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.

As aviators, we are particularly concerned with temperature. We monitor our EGT or ITT, CHT, OAT, TAT, or SAT. Most of the time we deal with this alphabet soup of temperatures in terms of degrees Celsius. Most Americans however, still think in terms of degrees Fahrenheit. We need  a simple method to convert degrees Celsius from the ATIS report to degrees Fahrenheit.

Now what if the ATIS reported 15º C at your destination? Do you bundle up? Is 25º C T-shirt weather? Pilots need a quick and simple way to convert degrees Celsius to Fahrenheit.

Recall the unintuitive formula for converting degrees Celsius into degrees Fahrenheit:

F = ( 1.8 * C ) + 32

In words, multiply the temperature Celsius by 1.8, then add 32.

Although this works, this formula poses two problems. First off, it is not easy to remember. Furthermore, the math is difficult to do in your head, especially while flying an airplane!

The Rule of Thumb:

To simplify the math, we can sacrifice a little accuracy for an easier formula:

F = ( 2 * C ) + 30

Simply double the temperature Celsius, then add 30.

So, do you still need your coat on at your destination? ATIS reports 15º C, lets figure it out.

2 * 15 = 30, We double 15 to get 30,

30 + 30 = 60, then add 30 to the result (30) to get a temperature of 60º F.

That’s pretty close to the actual temperature (from the first formula) of 59º F.

“Twin Cessna 543MT, fly present heading, join the Graham 230 radial direct Graham.”

In order to fly the 230 radial inbound, you will need to tune your CDI needle to the opposite of 230°.¹ How do you compute the opposite heading? Read on.

You might have noticed that a course of 450º does not make a whole lot of sense (unless you’re an engineer). Well, lets try again shall we?

The Trick Version 2:
Subtract 200, then add 20:
230 – 200 = 30
30 + 20 = 50

Notice that we did just the opposite this time. We added 20 instead of subtracting, and we subtracted 200 instead of adding. The result makes  a lot more sense too. The reciprocal course of 230° is 50°.

Why it Works
Because there are 360° in your heading indicator, the reciprocal heading will always be 180° away. If you add or subtract 180, you will always wind up with the opposite heading.

By subtracting 200, then adding 20, we are actually subtracting 180 in a more human-friendly way. Notice that 200 – 20 = 180. We break it up to make the math a little easier on the head.

The two versions of “the trick,” are there to provide a means to subtract 180 (for headings greater than 180º, and a method to add 180 (for headings less than 180°).

¹ For those of you having trouble understanding why you must fly the opposite of 230, recall that radials extend outward from a VOR. In order to track inbound, one must fly the radial’s reciprocal heading to the station.

“N5678, cross LTOWN at and maintain one-zero thousand feet.” Center just issued you a crossing restriction. You are expected to plan and initiate your descent so as to cross some point at a given altitude. You are cruising at 300 knots 100 miles from LTOWN at flight level 240. When will you initiate your descent? Just how quickly do you need to come down?

The Rule-of-Thumb
Part 1: Compute your Top of Descent:
First, find out how many feet you need to lose:
24,000 – 10,000 = 14,000.
Now, discard those zeroes and multiply by 3:
14 x 3 = 42.
Your top of descent is 42 miles from LTOWN.

Part 2: Compute your Rate of Descent:
Begin by determining your ground speed.
Multiply your ground speed by 6:
300 x 6 = 1,800.
Your rate of descent is 1,800 fpm.

At 42 miles from LTOWN, you will have to maintain 1,800 fpm to meet the crossing restriction.

Why you should not (necessarily) descend right away.
Many a pilot would be tempted to initiate a descent immediately upon receiving a crossing restriction, however one should be patient as there are other factors at play.
Recall that fuel efficiency increases with altitude, particularly for turbine engines. By descending too early, the pilot will be shorting himself on fuel. Furthermore, it is usually easier to avoid unwanted weather conditions at higher altitudes. By descending into the muck too early a pilot may be inviting turbulence, icing, and other nastiness into the flight. Also consider the effect of altitude on true airspeed: as altitude increases, true airspeed increases. A premature descent can lead to a lower true airspeed and longer flight times.