Air Facts

FEBRUARY 10, 2025

Thats especially true for instrument pilots, where Air Traffic Control sounds like they are running the show, the avionics seem to direct the flight along predefined routes, and the autopilot actually flies the airplane. No information was available to determine the modes or settings of the avionics and/or autopilot during the approach.

Pilot in Command

Northstar VFR

DECEMBER 22, 2024

The most common area is your base to final turn. Its your slowest turn and if you arent carefully watching your airspeed, you can get too slow in the turn, exceed your critical angle of attack, stall the airplane, and enter a spin. Whats terrible is that base to final happens close to the ground. What happens next?

Pilot

Pilot Institute

JUNE 27, 2025

Runway Approach Area Holding Position Signs A Runway Approach Area Holding Position sign indicates where pilots must stop and hold before entering an area that could interfere with aircraft on the final approach.

Runway

Pilot Institute

DECEMBER 31, 2024

Have you ever thought about landing an airplane without using flaps? Think about these scenarios: maybe the flaps stop working, or youre flying an older airplane that doesnt even have them. The flatter approach makes it difficult to lose energy quickly during the flare, resulting in a longer float. What To Do if Youre Too High?

Pilot

Fear of Landing

MARCH 21, 2025

When an aircraft descends below 900 feet on final approach to land, TCAS stops issuing resolution advisories. The NTSB preliminary findings underscore this decision, showing that existing separation between helicopter traffic on Route 4 and aircraft descent paths for final approach on runway 33 are insufficient.

Runway

Air Facts

MARCH 5, 2025

You then execute a 180 o descending Final Turn maintaining 175 knots to arrive wings-level one mile from the threshold on final approach at 500 AGL. At that point, you slow to the final approach speed of 155 knots, which is held until crossing the approach-end overrun where you reduce power to touch down at 130 knots.

Pilot

Plane and Pilot

APRIL 26, 2025

Retrofits for certified airplanes are one of the hottest upgrades in the piston-single market. Analog (Old) Autopilot If you are in the market for an airplane, and it comes with an autopilot, it is useful to know that not all of them are created equally. Color me broke, but happy, a common condition for airplane owners.

Approach

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. The entire airplane was being coated with clear ice.

VOR

Flying Magazine

JUNE 3, 2025

When approaching an airport on a long base leg, they often struggle to determine the correct altitude for joining the final approach. Without tools to assist them, they end up high or low on final. There are some simple tools you can use in any airplane with a moving map. And you dont have to do any math.

Approach

CFI Academy

MARCH 28, 2025

For the FAA Certified Flight Instructor (CFI) Airplane Single Engine (ASE) checkride, the demonstration stalls are specific maneuvers that you, as a CFI candidate, must perform and explain to demonstrate your instructional knowledge and ability. How to Perform: Trim the airplane for a climb or approach speed (e.g.,

Aileron

Plane and Pilot

FEBRUARY 28, 2025

To cope with these challenges, airline glass flight decks contain a vertical navigation function (VNAV) that keeps the autopilot, and the crew, on the right path to arrive at the final approach fix, or downwind leg, at speed and on altitude. A towered airport with an approach control can make this quite easy.

Descent

Flying Magazine

MAY 17, 2025

After a review, the airplanes fuel capacity was less than the expected 40 at 35-37 gallons, and the fuel gauge was too optimistic. On final approach, the tower told him to go around. Do what you must to prevent an accident, and dont let anyone else, even ATC, fly your airplane. Fifteen minutes later, the engine failed.

Pilot

iPad Pilot News

MARCH 11, 2025

Runway Final Approach Alert – Alerts when approaching any runway, based on altitude, vertical speed, track, and when within 4 nm of the runway threshold. Traffic On Short Final – Alerts w hen on a runway, and ForeFlight detects another aircraft on a short final approach to that runway.

AGL

Flying Magazine

JULY 18, 2025

This means buying the airplane right so there’s money—lots of it— left in the budget for major panel upgrades. Still, the market for avionics systems for turbine airplanes is dominated by Garmin, which earns regulatory approval at impressive rates. Now everything has gone to LCD,” Brown said.

Flight Deck

Pilot Institute

FEBRUARY 15, 2025

These would guide them when they couldn’t see anything outside their airplane. The satellites then send the corrected signals back to your airplane. To fly an LPV approach, your aircraft needs a GPS receiver thats WAAS-capable. If youve got that equipment, youre set to take full advantage of LPV approaches!

Approach

Air Facts

MAY 7, 2025

With 10 passengers and luggage on board the airplane, it was well under gross weight, but it soon became apparent we could not out climb the ice buildup. We were able to break out of the clouds on long final approach; however, forward visibility was virtually impossible due to the windshield being almost totally covered with Ice.

Weight-Shift-Control

Pilot Institute

FEBRUARY 15, 2025

Detecting them is difficult, which makes final approach and landing especially dangerous. This weather phenomenon is called a microburst , one of aviations deadliest threats. They are violent, localized downdrafts that strike without warning. Key Takeaways Microbursts can cause severe wind shear and downdrafts.

Wind Shear

Flight Training Central

JULY 7, 2025

As an airplane wing flies through the air an invisible danger swirls in its wake. Stay well below its final approach flight path and land before its touchdown point. Stay above its final approach flight path and touch down beyond where the larger aircraft landed. strong headwind. light, quartering headwind.

Turbulence

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

Pilot Institute

APRIL 23, 2025

Landing Gear Operating Speed (VLO) Explained Youre on the final approach. Now its time to extend the landing gear and complete your final approach checklist. Lets take a closer look at how this works in the context of VLO. ATC had you fly at maximum speeds to ensure separation from other traffic.

Final Approach

One Mile at a Time

JULY 9, 2025

The Lufthansa 747 declared a mayday on its final approach It’s interesting to note that during its approach to Sao Paulo, the pilots of the Lufthansa 747 declared a mayday, which is the highest level of distress that pilots can express, reflecting a life-threatening emergency. So, what was the cause of that mayday call?

Air Traffic Control

Fear of Landing

JUNE 27, 2025

They said that they had looked left and right before entering but did not see the Boeing 738 on final approach. The Citation II was flying at 167 knots at the final approach fix, slowing to 117 knots before hitting the power lines at 500 feet above mean sea levels. They will be livestreamed on the NTSB YouTube channel.

Descent

CFI Academy

MARCH 28, 2025

For the FAA Certified Flight Instructor (CFI) Airplane Single Engine (ASE) checkride, the demonstration stalls are specific maneuvers that you, as a CFI candidate, must perform and explain to demonstrate your instructional knowledge and ability. How to Perform: Trim the airplane for a climb or approach speed (e.g.,

Aileron

Pilot Institute

FEBRUARY 22, 2025

When you cross the IAF, you enter the initial approach phase. Some initial approaches lead directly to the final approach. Many approaches have fixes in between called Intermediate Fixes (IF). This view starts at the IAF and shows the same waypoints as the plan view down to the missed approach segment.

Approach

Plane and Pilot

APRIL 14, 2025

From 1991-98, the original Nemesis became the winningest airplane in air race history, capturing 45 of 48 events. He flies downwind leg at 150 mph, final approach at 130, and touchdown at 110the NXT stalls at 90 mph. Flying the NXT is an experience. Sharp describes its takeoff, speed, and landing performance as breathtaking.

Airfoil

Photographic Logbook

MAY 26, 2025

The airplanes of multiple club members were in trail behind us. Airplane parking and all airport buildings are on the south end of the runway and landing to the south simplifies ground operations and avoids tying up the runway for other arrivals while back-taxiing southward after landing to the north. Absent any chatter on 122.9

Runway

Flight Training Central

MAY 13, 2025

Maintain your normal approach attitude and speed and continue as planned. Delay the turn and make a medium bank turn to final. The forward slip turns the airplanes fuselage into the relative wind. How does this affect the airplane aerodynamically? Which statement is most accurate regarding the final approach leg?

Approach

Flying Magazine

JUNE 20, 2025

The controller cleared the pilot for the approach, and when the airplane was about 10 miles northeast of the NESTY, an initial approach fix (IAF), the controller asked the pilot if he was going to “make your descent” and asked if he would like vectors to the south. .” The airplane crossed PALOS, located 2.9

Knot

Pilot Institute

MAY 8, 2025

You’re on your final approach and suddenly realize your landing gear isnt down. Different airplane models use different landing gear position indicators. Most airplanes have a warning horn that goes off when youre already configured for landing but the gear still isnt down and locked.

Air Traffic Control

AV Web

JANUARY 22, 2025

The airplane came to rest about 1600 feet from the Runway 31 threshold and about 250 feet right of the extended centerline. Yet all indications are he succumbed to a simple stall on final approach. The accident airplane was the last one among a group of five, and two landings had been performed without incident.

Final Approach

Flying Magazine

JULY 25, 2025

I posted a comment which said in part: “It sounds like you’re saying that you stayed level at the IAF altitude and expected to catch the glidepath at a much higher altitude than the glidepath intercept altitude published for the final approach fix. That’s not the proper way to fly an approach, though it will work for an ILS.

Approach

Plane and Pilot

JULY 1, 2025

The pilot said he refueled the airplane the day before the accident and checked the fuel level during his preflight inspection the following morning. The postaccident examination of the airplane was compromised by the saltwater damage to the engine. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the left wing.

Density Altitude

Aerotime

FEBRUARY 10, 2025

This is a still active scene; we’re still working on extricating one soul out of one of the airplanes.” On January 29, 2025, a PSA Airlines CRJ200 regional jet collided with a US Army Black Hawk helicopter as it made its final approach to Washington-Reagan National Airport (DCA), killing 67 people.

Runway

iPad Pilot News

FEBRUARY 27, 2025

A pilot’s worst fearwas to look down at an EFB and see the infamous “blue screen of death” on an IFR flight while setting up for an approach. The scenario gets worse as you go to restart the device and see the message “Configuring Windows update 1 of 15…” as you near the final approach fix.

Pilot

iPad Pilot News

JUNE 10, 2025

A pilot’s worst fear was to look down at an EFB and see the infamous “blue screen of death” on an IFR flight while setting up for an approach. The scenario worsens as you attempt to restart the device and see the message “Configuring Windows update 1 of 15…” as you near the final approach to the fix.

Airplanes

Pilot Institute

JULY 4, 2025

The aircraft was on its final approach to JFK when it flew into a deadly microburst. The aircraft struck approach lights, which caused it to catch fire and crash onto the runway. Remember that it can occur both horizontally and vertically, and you’re most at risk during takeoff and landing.

Weather

Northstar VFR

MARCH 23, 2025

As the plane descends toward the runway on final approach, it may encounter various scenarios where a safe landing cannot be assured. As soon as the pilot realizes this, they must abort the landing and climb back to traffic pattern altitude and attempt the approach and landing again.

Pilot