The number of aviation accidents and fatalities edged up in 2018 following a year of record safety achievement.
Source: aopaNTSB notes accident uptick
NTSB notes accident uptick
Fly in, glamp out
After 20 years of marriage, I camped with my husband for the first time this year. Purists will say we didn’t really camp because we slept in a king-size bed, had electricity, and even access to a full bathroom.
Source: aopaFly in, glamp out
Training Tip: Two-way traffic
Which callout would you rather hear from an air traffic controller issuing traffic advisories in busy airspace: That previously called traffic is “no longer a factor,” or that the traffic is “no longer observed”?
Source: aopaTraining Tip: Two-way traffic
Aircraft industry shaken but deliveries mostly not stirred in Q3
Double-digit growth in piston-aircraft and business-jet deliveries continued the year’s trend to date for aircraft manufacturers in a third quarter that produced some headline-making reshufflings of the industry’s players.
Source: aopaAircraft industry shaken but deliveries mostly not stirred in Q3
Garmin Pilot tips to use on your next flight
One of our favorite things to do on a long cross country flight is to learn the hidden features in electronic flight bag apps. On a recent flight, we spent some time exploring all corners of the Garmin Pilot app, and as usual we found it packed with features. As we’ve highlighted before, there are dozens of little tools that can make your flying safer and easier. Here are five new tips.
1. Night mode on synthetic vision. Garmin’s synthetic vision feature provides a powerful backup panel display, with pitch and roll, speed, altitude and nearby terrain. If you’re connected to a Garmin glass cockpit (as we are below), you can even see indicated airspeed and pressure altitude instead of the less accurate groundspeed and GPS altitude. While it’s a vibrant and colorful display during the day, those colors can be blinding at night. To give your eyes a break after sunset, tap the Menu button at the top right corner, then choose Night Mode. You’ll see the colors darken noticeably, but with no loss of information.
2. Glide ring and glide range buffer. This is a major safety enhancement for pilots of single engine airplanes – the app will show a ring around your airplane, adjusted for winds aloft and terrain, that estimates how far you could glide in an engine-out emergency. First, make sure you have your airplane profile set up properly in the Settings page, including a proper glide ratio.
Then, turn on the Glide Range Ring from the Map page by tapping the layers button at the bottom left corner of the screen, then choosing the Ownship / Route option. This will use the glide profile you have stored, but can be adjusted using the Glide Range Buffer slider. Below you’ll see we have a 0% buffer, so the map is showing a best-case scenario (and probably too optimistic).
By sliding that bar to the right, you can increase the buffer. While the app uses 20% as a standard, you can go all the way to 50%. Note how small the ring gets at that setting.
3. Hide distant traffic. Around busy airspace, the traffic layer in Garmin Pilot can quickly get overwhelming. While that’s initially a little scary, you’ll quickly notice that most of the targets are thousands of feet above you. But hiding those less important targets isn’t as obvious as you might think. First, tap the little traffic symbol in the left corner of the map. This will show what your altitude filter is (NORMAL in this case).
To change this setting, go to the Traffic page (from the Home menu) and tap on the Altitude Filter option at the top left corner. Here you’ll see four options, and Normal will hide most of those airliners flying far overhead.
4. View recent charts. The Charts page is the place to go for instrument approach plates, arrival procedures, and full size airport diagrams. While Garmin Pilot will automatically create binders for your departure and destination airports, sometimes you need to look at other charts. This is where the small Recent button at the top right comes in handy. Tap that to see a list of the last 20+ charts you viewed, regardless of airport.
5. Quick access to airports. Like Charts, Airport Info is one-stop shopping for information about airport frequencies, runways, FBOs, and so much more. First you have to pick the right airport. There are plenty of ways to do this, including tapping the airport code at the top left corner of the screen, which will pull up a menu that offers recent, flight plan airports, nearest, and favorites.
There’s an even quicker way, though. Tap the Menu button at the top right corner and you’ll see one-tap access to your departure, destination, and more. It’s a small feature, but a big time saver.
What’s your favorite Garmin Pilot shortcut? Add a comment below.
The post Garmin Pilot tips to use on your next flight appeared first on iPad Pilot News.
Source: Ipad appsGarmin Pilot tips to use on your next flight
FAA Seeks Comments on Draft Environmental Assessment for Las Vegas Metroplex Project
WASHINGTON-The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is seeking public comment on the Draft Environmental Assessment (Draft EA) for the Las Vegas Metroplex Project, which proposes to use cutting-edge satellite navigation to move air traffic more efficiently through Southern Nevada.
While the airspace around Las Vegas is already safe, its not as efficient as it could be. The FAA proposes to address the inefficiencies by implementing new routes that are more direct, automatically separated from each other, and have efficient climb and descent profiles. The potential benefits of these routes can include reductions in pilot-controller communications, miles flown, fuel burn and CO2 emissions.
The project includes new and replacement arrival and departure routes for McCarran International Airport, Henderson Executive Airport and North Las Vegas Airport.
The FAA released the projects Draft EA on Nov.18 for public review. There will be a 32-day public comment period on the document from Nov.18 through Dec. 20, 2019.
The document is posted on the Las Vegas Metroplex website. The Draft EA indicates the project would not have any significant environmental impacts under federal environmental law.
Also available on the website are Google Earth images that allow people to compare current and proposed routes, and see the noise analysis the FAA conducted at more than 172,000 grid points throughout the project General Study Area.
The FAA will host five public workshops for the Draft EA between Monday, Dec. 9 and Friday, Dec. 13, 2019. The workshops will feature informational videos and display boards that show existing and proposed routes and explain the inefficiencies in the current system. FAA representatives will be available to answer questions and demonstrate the Google Earth features.
The workshops will be open-house format, where people can attend any time during the posted times to learn about the project. Free parking will be available at all locations.
The workshop dates and locations are as follows:
Dec. 9, 2019
5:00 p.m. 7:30 p.m.
Clark County Government Center Pueblo Room
500 S. Grand Central Pkwy., Las Vegas, NV 89155
Dec. 10, 2019
5:00 p.m. 7:30 p.m.
North Las Vegas Airport Grand Canyon Conference Room
2730 Airport Drive, North Las Vegas, NV 89032
Dec. 11, 2019
5:00 p.m. 7:30 p.m.
Desert Breeze Community Center Meeting Room
8275 Spring Mountain Road, Las Vegas, NV 89147
Dec. 12, 2019
4:45 p.m. 7:15 p.m.
Windmill Library Meeting Room
7060 Windmill Lane, Las Vegas, NV 89113
Dec. 13, 2019
5:00 p.m. 7:30 p.m.
Henderson Executive Airport North/South Meeting Room
3500 Executive Terminal Drive, Henderson, NV 89052
People can submit comments on the project online at 9-las-metroplex-ea@faa.gov, in person at the public workshops, and by writing to:
Las Vegas Metroplex Draft EA Federal Aviation Administration
Western Service CenterOperations Support Group
2200 S. 216th Street
Des Moines, WA 98198-6547
After evaluating and responding to all substantive public comments, the FAA could adopt the entire proposal, adopt portions of it, or modify it.
Additional information about the project, including previous public outreach activities, is available on the FAAs Las Vegas Community Involvement website.
Source: FAAFAA Seeks Comments on Draft Environmental Assessment for Las Vegas Metroplex Project
FAA Issues Denver Environmental Assessment
WASHINGTON The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has issued a Final Environmental Assessment (EA) for the Denver Metroplex project.
Before the FAA makes a final decision on the project, the agency will hold a 32-day public comment period. This will allow people to comment on the changes made in the Final EA compared to the Draft EA, and on any of the preliminary determinations under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act.
The project would use cutting-edge satellite navigation to move air traffic more safely and efficiently through the area. Satellite-based routes would allow for more direct and efficient routing of aircraft into and out of Denver and surrounding airports, enhancing aviation safety and efficiency, and potentially reducing flight delays.
The project also would expand the number of entry and exit points into and out of the Denver airspace, by segregating Denver arrival traffic from satellite airport traffic and creating additional departure routes, similar to creating more on- and off-ramps in the sky. The project includes two major airports, Denver International Airport and Centennial Airport, and three satellite airports Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport, Northern Colorado Regional Airport and Greeley-Weld County Airport.
Prior to issuing the Final EA, the FAA held a total of 24 public workshops in 2017 and in the spring of 2019, conducted approximately 78 briefings for community groups, airport officials, and local, state and federal officials. The agency also evaluated and responded to 518 public comments.
The public is invited to submit comments by mail, or via the web comment form available online throughout the comment period.
Electronic copies of the Final EA and supporting materials, including all Section 106 materials, are available at the following locations:
- Online at the Project website.
- Electronic versions of the Final EA have been sent to 78 libraries in the General Study Area with a request to make the digital document available to patrons. A complete list of libraries with electronic copies of the Final EA is available online at the Project website.
Source: FAAFAA Issues Denver Environmental Assessment
Flying with the iPad as your digital copilot – new webinar recording
Sporty’s and iPad Pilot News hosted a webinar covering a wide range of practical topics on flying with the iPad & the ForeFlight Mobile app. The webinar was presented by Bret Koebbe, a flight instructor at Sporty’s Pilot Shop and editor of iPad Pilot News. This info-packed presentation explored topics applicable to pilots of all iPad experience levels, including:
- What to look for when buying or upgrading your iPad
- Fly like a pro pilot with your iPad: developing your own standard operating procedures
- How ForeFlight can improve your preflight planning
- How to take advantage of automated iPad features and use it as a Digital Copilot
- In-flight weather on the iPad (ADS-B & SiriusXM)
- How to use the new ADS-B weather products
- Must-have iPad accessories for the cockpit
Here’s a list of articles for additional information on topics covered in the webinar:
What’s the best iPad for pilots?
What you need to know about charging your iPad
Electronic flight bag (EFB) legal briefing
How to mount your iPad in the cockpit
How to preflight your iPad in less than 5 minutes
How to use Pre-Departure Clearances (PDC)
Understanding ForeFlight alerts and notifications
ADS-B weather receivers for iPad
The post Flying with the iPad as your digital copilot – new webinar recording appeared first on iPad Pilot News.
Source: Ipad appsFlying with the iPad as your digital copilot – new webinar recording
Does it Make Sense to Buy an FAA Approved Simulator to Stay Current?
5 Tips for Storing Your Airplane for the Winter
5 things to do prior to winter storage and 1 NOT to do.
Source: aopa5 Tips for Storing Your Airplane for the Winter