Without taking fuel burn into consideration, you can wind up in a situation where you no longer have enough fuel to fly to the alternate – and perhaps even the destination.As an instrument rated pilot, you know all about flying holding patterns and computing entries. But you can’t fly around in a holding pattern all day, sooner or later you’ll have to decide when to bug out and go to the alternate. It’s better to make this decision sooner than later, here’s how.

The fundamental problem with holding patterns is fuel. Here you are burning gas, but getting no closer to the airport. Without taking fuel burn into consideration, you can wind up in a situation where you no longer have enough fuel to fly to the alternate – and perhaps even the destination.

We need to put first things first: always fly the airplane. This is especially important in single pilot IFR with no autopilot. You don’t want your fuel planning to distract you from making a safe holding pattern entry or worse.

Determining your bug out time is as simple as 1, 2, 3.

1. Plan the diversion from the holding fix to the alternate airport.

This one should be easy – you were trained for it as a private pilot. Find a radio navigation As a pilot, you should feel uneasy about landing with anything less than your required reserve fuel, (45 minutes for IFR flight). That’s why I suggest planning to divert just before your fuel on board equals BURN + Reserveaid and course that will get you  to that alternate. You will also need to figure out the  distance to the alternate. All of this is almost automatic with the use of modern GPS systems, which typically provide a heading and distance at the very least.

2. Get the fuel burn to the alternate.

You might think that you’ve already done this in the preflight planning phase, but be careful. The alternate airport fuel burn on your flight plan is probably based on flying from the destination to the alternate. Alternate fuel burn will be different from the holding fix and this is especially critical if the alternate airport is beyond the destination.

"Captain, this primitive flight computer is most illogical"

Since most private pilots think of fuel on board in terms of minutes, this is actually pretty simple. Just spin the E6B flight computer (or cheat by looking at your GPS) and figure out the time from the holding fix to the alternate.

We’ll refer to this as BURN in step 3.

3. Figure out the bug out time.

As a pilot, you should feel uneasy about landing with anything less than your required reserve fuel, (45 minutes for IFR flight). That’s why I suggest planning to divert just before your fuel on board equals BURN + Reserve.

This sets us up to land with 45 minutes of gas in the tank at the alternate airport.

Continue to page two for an example ->

Instrument rated pilots are all too familiar with fixation: the tendency to stare at a single instrument instead of maintaining a good scan. But flight instruments aren’t the only thing us pilots get distracted by, sometimes checklist usage gets in the way of flying the airplane.

Pilots, and especially student pilots, tend to drift off course and altitude when they run a most pilots read their checklists the heads down waychecklist. This is a typical error because pilots are forced to split their attention between flying the airplane and reading the checklist.

By holding the checklist up a bit, you can keep a closer eye on aircraft control.

This is because most pilots read their checklists the heads down way. They hold the checklist a bit like a book – down by their lap. They lose sight of what’s going on outside the window and waver from their desired flight path.

You can limit this distraction by holding the checklist the heads up way. Hold the checklist up in front of you – like a newspaper. This will keep aircraft attitude in your peripheral vision. Visual cues from the window or attitude indicator in instrument flight conditions provide an immediate indication that aircraft control is amiss.

Visual descent points are handy tools the FAA has included on many GPS approaches to keep you from flying dangerously unstabilized approaches and to prevent pilots from hitting all sorts of obstacles. But there are a number of approaches that don’t have these magic little references. Read on to find out how to compute your own VDPs in one simple formula.

What Are VDPs?

In last Monday’s article we took a look at the requirement for a “normal rate of descent using normal maneuvers” to proceed below the MDA per the FAR/AIM. Unfortunately, there are a lot of missed approach points out there that have the smell of a trap. There is simply no way to make the runway using any semblance of a normal maneuver.

A Visual Descent Point (VDP) symbol

To limit the temptation to proceed with a landing under unstabilized approach conditions and prevent collisions with obstacles along the final approach path, the FAA began publishing visual descent points (VDPs) on many GPS plates. Marked by a “V,” the VDP is the last point at which a descent from the MDA to to the touchdown zone can be made at a stable three degree glideslope. If the runway is not in sight by the VPD, a missed approach should be executed.

Unfortunately, VDP’s are not published on all charts. Luckily, there is an easy technique to compute your own.

Making Your Own VDP

First, figure out the height above terrain (HAT) of the MDA. Now, divide the HAT by 300. The number you get is the distance from the runway threshold (in nautical miles) of your visual descent point. In mathematese:

VDP = HAT / 300

Let’s take an example. Consider the localizer approach to runway 2R in Nashville. Note that the HAT at the MDA is 550 feet. To make the mental math easy (aren’t we busy enough up there?) let’s round it up to 600 feet.

Recall that VDP = HAT / 300, so we have to compute:

600 / 300 = 2

The VDP for this approach is 2 miles from the runway threshold. But wait, there’s more. How will you know when you are precisely 2 miles from the threshold?

Notice that the runway threshold is at a DME of 1.5 from the localizer. Just add 1.5 + 2 to get our DME reading of 3.5 at the visual descent point.

Have you ever been assigned an altitude by Air Traffic Control, only to forget it at some point in the laborious climb to some-odd thousand feet? If not, just be patient: you will! Oh sure, it’s easy when you’ve got altitude bugs, glass cockpits and all the bells and whistles. But what do you do when your airplane doesn’t have an altitude bug? You make your own.

Take a look at the instrument panel and tell me: are you really using all of that stuff at the same time?

Do you see it? Look to the right. I’m talking about VOR #2 and the ADF. Even on an instrument flight, you will rarely be utilizing all three of these instruments simultaneously. So let’s turn one of them into an altitude bug.

The Rule of Thumb

For simplicity, I’m going to use VOR #1 to navigate and VOR #2 as my altitude bug. Suppose you are assigned 7,000 feet. Just turn the OBS on VOR #2 to a course of 070. Just think of the OBS course as a flight level selector:

5,000 feet is analogous to flight level 050, so set 050 on the OBS. 12,000 feet is close to flight level 120, so set a course of 120. Got it?

If you are lucky enough to have an ADF needle with a rotating compass card, you can always make the same settings there instead.

The big disadvantage of this technique is that it forces you to fly without reference to the extra instrument (VOR #2 or ADF), but you probably weren’t using it anyway – especially that crotchety old ADF needle.

What are your tricks for remembering altitude clearances?

Taking off on the wrong runway can have serious consequences. This one pilot error can lead to runway incursions, FAA violations, and even fatal accidents. Pilots can greatly improve their chances of getting it right by adding one simple step to their takeoff clearance.

The procedure comes in three simple steps: verify, verify, and verify!

1. Verify that you are cleared for takeoff. Make sure that a takeoff clearance was given and read back if operating at a controlled airport.
2. Verify the runway number on the pavement. Taking off on Runway 32 means there had better be a 32 out the window!
3. Verify runway heading is displayed in the compass and DG. This is a great chance to catch any last minute gyroscopic precession errors.

I do each of these steps as a flow. Suppose you are holding short and receive the following clearance:

“Piper 12345, clear for takeoff Runway 27.”

As you read back the clearance, be sure to verify, verify, verify:

“Cleared for takeoff… “ // We’ve got step one down!
“…Runway 27…” // Glance at the runway numbers and/or hold-short sign and verify that this is in fact Runway 27.
“…Piper 12345.” // As you roll onto the runway centerline, make sure the DG and compass agree with the runway heading (270º in this case).

There has been a lot of talk about the “point and wait” trick for cloud clearance since my first post on the subject. To clear up any questions on the matter, I went up and shot some video of this rule of thumb in action. Check it out and spread the word.

Operating in and out of towered airports requires a landing clearance prior to touchdown. Pilots do occasionally land without a clearance. Depending on the circumstances, this could become an FAA violation: something every pilot should want to avoid. The solution? Almost every airplane has a built in advisory system to alert the pilot as to the status of his/her landing or takeoff clearance. You just have to know how to use it.

Always taxi with the landing light off, using only your taxi light as needed. Once you hear the magic words “cleared for takeoff,” you should instinctively switch on the landing light. It doesn’t matter if it’s day or night, just turn the light on. Your climb checklist should have you turn the light back off once on your way.

Landing light is off, which means we must not have been cleared to land yet.

Follow the same discipline with your landing clearance. The landing light should not come on until you have been cleared to land. On short final, take a quick glance at the landing light and verify that it is on — that’s your reminder that you have in fact been cleared to land. This is also a good time to double check “three in the green” for retractable landing gear pilots.

It may sound crazy, but airplanes land without clearances more often than you might expect. Sometimes controllers get busy and forget to issue the landing clearance. This happened to me the other day, but because the landing lights were still off on short final, I caught it and asked the controller for the clearance myself.

At other times it is the pilots fault: we forget to contact the tower in the first place. Before you laugh and say “I’ll never do that,” what if approach issued the following?

“Cessna 12345, cleared for the ILS 36R approach, contact tower 119.7 crossing MGHEE.”

It’s almost a set up, isn’t it? Now you’re cleared to shoot the approach, but not to land. Worse, you have to stay on the approach frequency for a few minutes: just enough time for you to forget to call the tower. If you operate in and out of controlled airports enough, you will mess this one up sooner or later. And if you use the landing light trick, you just might save yourself a world of trouble.

It’s a good idea to avoid the clouds as much as possible. For IFR pilots, you’ll typically find a smoother ride in the clear. VFR pilots have no choice on the matter: per cloud-clearance rules, it’s the law! But what about that cloud out on the horizon? You don’t need a Sporty’s sight-level to tell if you’re going to hit that puffy cumulus up ahead. All you need is a finger!

Point at the top of the cloud.

Step 1: Point
Take your pointer finger and literally point at the top of the cloud. Reach forward and physically touch the window at the top of the cloud.

Step 2: Wait
Keep your head and finger in the same position while maintaining unaccelerated flight: straight & level or steady & stabilized climb or descent.

Step 3: Observe
Observe the cloud’s motion relative to your finger.
If the cloud appears to move below your finger, you will pass above the cloud. But if the cloud moves above the finger, you can expect to go IMC in a few moments.

If cloud moves below your finger you will pass above.

If cloud moves above finger, you'll fly into the cloud.

This whole trick is based on the old collision-avoidance rule that any airplane with no apparent motion must be on a collision course. It’s easy to “eyeball” another airplane and detect relative motion.. Because of the slower closure rates and enormous size of some clouds, it is a lot more difficult to judge motion.

If you don’t mind writing on the windows, you can also use a dry-erase marker to free up your hand.

Wake turbulence is a serious threat to aircraft of all sizes. One of the most common places to find wake turbulence is at busy airports, especially during big airline pushes. It is vital to avoid the swirling vortices behind that fat Airbus on short final and we’ve all be trained on the proper avoidance technique, but how do we implement it?

When Taking Off:
Rotate before the preceding airplane’s rotation point and climb above it’s flight path.

When Landing:
Always fly above the flight path and land beyond the touchdown point of the heavy bird.

But how do we do this in practice? It’s quite simple really.

On departure, use all available runway, perform a short field takeoff and climb out at Vx (best angle of climb).

For your landing, choose the 1000 foot marker or a quarter-range taxiway as the start of your runway and fly a steeper than normal approach. One dot high on the glideslope or PAPI ought to do it.

Use your best judgement and keep out of wake turbulence. Your airplane will thank you.

Familiarizing yourself with a new airport? Put that Airport / Facility Directory away and fire up YouTube! Is that sectional chart a little too ambiguous? Fold that chart up and “fly” the route with Google Earth. See how modern websites are changing the way tech-savvy pilots plan their flights. In his article, Vincent from PlasticPilot.net evaluates several online tools for flight planning and preparation.

A word of caution: As great as many of these resources are, pilots should stick to official sources as the primary means of flight planning.