All posts tagged approach

When You Should Use the Autopilot

By | July 28, 2009 | Advanced Flying | 4 Comments

Even after flying for the past thirteen years, I still get a kick out of manually steering the airplane around. But I’ve also come to understand that autopilots can be a life-saver. If you’re like me, you probably hate to relinquish the controls to a machine but there are times when you ought to take full advantage of an autopilot. Read more…

Cleared to Land, Maintain Best Forward Airspeed

By | March 22, 2009 | Flight Training | 2 Comments

When operating into controlled airports, tower will occasionally ask you to maintain “best forward airpseed” with your landing clearance. This is especially common for pilots of slower piston-engine airplanes. As common as this request is, it is not required (and rarely covered) by the flight training curriculum. Read more…

Fly the Visual Approach, Backed Up by the ILS

By | March 12, 2009 | Flying Tips | 3 Comments

How often do you shoot an instrument approach? Chances are that it is not very often. Most of us have the good sense to stay out of the weather when conditions are marginal. Furthermore, in most parts of the world, the weather is usually conducive to a visual approach. This is good news for VFR pilots, but it can make the instrument rated aviator more than a bit rusty. Read more…

Six Tips for Perfect Landings

By | February 17, 2009 | Flying Tips | No comments

As pilots, we all strive for that perfect landing. Sometimes we grease it, sometimes we don’t. Even after thirteen years of landing these airplanes, I still embarrass myself with the occasional sloppy approach or disgraceful landing. I think a lot of the reason we fail to make a clean landing is because we tend to forget the basics. Keep these six tips in mind next time you turn base to final. Read more…

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