ASI News

When you taxi the airplane solo for the first time, it’s an exciting moment. With your CFI’s guidance you’ll have learned to be cautious, look for other airplanes and ground vehicles, and stay alert.

That’s excellent advice to heed, because runway incursions are avoidable. Those that happen are often caused by a single miscalculation or a host of slip-ups coming together at the wrong time and frequently the result of communication mistakes, unfamiliarity with an airport layout or its operations, poor weather, and pilot inattentiveness.

To improve our chances of avoiding such predicaments we should observe a sterile cockpit procedure, watch what’s going on outside the cockpit windows, and complete checklists before moving on the airport surface areas—this pays dividends in better situational awareness during taxi, takeoff, and landing. But we also need improved communication between pilots, air traffic control, and ground vehicle crews—based on a profound understanding of ramp, runway, and taxiway systems and signage, and air traffic clearances issued at towered airports.

Enter the AOPA Air Safety Institute’s new Runway Safety online course. Building off 14 years of educating pilots on runway safety through its original online course, the Air Safety Institute takes a fresh look at the subject that will challenge pilots of all skill levels. The course is chock-full of tips, exercises, and realistic interactive scenarios where you decide the best outcome. You are in control at all times, and you are able to change your decision to improve the outcome if you’re not happy with the result.

Could you use a runway safety refresher? Test your knowledge right from your desktop or tablet and come prepared to cope with tricky situations the next time you maneuver on the airport surface and communicate with other traffic and ATC.

This course was made possible with the generous support of the FAA Runway Safety Group.

What you can’t see, can hurt you

Get wake turbulence savvy with this quiz

Negotiating turbulence that produces moderate up- and downdrafts en route might be uncomfortable at times. However, a wake turbulence encounter in the pattern, on landing, or on takeoff can be literally upsetting.

Wake turbulence encounters are rare, but they are potentially dangerous, particularly when the wake in question is made by a heavy aircraft flying slow. Rotor wash from helicopters is similar to wake turbulence, although it behaves differently. Both result directly from creation of lift, and even a light aircraft can produce a dangerous amount of it under certain circumstances.

Check your understanding of how wake turbulence propagates and the time required for it to dissipate with the AOPA Air Safety Institute’s wake turbulence avoidance quiz.