THE PILOTS JOURNAL
 
 

Are you a student pilot or a seasoned pilot, but don't get to fly as often? and you are having a hard time trying to pick good VFR checkpoints on a sectional chart for a cross- country flight, especially for the simulated cross country that the examiner will have you do on either your private or commercial pilot check ride? We have all been there, so we put together a few tips to help you out. What is a VFR checkpoint and a VFR waypoint? VFR checkpoints are geographical point

Let’s set a couple of rules before we go flying. 1. Get in and shut the Hell Up! 2. Sorry we don’t have inflight services. 3. Just kidding! Let’s be serious now, non-pilot passenger briefings are extremely important & you should provide more details, much like the airline safety briefing Flight Attendants give us. However, of course, passenger pilots do not require such a detailed briefing. Here is another useful acronym: Yes! Another acronym, you can follow. It is SAFETY,

Photo By: Shelby V. Icing is one of the most dangerous things in aviation, it causes an increase in drag and weight, while decreasing lift and thrust. General aviation aircraft are small, light aircraft which are not certified to fly in any icing conditions, and must exit conditions immediately. Pilots need to always refer to the Aircraft Flight Manual/Pilots Operating Handbook (AFM/POH) for more details. ​TYPES OF AIRCRAFT ICING There are two types of icing that affect aircr

Fog is another type of cloud that is on or near the surface. It can be difficult for pilots by causing icing or IFR conditions. Fog is formed when the air temperature near the ground is cooled to its dew point. The water vapor in the air condenses and becomes fog. ​ Five types of fog are classified by the way it is formed, they are: ​ Radiation fog Radiation fog, is formed when the ground cools due to terrestrial radiation, and the air temperature reaches the dew point. Usual

What is a PIREP? PIREPs, also know as pilot reports are one of the most forgotten basic weather observations around.

In the aviation world use and refer to time as Zulu time, which is actually Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) in the non-aviation world. GMT is located on the 0⁰ line that runs longitudinally through Greenwich, England. ​ Aviation Zulu time is also known as: Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) ​ Everything in aviation operates off Zulu Time (Z), such as: Aviation weather Flight plans Example: when you file a flight plan with Flight Service Station (FSS) they w