Here's a great FAA doc if you want to learn more about decoding NOTAMS:
http://www.faa.gov/airports/airport_safety/media/d_notam_training.pdf
Friday, April 29, 2011
"New" AC 00-45G Aviation Weather Services Advisory Circular
I just found out that the FAA rolled out a new version of their publication that is the rosetta stone for decoding weather products. I highly recommend this book as the main superb source of information when it comes to decoding weather charts and METAR/TAF/Area Forecast abbreviations...
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1601707932/ref=ox_sc_act_title_4?ie=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER
I call it "new" because it came out in July 2010 and I just found out about it....
Also, if you want to view the PDFs of this book instead of purchasing it, you can see them here:
http://rgl.faa.gov/Regulatory_and_Guidance_Library/rgAdvisoryCircular.nsf/0/D6A522C25E53CBF58625776F0050495C?OpenDocument
The FAA is really great about making their docs available online.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1601707932/ref=ox_sc_act_title_4?ie=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER
I call it "new" because it came out in July 2010 and I just found out about it....
Also, if you want to view the PDFs of this book instead of purchasing it, you can see them here:
http://rgl.faa.gov/Regulatory_and_Guidance_Library/rgAdvisoryCircular.nsf/0/D6A522C25E53CBF58625776F0050495C?OpenDocument
The FAA is really great about making their docs available online.
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Career Pilot in Training
My friend Jeff has moved to Florida, in order to push aside the trials and tribulations of a regular life, and instead dive into the deep end head first to knock out a large amount of flight training in a short time. You can check up on his progress here:
http://jckfink.blogspot.com/
Have a great time, buddy.
http://jckfink.blogspot.com/
Have a great time, buddy.
Friday, March 25, 2011
New Garmin Panel-mounted NAV/COM/GPS Units
Garmin has finally come out with a worthy successor to their time-tested 430/530 series of panel mounted NAV/COM/GPS units:
http://www.aopa.org/aircraft/articles/2011/110324garmin_long-awaited_430_530_successor.html?WT.mc_id=110325epilot&WT.mc_sect=tts
The best part is that these new units bring two additional feature to the forefront, namely
1. Touchscreen navigation
2. Victor & Jet Airways
The latter issue has always been a bit of a headache for the savvy Garmin user- whenever you fly IFR, you had to crosscheck every segment to see if there was a dogleg, and enter all of the necessary waypoints by hand. Now you can just tell the unit that once you cross a specific fix, that it should expand all available victor airways from that fix- and then you just tell it what fix you are leaving that airway from (imagine telling the unit that you are joining I-95 and you are getting off at exit 123- it figures out the route from the jump-on fix to the jump-off fix). I would imagine that this will depress the prices of the current kings of the hill, the 430W and 530W. Note that these new units come in four flavors, depending on screen size and WAAS capability:
- GTN 750 (530-sized display, w/WAAS)
- GTN 725 (530-sized display, no WAAS)
- GTN 650 (430-sized display, w/WAAS)
- GTN 635 (430-sized display, no WAAS)
New product offerings this big don't happen very often, so you can expect to be seeing these new units regularly once they start shipping in Q3 2011.
http://www.aopa.org/aircraft/articles/2011/110324garmin_long-awaited_430_530_successor.html?WT.mc_id=110325epilot&WT.mc_sect=tts
The best part is that these new units bring two additional feature to the forefront, namely
1. Touchscreen navigation
2. Victor & Jet Airways
The latter issue has always been a bit of a headache for the savvy Garmin user- whenever you fly IFR, you had to crosscheck every segment to see if there was a dogleg, and enter all of the necessary waypoints by hand. Now you can just tell the unit that once you cross a specific fix, that it should expand all available victor airways from that fix- and then you just tell it what fix you are leaving that airway from (imagine telling the unit that you are joining I-95 and you are getting off at exit 123- it figures out the route from the jump-on fix to the jump-off fix). I would imagine that this will depress the prices of the current kings of the hill, the 430W and 530W. Note that these new units come in four flavors, depending on screen size and WAAS capability:
- GTN 750 (530-sized display, w/WAAS)
- GTN 725 (530-sized display, no WAAS)
- GTN 650 (430-sized display, w/WAAS)
- GTN 635 (430-sized display, no WAAS)
New product offerings this big don't happen very often, so you can expect to be seeing these new units regularly once they start shipping in Q3 2011.
Friday, March 18, 2011
Choosing a Flight School
Choosing the right flight school for your needs is 50% of the battle as far as ending up at the right place with the right people there to support you. Here are some bullet points that can help you to build your own list of priorities in order to make the decision more straighforward:
1. Location: The flight school shouldn't be so far from your home or work that you consider the travel to and from the airport to be a chore. Although I've never thought that this would be an issue personally, because I've never had anything but a strong desire to show up and learn, some people might decide to bail on a lesson- or even quit altogether- if the drive time and traffic becomes too much to bear. Today's gas prices only compound the issue.
Location isn't just about travel time either. Consider other factors, such as airspace for example. Many people will wisely, in my opinion, travel a little farther away from a large city in order to train at a slightly less busy airport. Personally, I can't imagine trying to learn at an airport like BWI for example- the distraction would be too great, and the new skills and workload required just to get off the ground might faze some students. Experienced pilots usually avoid flying GA aircraft into major class bravo international airports (e.g. BWI, Dulles, Reagan National; LAX, SFO, DIA, you get the idea)- that should tell you something. Another side effect of airspace is whether or not the airport has a tower. The presence or absence of a tower has a double-edged effect- on one hand, it might be good, because as a student, you will be well versed in dealing with a tower once you get your ticket. On the other hand, it might take time (and in aviation, time REALLY IS money) to travel away from a busy towered airport to get to a practice area, where maneuvering flight (a fancy name for when we do fun stuff besides flying straight and level) can be safely performed. Having to burn some fuel and $ and instructor time just to "get over there" to do stalls for example might be viewed as wasted money.
Another side effect of location and airspace is operating procedures for entry and exit from the airport- and in this case, I'm specifically referring to the Washington DC special flight rules. This extra layer of actions that are required on the part of any pilot can complicate your flying lessons a bit, and any extra layers of frustration can lead down the path to quitting before the student completes their training.
2. Instructors: Although I will be writing a subsequent piece on how to approach the task of picking an instructor, some general ideas can be brought up at this point. From the general flight school perspective, you should look to pick a school that has a large pool of instructors, so that if your primary instructor is sick or goes on vacation or whatever manner of short term disappearance, you can grab another instructor and still make your flight (in these cases, sometimes grabbing one of the most experienced instructors in order to get feedback on your peformance is a great idea). A small school with only one or two instructors not only minimizes or eliminates this possibility, but a school of such a size screams out to me that the school might not be making a lot of money, and they might not even be in business for much longer (which is why ANY prepaid training plans should be viewed with skepticism, in my opinion).
3. Aircraft: This one is easy. You will feel more comfortable and get more satisfaction training in newer, better equipped, and more modern aircraft. This is true for both your training flights and the flying that you will inevitably (hopefully!) be doing once you get your license. Mom and dad and Grandmom and your nephew etc. will be more at ease getting their first flight with you in a newer looking airplane.
That is not to say that at some point you will likely fly an airplane older than you are! Typically this will happen when you need a specific type of airplane for specific training- for instance, if you need an airplane with retractable landing gear, or a multiengine airplane. These sorts of fancier expensive airplanes are less common in rental fleets, and the older ones simply cost less for their owners to acquire and lease back. Older aircraft are generally viewed with skepticism from the perspective of safety by the general public, but anyone that has been flying for a while knows that age has little to do with safety, comfort, features, etc. when it comes to flying.
What is more important than aircraft age is how well the airplane has been maintained- and for that matter, updated as well- such as paint, interior, and avionics. Have a look over the school's fleet and check for dents, cracks, bald tires, MAJOR oil leaks, poor windows, ratty seats, and the like. If nothing screams out at you- even with a relatively untrained eye- that's a good indication that the hidden parts of the plane, for instance the important parts like inside the engine and airframe, are in good condition.
Also, it makes sense to pick a flight school that has a large number (let's say, more than two) of the make and model of airplane that you will be flying. This is helpful simply from the perspective of trying to maximize your chances to fly, based on schedule availability.
If anything else pops into my head, I'll put it up later.
1. Location: The flight school shouldn't be so far from your home or work that you consider the travel to and from the airport to be a chore. Although I've never thought that this would be an issue personally, because I've never had anything but a strong desire to show up and learn, some people might decide to bail on a lesson- or even quit altogether- if the drive time and traffic becomes too much to bear. Today's gas prices only compound the issue.
Location isn't just about travel time either. Consider other factors, such as airspace for example. Many people will wisely, in my opinion, travel a little farther away from a large city in order to train at a slightly less busy airport. Personally, I can't imagine trying to learn at an airport like BWI for example- the distraction would be too great, and the new skills and workload required just to get off the ground might faze some students. Experienced pilots usually avoid flying GA aircraft into major class bravo international airports (e.g. BWI, Dulles, Reagan National; LAX, SFO, DIA, you get the idea)- that should tell you something. Another side effect of airspace is whether or not the airport has a tower. The presence or absence of a tower has a double-edged effect- on one hand, it might be good, because as a student, you will be well versed in dealing with a tower once you get your ticket. On the other hand, it might take time (and in aviation, time REALLY IS money) to travel away from a busy towered airport to get to a practice area, where maneuvering flight (a fancy name for when we do fun stuff besides flying straight and level) can be safely performed. Having to burn some fuel and $ and instructor time just to "get over there" to do stalls for example might be viewed as wasted money.
Another side effect of location and airspace is operating procedures for entry and exit from the airport- and in this case, I'm specifically referring to the Washington DC special flight rules. This extra layer of actions that are required on the part of any pilot can complicate your flying lessons a bit, and any extra layers of frustration can lead down the path to quitting before the student completes their training.
2. Instructors: Although I will be writing a subsequent piece on how to approach the task of picking an instructor, some general ideas can be brought up at this point. From the general flight school perspective, you should look to pick a school that has a large pool of instructors, so that if your primary instructor is sick or goes on vacation or whatever manner of short term disappearance, you can grab another instructor and still make your flight (in these cases, sometimes grabbing one of the most experienced instructors in order to get feedback on your peformance is a great idea). A small school with only one or two instructors not only minimizes or eliminates this possibility, but a school of such a size screams out to me that the school might not be making a lot of money, and they might not even be in business for much longer (which is why ANY prepaid training plans should be viewed with skepticism, in my opinion).
3. Aircraft: This one is easy. You will feel more comfortable and get more satisfaction training in newer, better equipped, and more modern aircraft. This is true for both your training flights and the flying that you will inevitably (hopefully!) be doing once you get your license. Mom and dad and Grandmom and your nephew etc. will be more at ease getting their first flight with you in a newer looking airplane.
That is not to say that at some point you will likely fly an airplane older than you are! Typically this will happen when you need a specific type of airplane for specific training- for instance, if you need an airplane with retractable landing gear, or a multiengine airplane. These sorts of fancier expensive airplanes are less common in rental fleets, and the older ones simply cost less for their owners to acquire and lease back. Older aircraft are generally viewed with skepticism from the perspective of safety by the general public, but anyone that has been flying for a while knows that age has little to do with safety, comfort, features, etc. when it comes to flying.
What is more important than aircraft age is how well the airplane has been maintained- and for that matter, updated as well- such as paint, interior, and avionics. Have a look over the school's fleet and check for dents, cracks, bald tires, MAJOR oil leaks, poor windows, ratty seats, and the like. If nothing screams out at you- even with a relatively untrained eye- that's a good indication that the hidden parts of the plane, for instance the important parts like inside the engine and airframe, are in good condition.
Also, it makes sense to pick a flight school that has a large number (let's say, more than two) of the make and model of airplane that you will be flying. This is helpful simply from the perspective of trying to maximize your chances to fly, based on schedule availability.
If anything else pops into my head, I'll put it up later.
NASA ASRS Callback Newsletter
If you'd like to read about the mistakes that other pilots are making- because, let's face it, we all make mistakes- and it's a great way to learn from others- you can get a regular newsletter in your inbox with concise reports on what's going on:
http://asrs.arc.nasa.gov/publications/callback.html
I recommend this site and their email newsletter to all of my students. These reports are taken from the ASRS reports that pilots send in when a mistake is made and they want to report it to an impartial third party (NASA) in order to potentially receive amnesty from any FAA enforcement action, should the event become known to the FAA. NASA acts as an intermediary when a report is filed, and they remove any identifying information from the reports that they receive, so that no one- not even the FAA- can track the report back to its source.
http://asrs.arc.nasa.gov/publications/callback.html
I recommend this site and their email newsletter to all of my students. These reports are taken from the ASRS reports that pilots send in when a mistake is made and they want to report it to an impartial third party (NASA) in order to potentially receive amnesty from any FAA enforcement action, should the event become known to the FAA. NASA acts as an intermediary when a report is filed, and they remove any identifying information from the reports that they receive, so that no one- not even the FAA- can track the report back to its source.
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Dutch Roll
OK, so we all know that life can sometimes throw you a curve ball. Or a dozen at once. That's my weak excuse as to why I haven't made any progress on this blog so far. In an effort to compromise, I thought I'd just put up two things I've come across lately that I found interesting that are on the topic of aviation at least.
1. Mac McClellan's interesting article on stopping the Dutch roll phenomenon in a non-obvious way:
http://mac.fltplan.com/2011/02/18/how-to-halt-dutch-roll/
2. AOPA's Air Safety Institute has live "webinars" (web-based seminars) that you can participate in for free:
http://www.aopa.org/asf/webinars/
1. Mac McClellan's interesting article on stopping the Dutch roll phenomenon in a non-obvious way:
http://mac.fltplan.com/2011/02/18/how-to-halt-dutch-roll/
2. AOPA's Air Safety Institute has live "webinars" (web-based seminars) that you can participate in for free:
http://www.aopa.org/asf/webinars/
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)