Due to a business meeting, I will be flying from NY to Miami, Florida in a few weeks. In looking over the en route charts, I see a lot of MOAs, restricted, and prohibited airspaces throughout Florida. Also, my destination is Kendall-Tamiami (KTMB), which is just southwest of Miami International...

What determines the boundaries between airspace managed by an en-route ATC center and an approach or departure center? I don't see any clear indication of which is which on sectionals. There are boxes saying who to contact for approach, but nothing that shows where the handoffs between terminal...

Hi Folks- Please forgive what is probably a simple question regarding GPS approaches. I am new the the /G world. I was out flying my 182P today to do some practice approaches. The airplane is equipped with a GNS480 and I have a Garmin 296 on the yolk. I was buzzing around NW of the Salinas...

So I'm reading my ASA Practical test standards booklet for Instrument Airplane and it says: (pg.6) 2. pass the appropriate instrument rating knowledge test SINCE THE BEGINNING OF THE 24TH MONTH BEFORE THE MONTH IN WHICH THE PRACTICAL TEST WAS TAKEN. This means if I took the knowledge test...

There are some places on IFR enroute charts where the OROCA (Off-route obstruction clearance altitude) is actually lower than MEAs on an airway in the same quadrant. The higher MEA is NOT due to obstacles in adjacent quadrants. If I'm on the airway, usually they don't let folks go down to the...

Anyone familiar with how the autoflight/HSI interface works on a CRJ100 aircraft? The NTSB just released the factual data on the Comair crash at Lexington. Following is a summary page from the FDR report: http://tinyurl.com/2zovqb Does this mean the HSI heading bugs were also set to 226 or 227...

FAASafety.gov - Local Air Safety Information "Fort Worth Meacham (FTW) Departure Procedures" http://www.faasafety.gov/ This applies anywhere Fort Worth Meacham (FTW) Departure Procedures Notice Number: NOTC0768 There have been several instances of aircraft deviating from their ATC clearance...

I am considering taking a flight from central North Carolina to Cape Cod in late March of this year. Up until all of my flying has been in the Southeast, with IAD being as far north as I've ventured. Playing with the AOPA planner the route looks pretty interesting -- go just east of the DC ADIZ,...

I just read about the GNS530W Pilot Guide. In page 3, it says: NOTE: The GNS 500W-series units use a different database than in the legacy units. The databases are incompatible between units. The GNS 500W-series units must use a WAAS enabled database. Can anyone who has...

Hello, After +2 years without flying I'm planning to get back to the air. With a rusty SEL rating, I'm looking for a flight school for two different goals: (a) A few lessons for currency and a BFR right now, and (b) Lessons towards an instrument's rating latter on. Trying to decide where. Options...

When logging safety pilot time, what do you put under the "duration of flight" column? For example, say I'm flying with a friend who is wearing a hood. We decided I'll be responsible for the flight before hand. I can log PIC for the time the other person had the hood on, and under the "total...

Letter to Congressman Ben Chandler Airline mechanic calls the FAA hotline and 110 people die as a result of their inaction. Congressman Chandler, I have recently sent several messages to you containing information about the crash of Comair5191 at Lexington Bluegrass airport. In these...

If a STAR is marked VISUAL (FUBAR VISUAL APPROACH), and shows hand-drawn paths and landmarks instead of navaids, does that mean it's intended specifically for VFR, or for both VFR and IFR, or what? I'm a bit confused by it because I thought all STARs were instrument approaches. At the same time,...

An interesting thread on AirDisaster.com (including video) discusses the false glideslope indications that nearly did in an Air New Zealand flight some years ago. This is particularly interesting given that the FAA no longer seems to require an outer marker or equivalent on ILS approaches,...

Why is the turn coordinator so popular? I find the presentation similar to the artificial horizon is poor. The good old turn needle never leads to any confusion. If the silly little airplane was replaced by a needle and dog houses, I think I'd like it better. The 4 minute needle gives superior...

Under what conditions, if any, would you explicitly tell ATC that you are rolling, that is, actually rolling on the runway for take-off? I hear this used occasionally, but I don't know if there are any formal circumstances that merit it, or if it is just at pilot discretion, or what. It is...

I was looking at the L1/L2 chart between RBL (Red Bluff) and SAC (Sacramento). The change over point is at GRIDD because the airway changes direction slightly. The only thing is, it shows the DME distance to GRIDD from SAC as being 55nm. If I'm below 14,500, don't all VORs have a service volume...

To Whom It May Concern: The FAA has told us that the lone controller at Lexington tower turned his back on Comair 191 and was busy with "administrative duties, traffic count" after he cleared Comair191 for takeoff while it was on the wrong runway. Initially, he admitted seeing Comair on the...

When looking at a VOR navaid box on an enroute chart, and it says the FSS station frequency on top of the box, such as 122.1R, does that mean receive only for them on that frequency or receive only for the pilot? Does the pilot listen on the VOR and transmit on 122.1 (receive only for...

Among other things included in the massive list of changes the FAA is proposing to Part 61 is a new allowance for utilizing PCATD, FS, and FTDs in order to accomplish the recency of experience requirements for IFR flight: "Under proposed § 61.57(c)(2), a person could use an FS or FTD exclusively...