Instrument Flying Day 4 Instrument Navigation

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Now we’re getting into the fun stuff—how to navigate with our heads in the clouds. I have to say that having a map display is worth its message in gold for improved situational awareness. Before we progress to some of the challenges in this lesson, you must remember one formula. MH+RB = MB Magnetic Heading [...]

Instrument Flying Day 3 Attitude Instrument Flying

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Instrument flying as not only three skills, but there is a sequence to them: Crosscheck. Interpretation Control. It sounds simple. But why then does it get so confusing to know which is the primary instrument and which is the backup, as well as what they’re good for? Could be because when asked what the pitch [...]

Instrument Training Day Two: Instruments

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Last week class was cancelled due to snow. One of general aviation’s greatest nemesis — weather. Which makes day two (the week prior) that much more valuable. Instruments. Specifically the gyros and compass. Regulation: *It is your responsibility as pilot in command to make sure that an altimeter systems check has been made within the [...]

Instrument Flying: Classroom, Week 1

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What is a pilot with 7 type-ratings, who has flown for 35 years, doing in an instrument ground-school? Answer: Learning. Having been many years since I’ve danced with the general aviation community, I thought it would be a great time to go back to school and see what’s changed since I took my first instrument [...]

Complacency: Performance’s Evil Twin

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Highly automated aircraft — the reality of the airline industry. A great concern paralleling this automation is the inbreeding of complacency. We’ve moved away from teaching pilots how to fly jets, to teaching them how to program and manage — performance lapses. Automated airplanes identify and report system failures — systems knowledge lapses. We fly [...]