ExpertAviator.comMarch 2011
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Greetings!

March begins airshow season with the annual Sun N Fun Fly-in at Lakeland, FL.  I hope to see you there and will be posting pictures on our website.

At Expert Aviator our goal is to increase your aviation knowledge one blog post at a time.  Please feel free to send us questions or suggestions for a future blog post to [email protected]. March 20th is the first day of spring which means thunderstorms are right around the corner.  Check back with us online for future articles concerning thunderstorm hazards and avoidance.

If you are in the Tampa Bay area on March 8th I invite you to join us at the Museum Of Science and Industry for my next presentation "Bird Strikes Hazards and Avoidance".  You will learn not only how to avoid a bird strike but what you can do if a bird strike is imminent. The presentation is part of the FAA Wings Program and attendance counts as credit towards your wings.  For more information on the wings program visit FAASafety.gov.

Have a safe and smooth flight,

Carl Valeri
ExpertAviator.com
Valeri Aviation Corporation


 

LaGuardia Airport in New York City is one of the more challenging airports due to limited airport surface for taxiing and many obstacles in the departure path. I recently had a conversation with a First Officer at a regional airline who said LaGuardia is rewarding to fly into but you must be vigilant.


During our conversation he related that some Captains he flies with are not aware of the climb gradients or how to calculate the rate of climb. In defense of Captains, maybe because I am one, charts are normally provided describing the maximum weights for the runway and weather conditions. But since he brought it up let's review departure procedures and climb gradients.



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Want to know what a ground stop is and why you have to wait for three hours in Orlando before leaving for New York? Ever wonder what it means when the controller says "resume own navigation"? Looking for clarification on something you heard in the media, from a pilot friend, or flight instructor?

 

For answers to these and all your aviation questions send us an e-mail at [email protected] .  


Pilots are hesitant to declare an emergency and even more hesitant to tell Air Traffic Control (ATC) if they have a possible problem. The reasons are many fold but the justification I hear often is they don't want to deal with the paperwork. This is not a good excuse, especially when not advising ATC of your fuel situation could lead to a fuel emergency.

 

If you have any problem or are experiencing a condition that would jeopardize the safety of the flight you should immediately let ATC know so they can begin assisting you. If your engine quits you would let ATC know right away, so why not do the same when your fuel begins getting low.




The regulations state that flight into known or forecast light or moderate icing is prohibited unless we have an anti-ice or deice system. What does the FAA consider the word "known" to mean in reference to icing conditions?

The Aeronautical Information Manual (AIM) defines known icing conditions as "atmospheric conditions which the formation of ice is observed or detected in flight". If there is a pilot report of icing in an area you are flying through, you are flying into an area of known icing. If you don't have anti-ice or deice equipment you should not fly into this area.


Level at fifteen thousand feet Air Traffic Control (ATC) issued a clearance to descend via the PHLBO TWO arrival into Newark, NJ (EWR). We were 30 miles southwest of DQO which has a crossing restriction at or above twenty thousand feet. We are already at fifteen thousand, which is below the crossing restriction of twenty thousand, so when can we begin our descent?

 

If your answer was to begin your descent to cross STEFE at or above thirteen thousand you would be correct. But can we begin our descent prior to DQO? Yes. To understand why let us review arrivals with crossing restrictions and what ATC expects when they issue a clearance to "descend via".

Read On...