Air Facts

APRIL 29, 2024

A pit stop at North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina (KCRE) was planned, and after a weather briefing, I filed an IFR flight plan. KCPC was reporting IFR conditions with a 700’ ceiling and one mile visibility. Unicom also confirmed the weather was still showing a 700’ ceiling with one mile of visibility.

Descent 98

Descent Approach Weather AGL 98

Pilot's Life Blog

JULY 25, 2024

Types of Weather Briefings You can obtain three different types of weather briefings, including: Standard briefing : A standard briefing offers the most comprehensive data and compares your flight plan with current weather conditions and updated forecasts. It includes weather trends.

Weather 52

Weather Pilot True Airspeed Ceiling 52

AV Web

SEPTEMBER 29, 2024

I’d actually filed to fly to Anderson, South Carolina, on an instrument flight plan, figuring that I’d cancel IFR and continue past Anderson to the destination. But Anderson was reporting 300-foot overcast ceilings and everywhere else was just about as bad.

Weather 98

Weather Runway Ceiling Lift 98

Flight Training Central

OCTOBER 18, 2024

These commonly missed questions often focus on nuanced regulations, meteorology, flight planning, and airspace rules. 3 miles flight visibility; 500' below, 1,000' above and 2,000' horizontally from clouds 1 mile flight visibility and clear of clouds 1 mile flight visibility and a 1,000-foot ceiling Correct!

Pilot 52

Pilot AGL Ceiling Lift 52

Plane and Pilot

NOVEMBER 27, 2024

Often, turbulence is the harbinger of mountain waves, not the ideal ceiling—and visibility unlimited—day. Our return flight was by a safer, much smoother route. Think of the Great Basin High as a set of bellows pointed at southeastern Wyoming. I flew into that and the venturi effect that day.

Turbulence 89

Turbulence Weather Knot Descent 89

Fear of Landing

DECEMBER 6, 2024

A few hours later, the pilot obtained a weather briefing and filed an IFR flight plan before departing Westchester to fly back to Montgomery County. By now, it was dark and the weather in Gaithersburg had deteriorated with fog and low cloud ceilings. Montgomery County Airpark (GAI) is at about 540 feet above mean sea level.

Approach 84

Approach Runway Air Traffic Control Descent 84

Photographic Logbook

APRIL 19, 2024

On Wednesday, April 17, I broke ground exactly at 11:00 am as planned. I expected to manage some cloud layers during the New York portion of the flight, but the forecast called for a high ceiling at Northeast Philadelphia Airport. It added less than 10 minutes to the overall flight time. Famous last words.)

Approach 97

Approach Wind Shear Runway VOR 97

Learn to Fly

APRIL 11, 2024

Once the decision is made to divert, the next decision is to return to the departure, continue to the alternate (which was determined as part of flight planning), or pick a new destination to get out of the weather. Ceiling—How high are the clouds; can you fly above or around them? This tends to result in extreme conditions.

Weather 40

Weather Wind Shear Turbulence Ceiling 40

Flight Training Central

OCTOBER 25, 2024

If your flight plan covers both controlled and uncontrolled airspace (by time or location), only the proposed area of operation within the controlled airspace will be submitted to the FAA

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Air Traffic Control Flight Plan AGL Pilot in Command 52

iPad Pilot News

JUNE 14, 2024

Pilots that are comfortable with self-briefing, via FAA Flight Services, or an equivalent means, may use the EFB to display the METI and AI as well as to file flight plans. In the present design, approximately 90 percent of the implemented Service Volumes have FIS-B coverage at FL400.

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Weather AGL Flight Deck Pilot 59

Flying Magazine

MAY 15, 2024

These flights work best if they are limited to an airport 10 to 15 miles away. VFR to MVFR…then 2 miles visibility and a ceiling of 1,200 feet agl. Have the learner go through a flight from start-up to shutdown using the GPS. It’s just a few minutes, right? What could go wrong? Then the CFI slowly brings the weather down.

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Crosswind Airplanes VOR Runway 105

Pilot Institute

NOVEMBER 5, 2024

This allows you to make quick adjustments to your flight plan. Cloud ceilings below 1,500 feet or cumulonimbus clouds can trigger a SPECI. This information is vital for determining cloud ceilings, especially during landing approaches. Low cloud ceilings, especially below 1,500 feet, lower visibility in VFR.

Altimeter 52

Altimeter Weather Wind Shear Runway 52

Flight Training Central

FEBRUARY 19, 2024

Getting sequenced into a busy Class D, C, or even B airport gets much easier when you are doing so on an IFR flight plan. This can be especially helpful when you are travelling to or from a busier airport. For many IFR pilots, becoming IFR certificated is about allowing them to fly more safely and comfortably on those “marginal days.”

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Pilot Clearance Weather Approach 52

Air Facts

SEPTEMBER 16, 2024

It was fun to realize that I hadn’t filed a flight plan, I didn’t have a release signed by a company dispatcher and me, and I really didn’t know where I was going and didn’t care except that it was west. With this, our present frequencies could be for all the other messages, flight plans, etc.

Weather 75

Weather Airplanes Lift Flight Plan 75

Plane and Pilot

SEPTEMBER 22, 2024

At each stop, we had a prechoreographed routine with Jim managing the self-service fueling and flight planning and me searching for provisions (the sandwiches at the Country Cupboard near the Crossville, Tennessee, airport [KCSV] are not to be missed) and taking care of a myriad of other details. In solid IFR, it was time for Plan B.

Weather 78

Weather Clearance Pilot Airplanes 78

Pilot Institute

OCTOBER 17, 2024

SIGMETs alert pilots to more severe weather events like thunderstorms, volcanic ash, or strong turbulence that could pose serious risks to any flight. In this article, we’ll discuss what makes AIRMETs and SIGMETs important, how to read them, and why each matters for flight planning. But do you know how to read them?

UTC 52

UTC Turbulence Weather Knot 52

Flight Training Central

FEBRUARY 23, 2024

To review, flying an IFR trip involves four main steps: File a flight plan (either with Flight Service or in an aviation app). Tell them your tail number, where you are, and the IFR flight plan you’d like to open. Call for your IFR clearance, including route, altitude, and transponder code.

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Clearance Air Traffic Control Airplanes Transponder 52

Flight Training Central

MAY 25, 2024

Just after I called Indianapolis Center to advise them I had departed, my flight instructor keyed the mic and calmly said, “Cancel the IFR flight plan; we’re headed back to our departure airport.” My flight instructor was doing what he did best: teaching me a valuable lesson in a way that I would never forget.

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Longitudinal Axis Checkride Runway Airplanes 52

Plane and Pilot

SEPTEMBER 2, 2024

I logged the information of my flight from Lawson Army Airfield (KLSF) at Fort Benning, Georgia, where I was stationed, to Newnan-Coweta County Airport (KCCO), then to Alexander City, Alabama (KALX), and back to Lawson. Filing a flight plan was not necessary, but I logged it on the clubhouse flight board.

Runway 62

Runway Threshold Approach AGL 62

Pilot Institute

NOVEMBER 5, 2024

You might think that Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) are just about how to control and use your instruments in the aircraft, but you need more than skill–you need a rock-solid plan. IFR flight planning is about preparing for every twist and turn along the route. What Is an IFR Flight Plan?

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Flight Plan Pilot Weather Approach 52

Flight Training Central

MARCH 18, 2024

There are different requirements if the flight is operated under Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) or Visual Flight Rules (VFR). For example, a pilot flying IFR in controlled airspace will have to file an IFR flight plan and receive an ATC clearance. Class E airspace is depicted on VFR charts in various ways.

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AGL Indicated Airspeed Clearance Transponder 52

Gary's Flight Journal

SEPTEMBER 22, 2023

To start our flying day I must stress the most important part of flight planning, ADM, Aeronautical Decision Making. It's now 7am and our planned departure time was 9am arriving just after noon. The ceiling was sitting at 900 feet when I launched, turning to a 270 degree heading as instructed upon entering controlled airspace.

Weather 52

Weather Clearance VOR Approach 52

Photographic Logbook

JULY 9, 2024

Date Aircraft Route of Flight Time (hrs) Total (hrs) 09 July 2024 N21481 BVY (Beverly, MA) - BVY 1.2 During pre-flight planning that morning, I noted that a southwest wind had Boston Logan using runways 22R and 22L. Although Boston ATC had cut us loose, we were still beneath a 2,000 foot Bravo airspace ceiling.

Clearance 52

Clearance Runway Approach Stability 52

Photographic Logbook

FEBRUARY 4, 2024

More often than not, winter flying in Upstate New York is contingent on the ceiling. Ceilings are often too low to fly beneath and slowly climbing through a cloud layer of indeterminate thickness in sub-freezing temperatures risks icing. However, a persistent low ceiling scuttled those morning plans.

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Ceiling Approach Pilot Weather 52

Air Facts

MAY 27, 2024

In fact, if I could visually see a cloud deck from the ground, it would mean the troposphere ended at around 3,000 feet for me regardless of what the actual ceilings were. For example, I’ve watched a friend flight plan across two state lines at a cool 2,500 feet.

Ceiling 97

Ceiling Approach Turbulence Clearance 97

Photographic Logbook

OCTOBER 11, 2024

During flight planning, I determined that 8,000 feet would provide the best wind advantage of the available preferred westbound IFR cruise altitudes. Given my off-season arrival, I made sure that all places I intended to visit were actually open while flight planning. It must have been the mutton chops.

Runway 98

Runway Approach Knot Drag 98

Air Facts

AUGUST 16, 2024

I fly a Rockwell Commander 114B which I flight plan at 14 gph and 140 kts. It turns out that an Air Canada flight from Toronto to Orlando would have cost $1,646.00 (CND with taxes) but going Air Phil is way more fun. Friday was a day to decompress, spending time around the pool and preparing the Commander for the flight home.

Weather 98

Weather Knot Ceiling Turbulence 98

Northstar VFR

AUGUST 18, 2024

This isn’t a new Task that applicants are being tested on, but the updated ACS gives more detail and guidance as to specific weather products that a private pilot should be familiar with and use in flight planning. Surface Analysis Chart, Ceiling and Visibility Chart (CVA) PA.I.C.K2c c.

Checkride 87

Checkride Weather Pilot Flight Plan 87

Photographic Logbook

AUGUST 13, 2023

A Dunkin' in Jasper, GA made for makeshift flight planning space as we waited on fog to lift at Pickens County Airport. While I anticipated an IFR departure that morning, I wanted to see ceiling and visibility of at least 300 feet and a mile to avoid smacking into mountainous terrain around Pickens County Airport during take-off.

Approach 52

Approach Ceiling Runway Clearance 52

Plane and Pilot

JULY 2, 2024

All three sets of limitations will combine to affect the outcome of our flight. We may be the best pilot ever born, but we can’t force a tired Skyhawk to climb above its genuine absolute ceiling, undefined by any performance chart. But the reported ceiling was only 400 feet at the appointed hour.

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Density Altitude Airplanes Pilot Wind Shear 56

Photographic Logbook

AUGUST 20, 2023

All it takes is a note in the flight plan "requesting no route across Lake Erie" to catch a human's eye and inspire intervention. Date Aircraft Route of Flight Time (hrs) Total (hrs) 20 Aug 2023 N21481 PTK (Waterford, MI) - SDC (Sodus, NY) 2.5 Though I remained within the clouds for the rest of the flight home, roughly 0.7

Runway 52

Runway Airplanes Approach Final Approach 52

Plane and Pilot

NOVEMBER 29, 2024

The combination of shorter days, preflight delays, and harsh winter weather can make the best-laid plans fall apart. A complete weather briefing is a must with an emphasis on ceilings, visibilities, cloud layers if IFR, and freezing levels. You want to either be on the ground or somewhere else when that happens.

Ceiling 105

Ceiling Airplanes Weather Density Altitude 105

Plane and Pilot

NOVEMBER 29, 2024

The combination of shorter days, preflight delays, and harsh winter weather can make the best-laid plans fall apart. A complete weather briefing is a must with an emphasis on ceilings, visibilities, cloud layers if IFR, and freezing levels. You want to either be on the ground or somewhere else when that happens.

Ceiling 92

Ceiling Airplanes Weather Density Altitude 92

Photographic Logbook

OCTOBER 28, 2023

Despite those ground clearances, we found that the ceiling above our home airport was high enough to accommodate VFR departures with airborne clearances. At Million Air, I helped myself to a Coke while I filed an IFR flight plan home. (In Better safe than sorry.

Clearance 52

Clearance Knot Instrument Meteorological Conditions Airplanes 52