by Will | Sep 2, 2013 | Safety Tips
Ask 100 pilots to give an approach briefing and you will get 100 different briefs. Here are the 5 essential elements that I have come up with for briefing each approach I fly. As a rule I brief everything on the chart, but these items are what I make sure to...
by Will | Sep 1, 2013 | Safety Tips
Next generation weather capabilities are among the best assets available to General Aviation pilots, use them. I’ve been doing a fair amount of flying around the Midwest and South over the last few weeks and run into a lot of thunderstorms along the way. These...
by Will | Oct 27, 2012 | Safety Tips
What’s the difference? You make a straight in approach to a straight in landing, right? No so fast. While these two terms seem to be nearly identical they actually have a completely different meaning. Straight-In Approach: An instrument approach wherein final...
by Will | Oct 4, 2012 | Safety Tips
How often do you time your flight? Part of any basic Private Pilot cross-country syllabus involves a detailed flight log including estimated time en-route and estimated time of arrival for each leg. Too often once we pass the check ride and start flying on our own we...
by Will | Oct 1, 2012 | Safety Tips
When was the las time you computed a weight and balance before flying? One of my first jobs as a commercial pilot had me flying a near max gross weight airplane around the countryside on a daily basis. The person I had taken over for never expressed any concern about...
by Will | Aug 27, 2012 | Safety Tips
It’s always better to be on the ground wishing you were in the air than in the air wishing you were on the ground. Before you even think of going out and cranking the engine for a flight, get a thorough weather brief. This can be accomplished by calling a...