The Pre-Flight Briefing - Pilot Shop Blog

The airspeed indicator tells a pilot their horizontal velocity, and the altimeter advises pilots of their current altitude, but how does a pilot know how fast that altitude is changing? For this you need to consult your aircraft’s vertical speed indicator (VSI).

On the ground, speed is relatively simple to measure, and vehicles like cars only measure one type of speed. Once you take to the air though, other factors like air density and wind come into play and must be accounted for. Accounting for and quantifying the impact of these factors is what led to the definition of the four different types of airspeed.

Airport signs and airport markings are the guides that help us to navigate the intricate network of aprons, taxiways, runways and other aircraft movement surfaces.

You can’t fly an aircraft that’s not airworthy — it’s the law. This rather black-and-white statement about safe aviation makes sense. But, in reality, the world is not black-and-white. Situations arise that may require you to move a plane that does not meet the legal definition for airworthy. 

Non-pilots sometimes see aircraft come in for a landing, briefly touch down to the runway, and then just as quickly accelerate and take back off. These non-aviators are often confused by the maneuver and wonder what the pilot was doing. Fellow pilots will recognize that the aircraft was executing a touch and go landing.

A ramp check, or ramp inspection as the FAA officially refers to it as, is something many pilots dread. Of course, we all need to remember that flying is a privilege, not a right, so you can be questioned by authorities within reason. Most inspectors won’t harass you or draw out the inspection. A standard ramp check should be relatively quick and straightforward.

Are you a general aviation pilot with a third-class medical certificate? Would you like an alternative to visiting a designed aviation medical examiner (AME) every few years in order to maintain your medical clearance? How would you like the ability to have your personal physician conduct your medical exam?

Perhaps this sounds familiar: you are at your local airport running your preflight and you notice that although the weather at your destination is excellent, and conditions en route are also good, some low clouds are lingering nearby. Everything is clear in your direction of travel, but the rotating beacon is on. Due to the clouds, the airport is now operating under Instrument Flight Rules (IFR), and you were planning for a Visual Flight Rules (VFR) trip.

The sport pilot license, or certificate, is the FAA’s newest addition to the pilot certificate line-up. Developed in 2007, the purpose of the sport pilot certificate is to make flying more affordable and easily available to everyone. Now students who aren’t yet able to afford the time investment or cost of a private pilot license have a quick and inexpensive alternative.

On the hunt for an aircraft plan or kit that strikes that just right balance of affordability, performance and dependability? The Hummel H5 is a definite must-consider contender. It is brought to us by a small American company committed to providing plans and kits with flexible building options for customers on a modest budget who are looking for a way to get up in the air and enjoy flying.

Small commuter flying got a whole lot more enjoyable with the release of the Cessna 340 in 1972. The pressurized cabin of this light twin piston engine business aircraft was designed for optimum passenger comfort while the twin turbocharged engines delivered on performance.

Canada is home to plenty of rugged wilderness that just begs the adventurous pilot to come explore it. With towering mountain summits presiding over turquoise blue lakes and an abundance of wildlife, the lure of the Canadian wilderness is all but impossible to ignore, so perhaps it is only natural that a Canadian company was the maker of arguably the best bush plane in history – the De Havilland Beaver DHC-2.

Usually when we talk about airplane stalls, we are referencing aerodynamic wing stalls. A lesser discussed and potentially more lethal type of aerodynamic stall is a tailplane stall. As a pilot, it’s important to understand the unique situations in play leading up to and during a tailplane stall so that you can successfully prevent, recognize, and recover from these dangerous types of stalls.