Hello Does anyone have any tips for a new Instrument Pilot (me) I did my first flight today (C77-UGN-C77) And about 45 minutes of it was in IMC. It was kinda cool. My first appoach was missed due to a late (6mi) turn by ATC but the next 2 were probably 6-8 out of 10. It was the ILS 23 ant...

What are your standards for taking passengers up into actual conditions? I've developed a decent feel for what people will tolerate VFR- who can take a few bumps, who will get scared if its windy, etc. But I haven't got any idea what to make of taking pax into the soup. Is it as disorienting...

Hi, y'all - The RNAV (GPS) RWY 18R into KHSV http://www.naco.faa.gov/d-tpp/0411/05488R18R.PDF has a transition route from RQZ VORTAC to an IAF, HATAS. The transition route is bearing 322 degrees, 2.1 miles. There is a note "Procedure NA for arrivals at RQZ VORTAC on Airway Radials 261 CW 010"....

Has anyone taken the IFR written test prep from American Flyers? I'm looking for some input on it. I was thinking of taking the Aviation Seminar course, but its not held very often, making it much less convenient. URL http://www.americanflyers.net/about/writtenclass.asp Thanks

Im new to IFR and was wondering what an SDF approach is. Thanks!

Garmin AT has made available their simulator for the GNS480. I don't know how long it's been there, but I just noticed it at: http://www.garmin.com/products/gns480/ It's a nice step upward from the older CNX80 simulator. ---JRC---

I know it's not considered good form to discuss or speculate on accidents before the factual reports are released - however I'll bet I'm not the only one who pulls up an approach plate when hearing about an accident on an IFR approach. In my opinion, as long as the interest remains technical, and...

Well, I passed by instrument checkride recently and thought I would share my experiences. Started off the day with a flight from Fort Smith, AR (FSM) where I generally fly out of down to Hot Springs (HOT) where the examiner was. Started out as you might expect, paperwork, going over the logs,...

On VOR/DME-B @ 69V, there is a comment that says PT is not authorized when arriving northbound on V208. Then on the bottom of the chart it says "Procedure Turn NA". Why bother printing the first statement, when PT is clearly not authorized for any transitions? Is this a left-over from a old chart...

A few questions came up in ground school that had me stumped. Any insight is appreciated. Why do some approaches say Radar required when all the fixes can be identified using other equipment required for the approach? For example, VOR-DME-A at 3G3. When a holding pattern is published in lieu of a...

I cancelled a flight yesterday because on top of strong gusty winds there was an Airmet Zulu for light to moderate mixed and rime ice, and on top of that the destination was reporting layers at about 2,000 and 4,000 feet, a freezing level of about 3,000 feet, with occassional ceilings of 800...

The train was quite crowded, so the U. S. Marine walked its entire length looking for a seat, but the only seat left was taken by a well-dressed, middle-aged, French woman's poodle. The war-weary Marine asked, "Ma'am, may I have that seat?" The French woman just sniffed and said to no one in...

How difficult is it to master the Garmin 480? What instruction material comes with the unit? In one of the advertisements it states that you can program clearances into the unit as fast as one can write them. I find this hard to believe, I use shorthand to copy the clearance on my pad. C R A F...

"I can teach anyone how to get what they want out of life. The problem is I can't find anybody who can tell me what they want." -- Mark Twain "Today people in America can become whatever they want. Trouble is most don't know what they want." -- Earl Nightingale What do you want? Are you sick of the...

Flew my first GPS approaches this morning... Wow!!! Easy and precise! I was flying a 1997 C182S with King KLN 94 GPS and UPSAT MX 20 moving map display. The moving map has a lot of lag during a turn, but fly the OBS and you go right where you are supposed to.

Yesterday a coworker and I decided to fly out to Lancaster PA to their pilot shop because he wanted to look at purchasing a transceiver. This was our first time flying together, but we did do the ATOP course at Continental as a team. We decided that we would rent a plane from my FBO and that we...

This is my second year using the Jepp paper approach plates and performing the tedious year-end checklist for my Northeast US subscription. The first year I needed exactly 40 sheets sent (their limit for my region), do mostly to my filing mistakes throughout the year. As a goal, I vowed to do...

Another GNS480 related question. I've emailed Jeppesen and looked on their website, but the website is inscrutable and they haven't responded to my email yet. What's the mechanism for getting database updates on the GNS480? Is it their Skybound II process? Does it work OK? What's the database...

Hi all, It's that time of the year again, GLIAC '05 (Great Lakes International Aviation Conference) is just around the corner. This will be my 4-th time attending it - it's one of the best aviation-related things happening around here. Visit http://www.greatlakesaviationconference.com for more...

In the following approach (VOR/DME or GPS-A), http://204.108.4.16/d-tpp/0411/06276VDGA.PDF am I required to hold at RAINEE? Does it depend which IAF I use? Thanks !