Air Facts

SEPTEMBER 25, 2024

If you’ve arrived at a non-towered airport recently, especially one with a busy flight school, you may have heard another airplane announce something to the effect of “overhead for the teardrop entry.” This is not an instrument procedure, but rather a way to enter the traffic pattern when approaching from the opposite side of the runway.

Crosswind 98

Crosswind Airplanes AGL Runway 98

Pilot Institute

NOVEMBER 2, 2024

On final approach, it can be the difference between recovering and crashing. We practice power-off stalls to help us identify the signs of a stall and the characteristics of your airplane when it stalls. A typical training aircraft can lose as much as 300 feet if immediate action isn’t taken to recover correctly from a stall.

Descent 52

Descent Approach AGL Lift 52

Air Facts

MAY 10, 2024

A perfectly good airplane with everything operating as expected. A high degree of pilot proficiency, competence as well as currency (currency in Circling Approaches specifically). What speed on final approach? At what AGL altitude will the aircraft be in a stable/configured condition? No later than).

Approach 97

Approach AGL Descent Runway 97

Flight Training Central

DECEMBER 4, 2023

A pilot needs to control the airplane in a manner that the wings support the weight of the airplane as long as practical to minimize stresses imposed on the landing gear by a rough surface or to prevent sinking into a soft surface. The approach for the soft-field landing is similar to the normal approach.

Approach 52

Approach Ground Effect Final Approach Airplanes 52

Air Facts

MAY 5, 2025

Flying a single engine airplane, under IFR, in the clouds, in a non-radar environment and without an autopilot, adds a great deal to the pilots work load. With three airplanes, we departed Springfield for Fairfield, Iowa to compete in an NIFA competition against five other schools. This was the situation on Friday, December 1, 1972.

VOR 52

VOR Weather Approach Runway 52

Air Facts

APRIL 24, 2024

Then, finally, after several of these episodes, and “staying with it,” we achieved short final, with our airport now filling our windshield. Then, descending through just a few hundred feet AGL, and a few hundred yards from the end of the runway, the turbulence diminished. We had no idea how this was going to end.

Turbulence 52

Turbulence Wind Shear Final Approach Ceiling 52

Pilot Institute

DECEMBER 19, 2024

Final approach: This is the straight path leading to your landing. Pattern altitudes are typically 1,000 feet above ground level (AGL) for piston aircraft. Crosswind leg: You turn 90 degrees to the upwind leg, flying perpendicular to the runway. Downwind leg: You fly parallel to the runway in the opposite direction of landing.

Pilot 52

Pilot Runway Air Traffic Control Approach 52

Professional Pilot

AUGUST 8, 2024

Challenger 604, G-IV Contributing Writer Pilatus PC-12 on approach at ORL. Air traffic control instructions often lead to unstable approaches. The request to make a short approach or maintain a higher-than-normal speed to the final approach fix is the most common reason pilots don’t meet stable approach criteria.

Approach 105

Approach Descent Visual Meteorological Conditions (VMC) Final Approach 105

Plane and Pilot

SEPTEMBER 2, 2024

Folding up the chart to show the first leg, I took a look around to make sure I had not forgotten anything I walked up to the airplane and placed my chart, E6-B, and plotter on the instrument panel. With nothing to lose, at a little over 1,000 feet agl, I started a turn to the left, looking for a place to land. I flew into it, unaware.

Threshold 72

Threshold Runway Approach AGL 72

Air Facts

APRIL 29, 2024

ATC then informed us we were number two for the approach and to maintain 4,000’. This necessitated slowing the airplane down to leave the vertical space to descend another 2,000’ to reach the initial approach fix (IAF) at 2,000′ I requested a descent to the IAF altitude of 2,000’ but was only cleared to 3,000’.

Descent 98

Descent Approach Weather AGL 98

Chess In the Air

JUNE 24, 2022

This is a hard one to gain insight from other than this: Some atmospheric events are bigger than our plastic airplanes. He only needed a glide ratio of 14:1 to reach the airfield to arrive at a typical pattern altitude of 1,000 ft AGL. At this point he still had an altitude of 8,275 ft MSL, i.e. 2,739 ft AGL.

Pilot 52

Pilot AGL Wind Shear Runway 52

Pilot Institute

JUNE 26, 2024

A go-around is a maneuver performed to abort or reject a landing on the final approach or once the aircraft has already touched down. A common situation is if an aircraft is on final approach, and another holding on the runway cannot take off in time. In IFR, retract flaps at the appropriate speed above 400ft AGL.

Wind Shear 52

Wind Shear Runway Approach Aeronautical Decision-Making 52

AV Web

DECEMBER 11, 2024

The airplane was even able to taxi off the runway and to the ramp under its own power. Your second reactionwhich actually should be part of the initial oneshould be to establish the best engine-out glide airspeed and ensure the airplane is aerodynamically clean: gear and flaps up, cowl flaps closed. Or all three.

Runway 52

Runway Airplanes Approach Drag 52