If you’re an instructor please don’t give away the answers. Please “Like” this or “tweet” it for me. You can send in your answers using the comment form below or go to our facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/flightinstructorjoe and answer there! Pass this on to a pilot friend and see who knows more. Have fun!
This one hits close to home. This happened just a few miles from my home airport. I had just landed before it happened and one of the other instructors where I teach actually heard some of the conversation. This is a video from AOPA’s site. It’s very sad. Please learn something from this. Listen carefully to all the bad decisions that were made and promise me you will never do the same! It didn’t have to happen and could have been prevented.
Hopefully you will feel a little more at ease after watching this when you realize that there really isn’t much to flying to a towered airport.
Now don’t laugh because it’s my first real attempt at making a video. I was really nervous making it and I felt really weird talking to myself but hopefully you’ll like it. There are controls in the lower right corner to raise the quality of the video and make it full screen if it’s too hard to see. Sorry if it’s too long, I will try to make them shorter!
Please leave a comment below and share this with your pilot friends if you like it. Thanks!
So, now that you’re learning to fly, you will eventually need to know about FBO’s. Chances are, you already know what they are but just in case you don’t, it stands for “fixed base operator”. This is the place at the airport you fly into that supplies your fuel. As you will soon see, they are so much more than that.
When choosing a destination airport it is better to choose one that has an FBO. While looking through the airport facility directory and checking out your airport destination information, check out to see if there’s an FBO on the field. They usually put a phone number and hours in there. Check to see what their fuel prices are, their hours, any fees, etc. You want as much information as you can to decide if what they have will meet your needs.
I would prefer an FBO to be open when I arrive. I would want fuel, a place to tie down the plane or even hangar it, if I plan on staying for awhile to make sure it starts good and keeps the snow or frost off the wings. Most nicer fixed base operators have bathrooms, vending machines, flight planning rooms to check the weather for your flights and complimentary coffee, etc. They also have pilot lounges or sleeping rooms and showers in case you need to rest for awhile or clean up. If you buy fuel, most will not charge you to leave your plane there for the day or overnight unless you want it in a hangar.
When you get there, they can even call a cab for you. You can plan for the cab in advance by calling them ahead on the radio too. If you’re staying overnight, most hotels will send a shuttle to the airport to get you for no charge, but you should tip them. If you are just stopping for fuel and possibly to grab something to eat then FBO’s usually have a courtesy car they will lend you to run into town for an hour or so to get something to eat. They don’t charge for the use of the cars but some expect you to replace whatever gas you use. You are treated much better at a local FBO than you would be at an airline.
If there are several fixed base operators on the field, then compare fuel prices and tie down fees to see which you want to use. They are usually very helpful to any pilots that fly in. When it’s time to leave, if your plane is in a hangar, you can call ahead and they will pull it out for you and have it ready when you want it. If it’s been sitting on the ramp overnight and has snow or frost on it, you can call them a couple of hours before and ask them to put it in a hangar for awhile to melt off the frost and warm it up. Some won’t charge for this and some will charge a small fee. So, do your homework and it will make your traveling much more enjoyable!
Temporary flight restrictions pop up all the time. If you don’t know they are there and you fly into one, you risk a suspension of your pilot license. For student pilots, a TFR over your airport means you probably won’t be training that day but for a private pilot, you can still fly as long as you follow a few simple steps.
Rather than write this next article myself, I asked one of the pilots I know to write it because he recently flew into a TFR. I thought it would be good to hear it straight from someone that did it with explanations of the steps he took to do so. After reading this, you will realize that it’s not as scary as you thought. Thanks for taking the time to write this Jeff.
Jeff Dickenson
For those of us living in the Chicago area, Presidential Temporary Flight Restrictions (TFRs) covering a circle with a diameter of 60 NM for a period of 2 or 3 days, have become a common occurrence. During these periods, I all too often hear pilots complaining about being grounded for yet another weekend. While it is true that most TFRs do prohibit some types of flight operations during certain time periods in certain parts of the airspace, it is simply not true that GA flying is prohibited as a whole. In fact, by following a few simple and easy steps, flying within a TFR is not only allowable, but very simple, and not very far removed from any VFR or IFR cross country flight. (more…)