Exercise Your License to Learn
Cruising along at altitude, air traffic control clears you to “descend at pilot’s discretion to 10,000 feet, contact Atlanta Center on 125.8.” Being a fuel conscious pilot, you decide to remain at cruise altitude a bit longer when the new controller tells you to descend at maintain 13,000. Here’s the dilemma: are you still cleared [...]
The Pilot / Controller Glossary in the AIM defines minimum fuel as an indication that an aircraft’s fuel supply has reached a state where, upon reaching the destination, it can accept little or no delay. It is important to keep in mind that a minimum fuel advisory is not an emergency; it is only an [...]
Contrary to popular belief, air traffic controllers do not have hooves and pitchforks. Nothing befumbles private pilots more than communicating with air traffic control. Many of us simply don’t fly ‘in the system’ often enough to be comfortable with the lingo, while others have a genuine fear of messing up a radio call. Read on [...]
Last week’s post about VFR flight followings raised a few questions. This week, lets take a look at the rules surrounding participation in a flight following. The rules of flight followings are actually quite simple to obey. So long as you keep your head out the window and keep ATC advised of what you are [...]
