Aero-Tips!

A good pilot is always learning -- how many times have you heard this old standard throughout your flying career? There is no truer statement in all of flying (well, with the possible exception of "there are no old, bold pilots.") It's part of what makes aviation so exciting for all of us... just when you think you've seen it all, along comes a scenario you've never imagined.

Aero-News has called upon the expertise of Thomas P. Turner, master CFI and all-around-good-guy, to bring our readers -- and us -- daily tips to improve our skills as aviators, and as representatives of the flying community. Some of them, you may have heard before... but for each of us, there will also be something we might never have considered before, or something that didn't "stick" the way it should have the first time we memorized it for the practical test.

It is our unabashed goal that "Aero-Tips" will help our readers become better, safer pilots -- as well as introducing our ground-bound readers to the concepts and principles that keep those strange aluminum-and-composite contraptions in the air... and allow them to soar magnificently through it.

Look for our daily Aero-Tips segments, coming each day to you through the Aero-News Network. Suggestions for future Aero-Tips are always welcome, as are additions or discussion of each day's tips. Remember... when it comes to being better pilots, we're all in this together.

Aero-Tips 05.30.06

Planning a trip anywhere near Class B airspace? You might want to bring along a VFR Terminal Area Chart.

The VFR Terminal Area Chart (TAC) depicts Class B airspace, and the airspace immediately around it. Similar to sectional charts, TACs have more detail because the scale is larger. TACs also often depict visual checkpoints and features not shown on smaller-scale Sectional and WAC charts.

Note: The TAC's scale is 1:250,000, so depicted features are twice as large as they are shown on Sectional charts. Small boxes on the figure below indicate locations for which there is a TAC.

Use VFR Terminal Area Charts when you're flying to or from airfields within or near Class B airspace. The charts are revised every six months, except those Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, which are revised annually.

But wait, there's more

Flip selected TACs over and you'll find the redundantly-named Charted VFR Flyway Planning Charts. Flyway Planning Charts depict flight paths and altitudes recommended for use to bypass high traffic areas. The Chart contains prominent ground references as a guide for visual orientation—and for keeping you from a traffic conflict and/or airspace bust Charted VFR Flyway Planning Charts are printed on the same 1:250,000 scale as the TACs. .

Aero-tip of the day: Keep yourself away from traffic and Class B airspace with the VFR Terminal Area and Charted VFR Flyway Charts.

FMI: Aero-Tips