Flight Training Central

FEBRUARY 22, 2024

There’s a reason why basic airplane attitude instrument flying comes first in any Instrument curriculum – it’s the foundation for everything else you’ll do in IFR flying. As the complete instrument pilot, you should be able to maintain heading, altitude, and airspeed at speeds ranging from cruise to approach.

Descent 52

Descent Altimeter Airplanes Approach 52

Pilot Institute

MAY 9, 2024

It’s just S-turns with climbs and descents, right? The higher speed creates extra lift, causing the airplane to bank further into the turn. The pilot’s job is to prevent the airplane from banking too quickly or too far. The amount of rudder required depends on roll rate and airspeed.

Rudder 52

Rudder Lift Aileron Drag 52

Air Facts

MAY 10, 2024

A perfectly good airplane with everything operating as expected. Perhaps just prior to the start of descent could be the optimum time–certainly completed no later than commencement of approach. Recall that we must remain at or above MDA until we are in a normal position to perform a normal rate of descent to landing.

Approach 70

Approach AGL Descent Runway 70

Air Facts

SEPTEMBER 9, 2024

The current emphasis in general aviation (GA) safety is on visual angle of attack (AOA) indicators and impossible turns (return to the airport following engine failure). An incomplete summary description of FASF is whether the airplane made it out of ground effect.

General Aviation 73

General Aviation Pilot Approach Runway 73

Photographic Logbook

JULY 11, 2024

Caught in series of up and down drafts, the autopilot pitched the Warrior aggressively to maintain altitude and the indicated airspeed trended too high in each updraft. I managed the stepdown to 2,000 feet at JAKRR (named for WFC founder Jake DeGroote) by programming the autopilot for a descent to that altitude.

Approach 52

Approach Ceiling Weather Runway 52

Chess In the Air

JUNE 24, 2022

This is a hard one to gain insight from other than this: Some atmospheric events are bigger than our plastic airplanes. Under normal circumstances Shmulik would have had sufficient altitude to delay the landing by several minutes: his glider’s minimum descent rate in still air was just 100 fpm.

Pilot 52

Pilot AGL Wind Shear Runway 52