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A Day in the Life of a Pilot

Ask Captain Lim

Pilots also review NOTAMs (Notices to Airmen), which report temporary changes such as runway closures or airspace restrictions. Pilots must align the aircraft perfectly, control speed and safely touch down, often while dealing with crosswinds. Weather plays a crucial role. Landing is the most skill-intensive part.

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How to Read a METAR – Our Full Guide to Aviation Weather Reports

Pilot Institute

Ideally, they try to land into a headwind, may tolerate crosswinds , and try to avoid significant tailwinds. Why it is important in a METAR Landing in a strong crosswind is a tricky business. The KT indicates that the scale used is knots (an abbreviated term for nautical miles per hour ). The higher this number, the stronger the wind!

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Pilot Safety Simplified: Proficiency vs. Currency Explained

Pilot Institute

Here are the areas you should read up on: Landing irregularities : Information on crosswind landings will help you escape a tight situation and get back on the ground safely. At these heights, you could get into turbulence and gusty crosswinds. You need to show your ability to read weather charts and NOTAMs.

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Check the weather on your wrist with ForeFlight’s Apple Watch app

iPad Pilot News

The app allows you to check local weather and complement your preflight planning with favorite and nearby airport details like runways, NOTAMs, and much more. Here’s a quick look at how to install and use it on your watch.

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How to Make a Perfect Soft Field Landing Every Time

Pilot Institute

Check NOTAMs Before departure, check the Notices to Air Missions (NOTAM) publication. You might find a NOTAM about your destination’s surface conditions. Don’t depend on NOTAMs to provide up-to-date information on soft field conditions. If the runway is too wet, it might be temporarily closed.

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10 Apps Every Student Pilot Should Be Using in 2025

Inflight Pilot Training

Best All-In-One Pilot App 4. ForeFlight Overview : ForeFlight is the most comprehensive EFB on the market. Sporty’s E6B Flight Computer Overview : A digital update of the classic flight computer, Sporty’s E6B Flight Computer delivers fast, accurate calculations without carrying a physical E6B or doing manual math in the air.

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Groundhog Day at Alton Bay

Photographic Logbook

A NOTAM closing Alton Bay was still active until 7:00 am that morning. As expected, the NOTAM closing the ice runway did expire and no new notification replaced it. In the descent, wind direction rotated counterclockwise until it became a direct southerly crosswind. "Wakey-Wakey, Eggs and Bakey" It almost did not happen.