Pilot Institute

MARCH 6, 2025

In contrast to a control tower, an FSS is not responsible for giving instructions or clearances to aircraft. It consists of two independent components VOR and TACAN. This means that the weather provides enough visibility and cloud clearance for pilots to navigate and maintain separation using visual cues.

Pilot

Flight Training Central

FEBRUARY 28, 2025

IFR Alternate Airport Planning While every IFR flight requires you to file an IFR flight plan and receive an ATC clearance, not every flight is flown in IFR conditions. While every IFR flight requires you to file an IFR flight plan and receive an ATC clearance, not every flight is flown in IFR conditions.

Ceiling

Pilot Institute

FEBRUARY 15, 2025

Before RNAV, pilots had to rely on radios (NAVAIDs) and antennas on the ground such as VORs (Very High-Frequency Omnidirectional Range) and NDBs (Non-Directional Beacons). LP+V approaches dont always account for obstacle clearance, so theyre not an officially protected procedure. You wont find any mention of LP+V on an approach plate.

Approach

Air Facts

JUNE 4, 2025

With takeoff clearance from the tower, I pushed the throttle forward. I tuned the Manila VOR to confirm my position and set up the next waypoint. I filed my flight plan and headed out. Taxiing to Runway 06, I ran through the before-takeoff checklist: fuel selector both, flaps up, mixture rich, lights on.

Altimeter

Flight Training Central

JUNE 16, 2025

If the restricted area is not active and has been released to the controlling agency, the ATC facility will allow the aircraft to operate in the restricted airspace without issuing specific clearance. An aircraft can operate in these corridors without a clearance from or communication with ATC.

Clearance

Pilot Institute

FEBRUARY 22, 2025

Flying at MSA guarantees at least 1,000 feet of obstacle clearance. Non-precision approaches (such as a localizer, VOR, LNAV, or NDB) use a Maltese cross for the FAF. MSAs are used in emergencies. If you lose your bearings and are struggling to find the airport, you dont want to hit something accidentally.

Approach

Flight Training Central

MARCH 10, 2025

To operate in Class D airspace, you must: Be in contact with ATC and have a clearance to enter. VOR/DME must complete an online course covering flight operations in the D.C. Be able to stay clear of clouds and have visibility of at least 3 miles. A ceiling of 1,000 feet and have visibility of at least 3 statute miles. Both are correct.

Visual Flight Rules

AV Web

JUNE 24, 2025

Note that I’m layering different skill sets as I go: first flight planning and briefing, then a little buttonology, then tracking VORs, then a hold, etc. The takeaway here is that by virtually flying a complex SID like this one, I’m developing a cognitive workflow that I’ll be able to apply in real flying. That’s the beauty of flight sim.

Weather

Photographic Logbook

JUNE 29, 2025

I departed the Williamson-Sodus Airport solo at 8:00 am and picked up my instrument clearance in the air from a Rochester Approach controller with a familiar voice. Geneva, NY and the north end of Seneca Lake. At the end of our otherwise perfunctory exchange, Rochester signed off with, "Have a great flight, Chris!"

Runway

AV Web

DECEMBER 17, 2024

The two storms were in tight formation, on the move, and bearing down on my next VOR waypoint, Youngstown, Ohio. I told him what I was seeing and asked for a dogleg to the south to another VOR. He agreed and revised my IFR clearance. It took a minute to get through the busy radio traffic to the enroute controller.

VOR

Air Facts

NOVEMBER 25, 2024

We’ve included questions that cover everything from clearances to complex arrival procedures, each crafted to test your technical know-how and situational awareness. climb to, but not descend from 4,000 feet, without further ATC clearance. climb to, but not descend from 4,000 feet, without further ATC clearance. Let’s go!

Clearance

Flight Training Central

DECEMBER 13, 2024

These commonly missed questions often relate to IFR regulations, ATC clearances, meteorology, and complex instrument procedures. An ATC clearance to "CRUISE FOUR THOUSAND FEET" would indicate that the pilot is authorized to: vacate 4,000 feet without notifying ATC. Let’s get to the quiz! Refer to figure 34.)

Clearance

ABEAM

JULY 5, 2024

Hurghada Approach passed us off to Cairo Control and they refused to give us a direct to the first Saudi VOR WEJ at the east side of the Red Sea due to unknown reasons. We coasted into mainland of Saudi-Arabia near the WEJ VOR and continued onwards to Al Ula. And then we droned on from VOR to VOR over the desert.

VOR

Flying Magazine

MAY 15, 2024

Next, introduce the VOR. Have them use the VOR to determine what radial they are on, and if the unit has DME, show you where they are on a sectional. For an extra level of challenge, reposition the virtual airplane and have the learner use the VORs to determine where they are using triangulation. Keep it realistic.

Crosswind

Pilot Institute

DECEMBER 12, 2024

Use the CRAFT acronym to note down departure clearances quickly. You may be asking for a clearance or reporting your position. For example: Pilot: Seattle Approach, Cessna November Four Five One Romeo, Two Zero miles west of Seattle VOR, at 8,000, with Sierra, to land. is talking to Dallas Clearance Delivery.

Approach

Flight Training Central

FEBRUARY 16, 2024

Departure procedures are designed primarily to provide obstacle clearance. Departure procedures are designed primarily to provide obstacle clearance and should be used when published. Provided nothing else has been specifically assigned, ODPs may be flown without an ATC clearance.

Clearance

Flight Training Central

FEBRUARY 21, 2025

When controllers anticipate a delay, usually due to a high volume of traffic, weather, or both, pilots are usually issued a holding clearance. When ATC issues a clearance requiring you to hold at a fix where a holding pattern is not charted, pilots are issued complete holding instructions.

Clearance

Pilot Institute

OCTOBER 2, 2024

No ATC clearance is required for VFR flights below 10,000 feet. They allow you enough clearance to see and avoid other airplanes. Most importantly, you do not require clearance or need to talk to a controller for VFR under 10,000 feet. These airways help guide IFR and VFR aircraft from one navaid/VOR to another.

Airspace Classes

Flight Training Central

NOVEMBER 4, 2024

An ATC clearance is required for operations within Class B airspace. IFR operations require an operable VOR or TACAN receiver or a suitable RNAV system. An aircraft can operate in these corridors without a clearance from or communication with ATC. Like other types of airspace, Class B is considered regulatory in nature.

Indicated Airspeed

Flight Training Central

FEBRUARY 13, 2024

When controllers anticipate a delay at a clearance limit or fix, usually due to a high volume of traffic, weather, or both, pilots are usually issued a holding clearance. When ATC issues a clearance requiring you to hold at a fix where a holding pattern is not charted, pilots are issued complete holding instructions.

Clearance

Flying Magazine

MAY 13, 2024

Chapter 3 in the AIM has details on dimensions of airspace, cloud clearances, and visibility. Use Your Reference Material While there is an awful lot of information for a pilot to remember, one of the most important skills you can have is knowing where to look up something to verify the information.

Pilot

Pilot Institute

APRIL 24, 2024

Pilots must meet equipment and certification requirements and have ATC clearance to enter. Operating Requirements in Class B Airspace Operational Requirements VFR traffic needs explicit clearance to enter Bravo airspace. If you’re flying under IFR, you don’t need an explicit Bravo clearance. What is Class B Airspace?

Clearance

Pilot Institute

AUGUST 9, 2024

Most holding fixes are NAVAIDs such as VORs, RNAV (GPS) waypoints, and even ILS markers. When VORs are used as holding fixes, the fix is usually a specific DME distance on a particular radial. If the VOR doesn’t have DME capability, it will be the intersection between two radials from two separate VORs.

VOR

Flight Training Central

OCTOBER 14, 2024

While every IFR flight requires you to file an IFR flight plan and receive an ATC clearance, not every flight is flown in IFR conditions. A nearby airport at a lower altitude may provide additional clearance under a cloud layer (with the caveat that it could be prone to fog if near a body of water).

Ceiling

Photographic Logbook

APRIL 19, 2024

Even though I was likely to be cleared through the outer ring by ATC (air traffic control) while on an instrument flight plan, I filed a route from Sodus to the Williamsport VOR (FQM) that circumvented the TFR entirely. The reroute was minimal, an insertion of Yardley VOR (ARD) into my flight plan. Seneca and Cayuga Lakes in the gloom.

Approach

Flight Training Central

FEBRUARY 15, 2024

The tricky part is that you are expected to proceed on course after reaching 5,000′ MSL, so technically, this is sort of your “expect further clearance” information. Santa Monica Municipal (KSMO) has a fix called DARTS, located on V-186, that serves as the intermediate fix for the RNAV 21 and the VOR-A approaches.

Aeronautical Information Manual

WayMan

NOVEMBER 8, 2024

” Besides separation, SIDs give way clearances and assure safe aircraft separation during the departure phase. For example, “Fly runway heading to 3,000 feet, then DIRECT XYZ VOR.” The purpose of a SID is to make standardizing departure procedures easier so that pilots are not constantly receiving instructions from ATC.

Pilot

Air Facts

OCTOBER 30, 2024

After startup, I’d record a VOR check in the aircraft log while waiting for our clearance. We flew the usual approaches: VOR, ILS, and the now extinct NDB. We rounded up the usual suspects: VOR, NDB, ILS, partial panel, and unusual attitudes. Then came the long taxi to the runway. After an hour of that, we went flying.

NDB

Photographic Logbook

JULY 11, 2024

We were assigned a slightly ridiculous alteration to the route I filed: MANCH T316 LAMMS T608 ROC that had us flying past Sodus to the Rochester VOR before setting up for Sodus. But I accepted the clearance knowing that I could change it with a local Approach control like Syracuse. This was even better than I requested.

Ceiling

Gary's Flight Journal

SEPTEMBER 22, 2023

I called the clearance delivery number on the OXB NOTAM but they gave me another number to call. I could not get my Bluetooth headset to connect so the I tucked the iPhone up under my ear seal and picked up my clearance and release. I decided to depart VFR and pick up my clearance in the air if I needed it.

Clearance

Photographic Logbook

OCTOBER 10, 2023

When I contacted Rochester Approach, the controller came back with, "Are you looking for your clearance to College Park?" I answered in the affirmative, received my clearance, and was given a climb to 6,000 feet as the rain streaked over my windscreen. Shouldn't he have my full clearance? I made the call before engine start.

Transponder

Air Facts

APRIL 10, 2024

The written test had 25 questions and the hardest thing on the practical was explaining what VOR was and how it worked. I was beginning to make small mistakes when copying clearances or even remembering frequencies-an incorrect digit, a readback that faltered or wasn’t perfect. Infrequent but noticeable.

VOR

Pilot Institute

MAY 1, 2024

Does the approach match the clearance? Set the ILS, LOC, or VOR frequency required for the approach on your navigation radio. It also serves as a final opportunity to catch any misunderstanding among the crew. 1) Declare the Approach Start by identifying the name of the airport, the arrival runway, and the approach name.

Approach

AeroSavvy

AUGUST 20, 2021

Piper PA-32 Cherokee Six Navigation equipment includes a Garmin GNS-530W GPS navigator and two VOR receivers for secondary navigation. It’s technically an IFR procedure, but can be used by any pilot to assure clearance from obstacles. For this trip, the middle row seats were removed to make the cabin a 1st class four-seater.

Density Altitude

Photographic Logbook

JULY 6, 2024

Long story short, when I received my clearance that evening, it was to my originally intended BELTS waypoint.) We were cleared direct to College Park via the Westminster VOR (EMI). We reunited with Simon before making our cellphone calls to Potomac for departure clearances. Tough room. Susquehanna River near Harrisburg, PA.

Pilot

Photographic Logbook

OCTOBER 19, 2023

I filed a route of BRUIN to ART (Watertown VOR) to Kingston to avoid overflying significant portions of Lake Ontario. Kingston Radio provided updated weather conditions while sequencing traffic like a tower with the exception that no landing clearances were given. What the Heck is a LANRK? I had a schedule to keep. How can that be?

Runway

Gary's Flight Journal

MAY 3, 2024

I launched from runway three-two and pointed for the Snow Hill VOR. I already had set up for Patuxent approach so I switched from CTAF to Pax to pick up my clearance. Once south of Myrtle Beach I was turned direct Charleston VOR. I picked up my clearance, made sure oil is up to temp, then called for taxi instructions.

Runway