I love getting questions from readers and my favorite questions are the ones I don’t already know.  Such as the question I received lately from Jon regarding the max altitude on Tango routes:

Hi Paul. I’ve always wondered. On the Jacksonville sectional here in Florida we got a few T-Airways where the MAA is 15 000 feet. Now, the only reason I know of for a MAA restriction on an airway is because you can get several VORs on the same frequency etc, however, since this is a GPS airway, I don’t understand why an MAA would exist. Any ideas?

Well, this took a little digging but I found the answer! The first thing we need to do is understand why T-routes (pronounced “tango routes”) were established and how they help you.

Tango routes were established by the FAA at the request of AOPA in order to help pilots navigate around or through busy terminal areas.  RNAV (GPS) was utilized because using ground based NAVAIDS for these routes would have resulted in some seriously inefficient flying.  The FAA used RNAV to develop a point-to-point low altitude route system and designated this route structure, Tango Routes.  Tango routes enable the GPS equipped pilot to efficiently fly around or through busy terminal Class B and C areas.  They also help to reduce controller workload by being able to assign these routes to appropriately equipped pilots instead of having to provide manually intensive radar vectoring.  Here is an example of a t-route from an enroute chart (graphics courtsey of skyvector.com)

So now to answer our question, why do T-routes have a Maximum Authorized Altitude (MAA)? The reason is not because of radio reception or being able to get multiple frequencies but because of the airspace and the agency that controls the airspace above the route.

For instance, let’s take a look at our example from above.  In this case our MAA is 15,000 feet. Why?

Well, it might be for a couple reasons:

1) A T-route by definition in a low-altitude route.  It is designed to assist those pilots who are flying in some busy terminal areas who wish to stay out of the way.

2) The controlling agency above.  Because Tango routes are primarily terminal (in that they don’t involve the ARTCC centers) it might be that Jacksonville Center starts at 16,000 feet and in order to provide seperation to the airliner traffic above they limit the MAA on the T-route to 15,000.

3) The airspace above.  T-routes can also be designed to keep pilots out of a Class B airspace.  While that may not be the reason in our example, this can also be a limiting factor for the MAA on a T-route.

The important thing to remember is that to fly a t-route you will have to have an instrument rating, on a instrument flight plan and be IFR GPS equipped.   With all that control, all you really have to worry about is maintaining your assigned altitude.

One other thing to notice on a T-route is that because it is not dependent on receiveing traditional line-of-sight radio signals the MEA or Minimum Enroute Altitude is a lot lower.  The lower MEAs can be a significant benefit in route planning and avoidance of icing to keep you below the freezing level.

I hope this helps Jon and whether you are flying a V route, J route, Q route, Y route, or T route remember to…

Fly Safe!

My most recent flight training question comes from Holly who asks:

So I am a new student pilot.  So far, I really like my CFI. He’s very knowledgable, patient and we have we have a good raport. However, on our second official training flight, my CFI said we were going to learn slow flight and recovering from a stall. Let me tell you–it freaked me out. We have done it one other time since then (my most recent flight) and it freaked me out both times. Next lesson is powered off stalls–even more fun! So, I guess my question is, do you think it’s a little soon to be learning slow flight and stall recovery? I know it’s absolutely essential to know these things and be comfortable with them, but I am not 100% comfortable with the plane yet and how to control it in normal, straight and level flight, let alone in a potential emergency. It would seem to me that that would be a few lessons down the road–maybe lesson 9 or 10 when I am more comfortable controlling the plane and having a feel for the controls. What are your thoughts?

Hi Holly, I appreciate your question and I have a question for you, have you talked honestly to your instructor?  Have you expressed to him your apprehension about the stall series and your nervousness about performing the maneuver?  You mentioned that you have a good rapport, I think the best approach would be to discuss your apprehension about these manuevers with your  instructor.  That is definitely step one.  I realize that sometimes it is difficult to divulge insecurities, especially with someone that you are trying to appear confident and secure around but it is important that you are honest and upfront about your thoughts so that he is able to develop a program to get you flying these maneuvers confidently.

Step two would be to trust your instructor.   If you have an honest conversation with him and he develops a training program suited around your individuality and your personal apprehensions, it is important that you trust the training curriculum.   It might be that he wants to introduce slow flight and stalls to you early so that you realize the security of the airplane, even when stalled.  He might also be trying to develop your confidence with the flight controls so that you can safely maneuver the aircraft in the traffic pattern.

One of the most important things that we are taught as instructors is that every student is unique.  No two students will learn exactly the same way and at the same pace.  Some maneuvers that may be difficult for some students will be easier for others and visa versa.   It may be that you take a while with the stall series but perform flawlessly in the pattern.  I have students that have soloed at 9 hours and others who didn’t solo till 30 hours.  The common thread was that each one loved to fly and were determined to do whatever it took to realize their dream even if it meant conquering some fears (like stalls).

One piece of advice that I can give you is that a stall is not an emergency condition.  In fact, a lot of very good landings involve a power-off stall about 1 sec prior to touchdown!  Being comfortable with the airplane at very slow speeds and just before the stall breaks is important so that you realize what directional control you still have over the airplane.   Approach the stall as something fun and exhilarating instead of an emergency or out-of-control condition may help to break the barrier you have to this maneuver.

I wish you all the best in your training and I know that you and your instructor will be able to work through this if you talk to him honestly and he listens openly.

Thanks again for your question and I hope that you always…

Fly Safe!

I just received an email from Scott, asking about what to do when you lose your logbook:

In previous years I have accumulated approx. 30 to 35 hours in student training in the air, either with my instructors or by myself, Unfortunately I have lost my log book. What should I do ? Both of my instructors are still in my area, can they help?

Hi Scott.  Sorry to hear about your logbook, that stinks.  As a pilot, I have two recurring nightmares.  The first one is where I totally forget about a scheduled flight until about an hour after it is supposed to leave and the second nightmare is losing my logbook. You are in a great position in that you have less than 40 hours accumulated so it won’t be nearly the chore it could have been, if say you had like 4,000 hours.

Jeppesen Professional Logbook

There are several ways to copy your logbook once it has been lost or destroyed by using other paper records of the flights, no matter what stage you are in your flying career.

1) Your flight Instructors. Your flight instructors will have their own personal logbook that has records of the flights that you flew with them.  You could ask your flight instructors for copies of the pages where you flew together.  You could easily use that in a new logbook.

2) Your flight school. The flight school should have both financial records and aircraft records of the flights that you lost.  You should contact the flight school and ask for a copy of the aircraft hobbs records.  Usually the hobbs will record the name of the instructor and student so it should be pretty simple to track down these records if you have a general idea of when you flew.

3) Canceled Checks.  I remember one of my flight students would jot down the flight time and aircraft registration number in the notes portion of his check.  If something would have happened to his records,  it would have been a simple matter of flipping through some old checks to duplicate his logbook.

4) FAA Form 8710. When you go to take your checkride you will fill out a form 8710 which is basically your airman application form.  Near the bottom of the form you will fill in a table that documents your flight hours and experience.  You can easily duplicate a logbook from this information.  In fact, that is one of the purposes of that form.

5) Company Records. If you are a professional pilot you can use company records to help duplicate your logbook.  I often make records of the company forms I use in the aircraft and keep them handy in the event something would happen to my logbook.

6) Electronic Backup. There are many options when it comes to logbook software and online pilot logbooks. One of the best electronic logbook programs is Logbook Pro by NC Software. One of the nice things about Logbook Pro is being able to export to many different formats for both printing and storing.

Good luck Scott with your logbook. I hope that you continue your training and that you find a solution to help prevent this in the future.  Be sure to…

Fly Safe.