Training Tips
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Going online to review the sectional chart before a flight scheduled 48 hours in advance, you are surprised to see a bold new graphic superimposed over the usual portrayal of the local airspace.
Looking into this mystery, you learn that a temporary flight restriction (TFR) will be in effect two days hence during a VIP visit to the area.
Unfortunately, the TFR will be active during the period when you were planning to work on takeoffs and landings at your home base. Will this scuttle your plans?
The next step is to study the notice to airmen (notam) text that provides details of the TFR, its valid times, and the restrictions applicable in the several areas of airspace described. Of particular interest to you are procedures to be in effect in the outer ring, described as the area between 10 and 33 nautical miles from the central point. That's the zone in which your home field is situated.
For this recent TFR near Boston, aircraft operating within the outer ring were "limited to aircraft arriving or departing local airfields, and workload permitting, ATC may authorize transit operations. Aircraft may not loiter. All aircraft must be on an active IFR or VFR flight plan with a discrete code assigned by an air traffic control (ATC) facility. Aircraft must be squawking the discrete code prior to departure and at all times while in the TFR and must remain in two-way radio communications with ATC."
Next followed a list of operations not authorized while the TFR was in effect. Flight training was the first item on the list. Good thing you checked early; now you can reschedule conveniently.
Remember, not every TFR notice provides this much advance warning. Always check early and often for so-called pop-up TFRs (and changes).
Under CFR 91.103 a pilot is obligated to become familiar with "all available information" before a flight. Items such as notams should be provided during your briefing; if not, be sure to inquire.
An important caveat concerns availability of notams already published in the Notice to Airman Publication (NTAP): "Once published, the information is not provided during pilot weather briefings unless specifically requested by the pilot."
Your flight-test examiner may check to see if you are aware of this flight-planning nuance. Tell the examiner that you always ask the briefer for published notams, and that they also can also be reviewed online.
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Flight Training News
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Article
Pilots in the Denver area now have access to a 12-week instrument ground course, thanks to training provided by the Aspen Flying Club.
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Alaska's Medallion Foundation has donated a new flight simulator to the aviation program at Nenana High School in Nenana, Alaska, for its new aviation education program, reports General Aviation News. The FAA-authorized aviation training device runs XPlane software on two screens and includes single-engine Cessna, Piper, and Diamond Katana aircraft.
Moses Lake, Ore.'s Big Bend Community College and Inland Helicopters of Spokane, Wash., have formed a partnership that could allow students to become helicopter pilots while earning an associate's degree, reports the Columbia Basin Herald. If there is enough interest, the program would begin in January 2014.
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Snow, frost, and ice signify the potential for encountering icing conditions in flight. Do you know how to anticipate areas of probable icing, which can accumulate quickly, decreasing lift and increasing drag to the point where continued flight is impossible? Consider what you would do when faced with icing conditions in the Air Safety Institute's new Ice Flight safety quiz.
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Real Pilot Story
In December 2005, with a new instrument rating, pilot Heath Wells took off with his family into the skies above Pennsylvania. Despite his best intentions, he encountered in-flight icing, and then the challenges mounted. Learn what actions he took, and whom he contacted for help, by watching the Air Safety Institute's Real Pilot Stories: Icing Encounter.
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Apps of the week
With everything that must be managed and monitored in a cockpit, pilots need to be at the top of their game. Developers have created apps to help pilots practice on the ground through simulation and record flight information in the air that can be reviewed and shared after a flight.
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Training Resources
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PDF
A cloud chart produced by the Air Safety Institute includes photos as well as descriptions of the major cloud types to simplify identification. Also included is an explanation of how they might affect your flight.
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Did you know that student pilots who join AOPA are three times more likely to complete their flight training? Membership includes unlimited access to aviation information by phone (800/USA-AOPA, weekdays from 8:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Eastern time) or from Flight Training Online or AOPA Online. If you're not already a member, join today and get the pilot's edge.
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AOPA Live
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AOPA Live This Week
An oil analysis from the AOPA Sweepstakes Debonair's engine showed high iron content. AOPA had it checked out with an HD ultrascope. What's the diagnosis? Plus, get a sneak preview of the new show Air Boss.
AOPA Live This Week®, Nov. 7...
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Career Pilot
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Japan Airlines and simulator provider CAE signed a deal to deliver multi-crew pilot license (MPL) training to the carrier's pilot cadets. Under the long-term contract, CAE will train Japan Airlines pilot cadets, starting in the spring of 2014 with a first phase of more than 100 pilot cadets.
JetBlue Airways Corp. announced fleet optimization plans Oct. 29 that include deferring delivery of 24 new Embraer 190 aircraft. Delivering the aircraft from 2020 to 2022 rather than 2014 to 2018 will reduce capital expenditures over the near term. The carrier also will convert 18 positions for 150-seat Airbus A320 aircraft to 190-seat A321s, better matching capacity with growing network demand in key markets while reducing seat-mile costs.
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For more aviation career news, see the Flight Training website.
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Plane Spotter
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It's fun to fly, can tow gliders in its role as a 100-horsepower workhorse, and makes a fine representative of the light sport category of aircraft. Germany's Remos Aircraft offers its Remos GX for work or play missions, and there is even a glass-cockpit version. A plane spotter may not have to wait to get to the airport to see one: With folding wings, the Remos GX makes a good display aircraft, as was demonstrated in downtown Frederick, Md., in 2010 when it was AOPA's Fun to Fly Sweepstakes aircraft.
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Training Products
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ASA is now selling a kneeboard designed to hold an iPad Mini. The elastic strap secures the binder-like case to your leg while in flight and is easily removable for everyday use. The left side has pockets to store documents and provides a writing surface. The cover folds into a flap to serve as a horizontal desktop stand with full keyboard access. The cost is $49.95.
FlightSafety International is now offering a new Web-based Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) course as it expands its e-learning programs. The course helps pilots develop their knowledge of ADS-B system operation, and both normal and abnormal operating procedures.
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Note: Products listed have not been evaluated by ePilot editors unless otherwise noted. AOPA assumes no responsibility for products or services listed or for claims or actions by manufacturers or vendors.
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Member Benefits
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Member benefit
AOPA members travel a lot. To meet the needs of members and to provide them with the maximum amount of flexibility and choice, AOPA is announcing the association's newest travel assistance program, MedFlight Freedom.
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Members only
Judging from the work Yodice Associates has been doing lately to help preserve the freedom to fly, it seems that there are new and bigger legal issues warranting attention.
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Blogs
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Threats that are clearly visible during the day are masked by the darkness at night. On July 24, 2000, in Sumner, Ga., a Eurocopter AS350B Astar collided with the ground in a heavily wooded area during a clear, dark night.
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If you get a job with a regional airline, should you plan to move? The answer isn't quite as clear-cut as you think, but Chip Wright tries to lay out the considerations.
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Instrument Tip
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IFR Fix
Which word in the instrument pilot's vocabulary is so prized that it commands its own button on navigation units? (Hint: Its symbol is the letter D bisected by an arrow.)
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Final Exam
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Question
You are flying at 5,000 feet on a heading of 180 degrees. You begin a right turn to a heading of 240 degrees. Will the compass lead ahead of your turn or lag behind it?
Answer
When starting a turn from a southerly heading, the compass leads the turn. (Source: FAA Pilot's Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge, page 7-26.)
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Got a question for our technical services staff? Contact AOPA.
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ePilot Flight Training Editor:
Benét Wilson
Production Team
Katie Richardson
Lezlie Ramsey
Melissa Whitehouse |
Contributors:
Sarah Deener
Alyssa Miller
Jim Moore
Jill W. Tallman
Warren Morningstar
Alton K. Marsh
Dave Hirschman
Tom Horne
Ian J. Twombly
Dan Namowitz |
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