Remove AGL Remove Descent Remove Turbulence
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Descent Planning: Strategies for Safe and Smooth Arrivals

Flight Training Central

Descent planning is a critical yet often overlooked aspect of managing your flight. And if not planned properly, a poorly executed descent can present challenges and unnecessary risks when transitioning to an approach or the traffic pattern. Finally, you can enable messages to alert you as to when to begin the descent.

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Riding the Mountain Waves

Plane and Pilot

Often, turbulence is the harbinger of mountain waves, not the ideal ceiling—and visibility unlimited—day. FAA weather charts can help for higher altitudes but when just a few thousand feet agl, they may be less useful. We continued our descent into Great Falls, leaving “the wave” behind and above. Airspeed was approaching VMO.

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Long Trips & Small Airplanes

Plane and Pilot

Even though synthetic vision might help me perform an emergency descent to a valley that might not be cloud filled, that’s pretty sketchy as a risk-mitigation strategy. But if I was going VFR over strange territory, I would want lots more than 1,000 feet agl. The two considerations are turbulence and headwinds.

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Trial by Ice

Air Facts

Our NIFA team of pilots would travel to other colleges and compete in sanctioned competition involving precise navigation, pre-flight inspections, accuracy landings, and simulated bomb drops into a barrel from 100 AGL feet using bean bags as bombs. It got turbulent, and then very turbulent. What was the freezing level?

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ForeFlight vs. Garmin Pilot: 3 key differences to help you decide

iPad Pilot News

From a flight safety standpoint, the app will alert you to a high cabin altitude, nearby terrain/obstacles, high sink rates, descent through 500 AGL, and nearby traffic and carbon monoxide when coupled with a Sentry ADS-B receiver. In the air, theyll notify when approaching Class, B, C or D airspace, a TFR or the Washington, D.C.

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How to Master Slow Flight (Step-By-Step)

Pilot Institute

Fly at least 1,500 above ground level (AGL) to allow room for recovery in case you stall the aircraft. For a greater margin of safety, select an altitude that leaves you 1,500 feet AGL after recovery from a stall. Higher altitudes are also less prone to turbulence and have fewer birds. Target Altitude Pick a safe altitude.

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My Near Death Experience

Air Facts

I requested a descent from 6,000’ down to 4,000’ and was denied due to traffic. I was soon cleared to descend to 4,000’ and entered IMC during the descent while I located the approach chart to brief. I began a rapid descent from 3,000’ down to the 2,000’ for the IAF. We’re now following a Saratoga. The IAF was looming closer.

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