturgell--a user-fee supporter.(NOTAMS)(Brief article)
Jan 01, 2008 ... Robert Sturgell--a user-fee ...
A Cessna 152 and Piper Saratoga that collided near Republic Airport.(NOTAMS)(Brief article)
Jan 01, 2008 ... A Cessna 152 and Piper Saratoga that ...
Excel-Jet Sues FAA over Sport-Jet crash during takeoff.(NOTAMS)(Federal Aviation Administration)(Brief article)
Jan 01, 2008 ... Excel-Jet Sues FAA over Sport-Jet crash during takeoff, ...
NEXRAD radars get $43 million upgrade.(NOTAMS)(Brief article)
Jan 01, 2008 ... NEXRAD radars get $43 million upgrade ...
130 residents evicted from their apartment building after a Piper Seneca crashed.(NOTAMS)(Brief article)
Jan 01, 2008 ... 130 residents evicted from their apartment building ...
Bertrand Piccard unveiled solar-powered aircraft.(NOTAMS)(Brief article)
Jan 01, 2008 ... Bertrand Piccard unveiled solar-powered ...
Singapore Airlines says double-bed suites in their new Airbus A380.(NOTAMS)(Brief article)
Jan 01, 2008 ... Singapore Airlines says double-bed suites in their new ...
Grab-bag of GPS Gizmos.(READBACK)(Global Positioning System)(Letter to the editor)
Jan 01, 2008; ... Throughout my admittedly short flying career, I'm always hearing stories of the FAA pouring time and money into projects, and then abandoning them before they ever make it to the public, or soon after. In the August 6, 2007 issue of Aviation Week & Space Technology, David ...
Stay on that arc.(READBACK)(Letter to the editor)
Jan 01, 2008; ... In the article "Acing the Arc" (March 2007 IFR), the author stated that it was not necessary to stay on the DME arc since it had a four-mile obstacle clearance distance from the centerline of the arc. I agree about the four-mile total obstacle clearance distance, but take issue with the ...
Cheap GPS fix.(READBACK)(Letter to the editor)
Jan 01, 2008; ... I saw a letter in the November 2007 IFR about Nav/Com interference with a handheld GPS that was fixed with a filter installation. Here's another way to fix the issue that cost me nothing but time. I had a problem of the GPS losing satellite reception when simply selecting 109.5 ...
Flying IFR without ATC.(READBACK)(Letter to the editor)
Jan 01, 2008; ... I was probably as aghast as anyone at the Potomac controller in Jane Garvey's Smart Pilot Tricks article in the November 2007 IFR, but I don't understand the pilot's reaction that he "stayed below the Class A airspace." As summarized in the article, the only thing that the ...
Getting no WX from ATC: thunderstorms can catch you sleeping any time of year. Don't expect the controller to give you a heads-up, either.(SYSTEM NOTES)(weather report, air traffic control)
Jan 01, 2008; ... 0n October 19, 2005, a Cessna 337 penetrated an area of heavy precipitation and thunderstorms. The outcome was not good. The NTSB reported that a contributing factor was, "ATC's failure to provide information on depicted severe weather to the pilot." Six months later, on April ...
The departure menu: like Rodney used to lament, departures just "don't get no respect." Here's a simplified matrix to get up and out safely.(IFR TECHNIQUE)
Jan 01, 2008; ... As winter rolls on, the IFR departure conundrum is with us again with predictable loss of life as its result (see "Spiral Up Departure," December 2006 IFR). We recently outlined the different ways TERPSters and ATC look at departures (see "Five-Headed Departure," October 2007 IFR), but the ...
High stakes in Philly: commercial airports sport all the low-weather gear, but this attempt might be less steak and more like a soft pretzel.(KILLER QUIZ)(Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
Jan 01, 2008; ... Philadelphia may be home to great food and gobs of history, but this trip has been one misstep after another. Delays have you arriving well after dark with low ceilings and a gusty south wind. Keep your head in the game and your mind on the rules as we take you down to the short ...
Nuts and bolts of TKS: TKS is one of the most popular ice-busting systems for light aircraft, but its utility is all in how you use it.(PRACTICALITIES)
Jan 01, 2008; ... Let me start with the punch line: I consider my TKS system the single, most effective contributor to the year-around utility of my airplane. The second is NEXRAD downloads and lightning detection, and the third is long-range tanks, but the first is the TKS. Where I live in the Northeast ...
Love those long legs: why truck outbound for an hour on an RNAV approach just to reverse course?(APPROACH CLINIC)(area navigation)
Jan 01, 2008; ... The most common reader queries we get at IFR are the "Do I have to?" questions. Just like the battle-hardened freight dogs relish the minutes saved every night by tight vectors to hook localizer and glideslope simultaneously, experienced pilots find ways to safely shortcut procedures they ...
Briefing the airport: briefing the approach as you descend from cruise should be the last step in a long chain when you're flying somewhere new.(TRICKS'O THE TRADE)
Jan 01, 2008; ... With some experience, reviewing approach charts and setting up the avionics for an airport that's new to you is second nature. But there's more to being prepared for a new field than the approach. Let's take a top-down look at some of the "big picture" items that IFR pilots should be aware ...
Safety pilot safety: simulated instrument approaches are necessary for proficiency. Problem is that just having a safety pilot isn't always safe.(TRAINING)
Jan 01, 2008; ... Planning to fight the creeping rust on your instrument skills by shooting some approaches on an ice-free, cloudless day this winter? Don't assume that practicing instrument approaches in visual conditions is safer than flying them in the soup. At least in IMC, there should be one ...
On the air.
Jan 01, 2008 ... Last week, while making a practice ILS at Abilene, Texas, (KABI), the Tower advised an airplane on the runway as follows: Abilene Tower: "Cessna Two Two Victor cleared for takeoff Runway 17R. Maintain runway heading." Cessna 22V: "What heading do I maintain?" ...