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Posts Tagged ‘Instrument’

Just received another good question from Todd who asks:

I passed my IFR written and failed the checkride. The written expires in a few days. Is it extended until I re-take the flight test?

Well Todd, I might have some bad news for you.  Your practical test must be completed within 24 calendar months of the completion of your written test.

I looked through the Designated Pilot Examiners’ Handbook, the Practical Test Standards and of course the FARs looking for an exception for you but couldn’t find anything to help you out. The only exception that I did find for this rule is found in 61.39(b) which allows an applicant to take the ATP practical with an expired written so long as he or she is employed by a 121, 125, or 135 carrier (with some further requirements).

The same FAR (61.39) makes it pretty clear when that the knowledge (written) test is to be done:

Pass the required knowledge test within the 24-calendar-month period preceding the month the applicant completes the practical test, if a knowledge test is required;

So hurry up and complete your practical before your written expires!  Once you get that instrument rating be sure to…

Fly Safe!

Like most parents at this time of year, I’m making my daily trek to Wal-mart to buy school supplies for my kids. Even if you don’t have kids, I’m sure you can remember being sent home with a list of needed school supplies that ranged from protractors to rulers. Good times.

If you are just starting your flight or ground pilot training, you may find yourself overwhelmed by all the different supplies and accessories that are available for the beginning pilot. One look at a Sporty’s catalog or website will have you convinced that there are a lot of things you need to buy in order to become a pilot. When you get a little bit of experience under your belt, you’ll be more convinced that companies make a lot of money selling pilot supplies that are absolutely not necessary. So in my role as your online ground instructor, I’ve prepared a “Flight School Supply List.” Only the things you need and nothing you don’t. So here we go. Don’t show up to class without them:

(the items link to mypilotstore.com an affiliate of Askacfi.com)

• Good sunglasses. You can get an artifical heart, lungs, hip and just about everything else except your eyes (for now anyway). Take good care of the ones you have by investing in a good pair of sunglasses, just don’t lose them. My personal recommendation? Serengeti Salto S-Flex. Great lenses and comfortable with even the stiffest headset.
• Headset. If you are just starting out, don’t buy a headset until you solo. Until then, borrow a pair from your flight school or instructor. Once you’re ready to make that investment, don’t waste your money buying anything but the best set available. There are only two headsets I recommend, David Clark or Bose. This is not an advertisement but the advice of someone who has tried just about every pair of headset out there and has learned that Bose X is by far the quietest and most comfortable headsets I have ever worn. The runner-up and value award going to David Clark H10-13.4 The number 13.4 represents how many ounces they weigh. You can’t break em either, I’ve tried.
• Basic Logbook. Don’t get anything too fancy. Just a good basic logbook. All flight schools will have one for sale.
• Books. There are literally hundreds if not thousands of books you can purchase. Here are the 7 books you’ll need to purchase (in order of importance):
  • 2009 FAR/AIM Book
  • Private Pilot Practical Test Standards
  • Pilots Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge
  • Private Pilot Oral Exam Guide
  • Aviation Weather Services
  • Aviation Weather
  • Jeppesen Private Pilot Manual or the one used by your ground school
• Basic Aluminum E6B Flight Computer just get a plain old E6B. Learn the basics before purchasing an electronic flight computer.
• Simple Fixed Plotter (for cross country flight planning). As simple as possible.
• Current VFR Sectional for your area if you fly in a really busy area, the appropriate terminal chart would also be recommended.
• Flashlight. Don’t get the biggest, heaviest, or most expensive flashlight (you’ll lose it) just one that is small and bright enough to comfortably take with you in your flight bag. Smith and Wesson makes a nice small bright 6 LED Flashlight that is pretty good.
• Good flight bag. There are a myriad of options when it comes to flight bags. Get one that isn’t so big you’ll never use after training but one that can at least hold a toothbrush, toothpaste and a pair of skivvies for your cross-country or short overnight. The Sky High Gear Freedom VII Flight Bag is pretty well recommended.

I think that just about covers it. You’ll be tempted to add more stuff to your shopping cart, but don’t. You’ll only rack up more costs to your flight training which is getting too expensive as it is. I wish I had this list when I was going through flight school. I was the favorite customer of my local pilot store and they saw me coming from a mile away. My shelves and flight bags are still packed with all kind of useless junk like fancy kneeboards and holding computers. Just stick to the basics and as your flying expands you can slowly add to the list (but you won’t need to add much).

Feel free to comment if you think I forgot something or have a recommendation of your own.

Fly Safe.

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!

Here’s a good question concerning logging of pilot time that I received from Don:

Can one log time as a safety pilot? If so, under what heading, eg, PIC, or a separate category “safety pilot“? Thanks.

First a quick review.

A “safety pilot” is a required flight crew member when another pilot is flying under simulated or actual instrument conditions in order to meet the IFR recency requirements of 14 CFR 61.57.  FAR 61.57 requires that in order to file and fly on a IFR flight plan you have to be instrument current, which means that within the past 6 months you have logged 6 approaches, holding and intercepting and tracking procedures.  If for some reason, those 6 months pass, the pilot has another six month grace period in which he can fly with a safety pilot under simulated instrument conditions in order to become fully instrument current again.  In simulated instrument conditions the pilot wears a view limiting device that blocks the pilot’s view of the outside world so that he can only see the instrument panel (we call them foggles).  This can present a problem for other airplanes as the flying pilot is unable to see where he is going!  The FAA found a solution to this problem by creating the safety pilot.  A safety pilot is simply that, someone who looks out for other airplanes (safety) while the other pilot is flying blind “under the hood”.

Instrument Training Glasses “Foggles”

So how do you log time flown as a safety pilot?

Because you are a required crew member when flying with a pilot under simulated instrument conditions the FAA allows you to log this time as SIC or second-in-command (61.51(g)).   If you agree to be the “acting” PIC you and the other pilot could both record the time as PIC but only when the other pilot is under the hood and the other pilot is the “sole manipulator of the flight controls.”   In order to be the “acting PIC” you will have to make sure that you meet the full PIC requirements for that flight and aircraft, which will include any necessary medical, category, class, type, recency and ratings requirements.

Don’t forget!  If you use a safety pilot to gain instrument currency the FAA requires that you record the name of the safety pilot in your logbook.

As always…fly safe!

I received an outstanding question this afternoon concerning instrument approach visibility minimums from Michael.  His question went something like this:

I’m looking at the RNAV (GPS) Z Runway 31 at McNary Field in Salem, Oregon (SLE) and I can’t make sense of the minimum visibility requirements of the approach.   Why is it that the visibility requirements for the LNAV only are so low?  On this particular approach the required visibility for the LNAV only is 2400 RVR or about a 1/2 mile.  That doesn’t make any sense!  I wouldn’t be able to descend from a MDA of 940 with only 1/2 mile of visibility!  Can you help shed some light on it?

Like I said mentioned before Michael, great question.  Let’s take a look at the RNAV Z RWY 31 approach into SLE.  For those who are interested, you can view a copy of the approach plate from EchoPlate:

Maybe at some point we’ll go over the terms and definitions of this approach plate a little more throughly, but for now, I’m going to try and just answer your question about the confusing visibility requirements.

Why are the visibility requirements so low for the MDA on the LNAV only approach?

The reason is the differences in the physical location of the Missed Approach Point (MAP) between the different approach types authorized for this approach.  Take a look at the MAP for the LNAV only approach and then compare it to the MAP for the LNAV/VNAV approach.   I have highlighted in red the locations of these two different MAPs in the illustration above.  For the LNAV only, the MAP is basically the start of the runway.  If you reach this MAP without having 2400 RVR AND you don’t meet the requirements of 14 CFR 91.175 then you must begin the missed approach procedure.  For the LPV approach and the LNAV/VNAV approach, the MAP corresponds with the DA which is most likely going to be physically further from the runway thus the higher visibility requirements.

Now you bring up an interesting point about the practicality of this approach.  Let’s say you are at a MDA of 940 and suddenly you have the airport environment and the required min. visibility, so you should “chop and drop” in right?  Well, let’s read 91.175 again.  14 CFR 91.175 says that in order to operate below MDA you have to be:

In a position from which a descent to a landing on the intended runway can be made at a normal rate of descent using normal maneuvers

So it may very well be that you have the required visibility before the MAP and you still have to execute a missed approach simply because you are not in a condition that you’ll be able to make it to the runway surface using safe and normal maneuvers.

I hope this clarifies things for you Michael.  If you have any other questions, feel free to comment on the this post and I’ll do my best to find an answer for you.

If anyone else has questions about the terms used in this explanation, feel free to ask me a question about which term you are confused about.

Thanks again for your question and ….

Fly Safe!

Woke up this morning and saw that I got a question concerning requirements for the instrument written test:

Can I take an IFR written test without any endorsement? I am thinking of flying to Florida for the IFR training on G1000 equipped aircraft but if possible they recommend already having passed the knowledge test.

Well, kind of.  You are required to have either a authorized instructor’s endorsement or a training record endorsement.  So you could take a home study course like the ones offered by King or Sporty’s or another school.  When you complete the home study course they will send you a training record certificate that you can present to a testing center like CATS to take on your test.  According to 14 CFR 61.65 paragraph (a) the person applying for an instrument rating must “receive and log ground training from an authorized instructor or accomplish a home study course of training” and “receive a logbook or training record endorsement certifying.  The only time you don’t need an endorsement for a instrument rating is if you are adding a instrument rating to your flight instructor certificate. 

A recommended link here.  I would recommend taking a look at the FAA testing matrix as well to know how many questions will be on the test and what the required passing grade will be.   The instrument rating is 60 questions with a passing grade of 70%.  FAA Testing Matrix.

This question comes Michael:

I passed my IFR written nearly two years ago but failed to complete my training due to some  issues. I have to take the written again because the old test will soon go beyond the two year expiration. Is there a limit to the number of times you can take a written examination?

Hi Michael, thanks for your question concerning FAA written tests.

No, as far as I am aware there is no limitation to the number of times you can take the test.  As you know the limitation on knowledge (written) tests are:

• Must take the applicable practical test within 24 months of passing the written (14 CFR 61.39)
• Have to get a passing grade (FAA Testing Matrix)
• Don’t cheat (14 CFR 61.37)

One thing, I do want to add is that the question bank changes.  You want to make sure that if you are going to retake your instrument written knowledge test that you look over the most recent question bank.  Here is a link to the current FAA test questions for an Instrument Rating.

Good luck with your (re) test and instrument training.  If you have any questions, you know who to ask.  And remember to…

Fly Safe.

This question comes from David:

How do you find an intersection that is off the airway your on without GPS/loran or a vector from ATC.  For example, let’s say your over PXN (cental california) cleared to the Oakey intersection.  Once I set up my radials to identify the fix, how do I estimate my ETA at Oakey without knowing the exact distance?

Thanks for your question David. To answer you question, I created a video tutorial showing you how to use a easy to remember rule of thumb that works especially well if you course is north-south (such as it is in your case).   I hope this helps.  Let me know if you have any other questions and remember to…

Fly Safe!

By the way, if you are curious about the desktop ruler I used in the demonstration, it is available at:

http://www.askacfi.com/tools

AOPA recently released a video that contains the audio and video showing the radar on March 21 when on March 21, 2008 a F16 pilot apparently tried to successfully scare the absolute living daylights out of two general aviation pilots flying a Pilatus PC-12 and a Beechcraft Premier. Both aircraft were equipped with a TCAS II system which alerts the pilots and if necessary, provides the pilots with TAs (Traffic Advisories) and if necessary, RAs, or Resolution Advisories. If you have never had the privilege of hearing these sounds, I have provided a sample of what a TA and RA sounds like:

Traffic Advisory

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Resolution Advisory

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

So the question is, which one takes precedence? A Resolution advisory or an ATC clearance?

According to FAR 91.123:

When an ATC clearance has been obtained, no pilot in command may deviate from that clearance unless an amended clearance is obtained, an emergency exists, or the deviation is in response to a traffic alert and collision avoidance system resolution advisory.

Another question? Is it ok to fly through a MOA? Let’s take a look at our AIM 3-4-5. It says:

Pilots operating under VFR should exercise extreme caution while flying within a MOA when military activity is being conducted.

Another interesting point about this chapter in the AIM concerning MOAs. Did you know that the military aircraft operating in a MOA can be exempt from at least two rules 1) Aerobatic Flight and 2) Speed *they can operate above 250 knots below 10,000 feet* So, although it might be LEGAL to operate in a MOA, doesn’t sound like a real bright idea.

I uploaded the video to my youtube channel (http://www.youtube.com/askacfi) but you can’t watch it here too. (thanks to AOPA for the video)

Fly Safe (especially in a MOA)