Over-reliance on autopilots for instrument approaches can degrade pilot hand-flying skills, making it dangerous if the autopilot fails, especially when flying near minimums. Autopilots have ...

When I am doing check rides, training and instrument proficiency checks, I take a lot of notes. My goal is to write down symptoms needing attention, such as altitude deviation or airspeed ...

Acknowledging progress-no matter how small-is essential for building endurance and confidence in the cockpit.

The pilots flying a Learjet 35A (similar to this one) to Teterboro on a gusty day didn’t properly brief nor fly the circle-to-land approach and crashed turning toward Runway 1, according to the NTSB. ...

Earning an instrument and a type rating today still demands the applicant successfully fly a circling approach. Despite the FAA’s recent Advisory Circular (AC) 120-123 calling for an increased focus ...

In Part 1, we discussed how there’s a significant difference between flying a circling approach in training and flying one in the real world. In the U.S., approaches are created using criteria ...