Even if you’ve only logged a few hours as a student, you’ve probably heard the adage that “a good landing begins with a good approach.” On downwind, if you’re on speed, with the power set and the airplane configured for landing, the odds of making a smooth touchdown on target increase substantially. Too often, however,… Read more »
Proper Planning Is Worth the Effort As a kid I took a large interest in fishing, particularly in the preparation. I would meticulously organize my tackle box, scour stores for different equipment, and read up on the latest tips and tricks. By the time I was actually lakeside I would spend less than 30 minutes… Read more »
Giving Pilots and ATC A Voice Through Effective Radio Communication January 2018 I sit across from my wife at dinner leaning forward, eyes fixated on her, and intently nodding at her every word. I can assure you it doesn’t mean I have a clue what she’s been saying for the last five minutes. I might… Read more »
Single Pilot IFR Workload Management October 2017 You’re humming along at four thousand feet with twenty minutes before you reach your destination airport. The foggles you’re wearing seem to do a better job of shielding your memory rather than the view outside. “What am I forgetting? I did the cruise checklist. I have the weather…. Read more »
When Uncontrolled Airports Become Uncontrollable May 2017 Have you ever been driving down a one-way street when you realize there is another car headed at you? You immediately think, “Great, I turned the wrong way down a one-way.” Or you might think, “Look at this idiot going the wrong way.” At this point, it doesn’t… Read more »
One System Failure Can Trigger Other Systems to Fail System failures can trigger further system failures depending on how something is engineered. This is known as a cascading failure and it can lead to catastrophic results. Non-aviation examples include both the Fukushima Daiichi and Chernobyl nuclear power plant failures. A few seemingly manageable failures caused… Read more »
Contaminated Airport Surfaces Winter 2016 – 2017 While Seattle’s experience with snow and ice is very limited in comparison to many other U.S. cities, one can easily find themselves in the thick of it within an hour’s flight time. For instance, you can depart Boeing Field on a 45 degree January day in the sun… Read more »
Don’t Let Night Flying Scare You Away This Fall October 2016 In night flying there exists a combination of things that culminate to create a difficult and sometimes uncomfortable experience for many of us. As a result, we tend to let fear of the unknown steer us clear of night flying. Let’s look at some… Read more »
Fall is that time of year where everything seems to turn into a pumpkin – our lattes, our beer, even the weather and our planes. The latter two are figurative of course, but fog and frost can bring our flying to a momentary halt. Frustrated by this, many will give up and hit the pause… Read more »
When Challenges Can Become Failures August 2016 I have an irrational fear about attaching HD cameras to my plane, motorcycle, or even myself for that matter. The logic being that as soon as I do I will have an accident and it will inevitably end up online as the first thing you find when you… Read more »
