Tag Archives: regulations

Quibbling: what's a runway?

Posted on August 8, 2005 by David Megginson

Aviatrix’s recent (and informative) post about alternate minima raises an interesting question: what’s a runway? For example, let’s take a medium-sized airport with a single paved surface, designated 09/27. Most of us, describing the airport to a friend in the … Continue reading →

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Approach Ban

Posted on July 12, 2005 by David Megginson

The weather at the airport is reported below minima — is it legal to try the approach anyway, just to take a look, before heading to your alternate? This is one area where the rules in Canada and the U.S. … Continue reading →

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IFR Training in Canada

Posted on July 9, 2005 by David Megginson

Doug Robertson in Calgary is about to start training for his instrument rating, and has mentioned that there are few online resources specifically about IFR training in Canada. Obviously, though, there are a lot of American resources. Here are some … Continue reading →

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"Cleared for an approach"

Posted on June 11, 2005 by David Megginson

Last week I decided to go for a short round-robin IFR flight between Ottawa and Pembroke. While I was still in cloud and on the airway, cruising at 6,000 ft, Montreal Centre gave me missed approach instructions and then said … Continue reading →

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The DC ADIZ

Posted on May 24, 2005 by David Megginson

This time, it was a Canadian plane’s turn to violate the DC ADIZ, the enormous restricted airspace around Washington, DC (the plane did not go anywhere near the White House or Capitol). In fact, planes violate the ADIZ all the … Continue reading →

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Charts

Posted on May 2, 2005 by David Megginson

In his most recent posting, Moncton Centre controller Michael Oxner makes some friendly but justifiable complaints about summer recreational pilots who don’t bring paper charts in the plane and tie up ATC time when their handheld GPS’s fail (for those … Continue reading →

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Float planes

Posted on April 16, 2005 by David Megginson

[Updated] The Canadian Press has an unusually detailed and accurate story about floatplane safety in Canada. Unfortunately, with the summer season arriving, we’re going to see another big spike in the fatal accident rate in Canada as the floatplanes take … Continue reading →

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Signing off on maintenance

Posted on March 20, 2005 by David Megginson

Mike Busch has written a column about annual inspections in the U.S., especially about understandings and misunderstandings among U.S. IA’s (inspection authoritiesI think) — many US IAs think that they are a kind of police force responsible for keeping unsafe … Continue reading →

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On Top

Posted on March 17, 2005 by David Megginson

When weather permits, VFR is often a good choice: it gives you more control over your route and altitude than you would have IFR, generally speeds up the trip (since you don’t have to be spaced and sequenced as much … Continue reading →

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