Just a question for y'all out there. In-between lessons I've been practicing approaches using my OnTop IFR program. It seems to work, very well, in terms of getting me to recall the procedures and frequencies by sheer repetition when it comes to my actual lesson day. My question though: Is such...

For those of you who have your instrument ticket, how many hours of actual IMC did you have when you got your ticket. At approx 40 hours of instrument time I have a 'whopping' .9 hours of ACTUAL IMC... I sincerely hope I'm going to get to see a lot more before I get my instrument ticket - which...

Any good online sources for the most likely routing you will get from ATC? All of the online flight planning sources I've found seem to only use the most direct via airways when selected vs the Preferred or TEC routing you almost always wind up getting.

I know this subject has been discussed before, but not in awhile. I am a current user of Destination Direct and Aeroplanner. While I really like DD, I am very displeased with their updates. They don't even support current TFR's over a planned route. Aeroplanner does allow this, but I don't...

Is anyone else growing as weary of the cutesy aviation term "steam guages" as I am? Or is it only me...?

From today's NY Times: Government Report on U.S. Aviation Warns of Security Holes By ERIC LICHTBLAU Published: March 14, 2005 WASHINGTON, March 13 - Despite a huge investment in security, the American aviation system remains vulnerable to attack by Al Qaeda and

A friend of mine just gave me a toll free number to obtain AWOS at any airport. Just call +1 (877) 269-2967, and key in the airport identifier when requested. It requires listening to a commercial, but it's a quick and easy way to get an AWOS report.

Is there an examiner on board that can summarize the significant changes in the new PTS? For example, is the GPS required to be turned off during one of the approaches?

Just heard that a small aircraft busted the DC prohibited are, and they evacuated the White House and Capitol Building. Some poor ******* ain't going to be aviating for a while.

I have been working on my instrument rating for the past three months and although I have gained considerable new knowledge, it feels like my brain is in information overload. Now every time I study something new, everything already learned seems to purge itself. Has anyone else felt this way...

We're visiting friends who live in downtown Chicago next weekend and I'm considering a few airports for our visit. Aside from lamenting about the murder of Meigs (which would have been perfect, of course) or suggesting a boycott, can anyone offer suggestions as to the best field and FBO for the...

Okay, I know I've seen a lot of engineers and technical folks on here. I have a complex math problem relating to the classic wind triangle that I posted on sci.math and received little response. I don't know if they're stumped or just not interested. :-) Here is a copy of my original post and the...

Will a wideband aviation antenna, that receives across 50 MHz up to over 1000 Mhz, be useful for VHF and UHF TV reception as well as aviation frequency reception? Can such an antenna be used by multiple devices listening to different frequencies at the same time? -- Will westes AT...

I recently purchased an ICOM IC-A23 radio, and I'm disappointed in its pickup. It gets the weather channels fine, but the reception for both the airport and airplane radios is poor. Aside from standing next to the airport or being right under the airplane, do I have any options for improving...

There must be people on the newsgroup that fly single pilot IFR on a regular basis. These people have a schedule to make and would rather not miss that schedule unless necessary. These people don't have the need to carry many passengers, but just themselves. My question is for these people...

I just picked up a used U-2. It's quite a hoot to fly, but I'm having some trouble. Maybe you can help me out. 1) When I go cruising above 60,000 ft I cancel my IFR clearance. Then I buzz around a bit. But how do I come back down legally? Obviously I need an IFR clearance to decend back down...

Hello All, Hoping some experts/old timers might help me on a basic Radio Range question. I understand the principle of merging the A's and the N's to get the on-beam signal. I have been told that, while originally this merge created a continuous, uninterrupted tone except for the station...

Hello, I am thinking about buying ASIA'S Instrument Pilot Training program ver. 6.5. Has anyone used it and have any opinions on if it is worth buying? I would appreciate any help in deciding on buying it. Thank You Charley

Hey all - Planning on going down to Manassas on Saturday for a tour of the new Potomac TRACON. Has anyone flown from Eastern PA/Northern NJ/NY area down to KHEF? I'm trying to determine what to expect as far as an IFR clearance. I'm trying to do some planning so I can figure out how long its...

All - Just wanted to post my experiences from a tour that I took today of the Potomac TRACON in Warrenton, VA. First off, I got my instrument rating back in January, and today was the first time I flew a ton of hard IFR. It was a 2.3 hour trip from KABE to KHEF. I went IMC at 1000' MSL and...