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 06.19.06
You're on downwind and see an
airplane on a three-mile final. You know you've got time to land
ahead of the other airplane... but who has the right-of-way?
FAR 91.113 tells us:
Aircraft on final approach to land or while landing have the
right-of-way over other aircraft in flight or operating on the
surface.
The regulation warns pilots not to take advantage of this rule
to force an aircraft off the runway that has already landed and is
attempting to make way for an aircraft on final approach. In other
words, if you're landing closely behind another airplane, give it
time to clear the runway before you touch down. Go around if
necessary.
In the scenario above, then, the airplane on three-mile final
still has the right-of-way, and you should extend your pattern to
follow it in (even if you think you can "sneak in" ahead of it).
You might instead make a 360 degree turn where you are on downwind,
careful to warn and avoid others that might be behind you, so you
don't end up forced to make a three-mile final yourself.
Low approach
When two or more aircraft are approaching an airport for
landing, the aircraft at the lower altitude has the right-of-way.
Again, the regs warn pilot not to take advantage of this rule to
cut in front of another which is on final approach to land or to
overtake that aircraft. Don't drop a couple hundred feet to "give
yourself the right of way." Show some courtesy, even if it's a
minor inconvenience to you.
IFR arrival
What if you (or the other plane) are flying an instrument
approach at a tower-controlled airport? The Aeronautical Information Manual (AIM)
says:
A clearance for an approach (including a Straight-in Approach)
to an aircraft operating on an IFR flight plan does not mean that
landing priority is given over other traffic. Because of local
traffic or runway in use, a different landing sequence may be
necessary in the interest of safety. Controllers will issue a
landing sequence to each aircraft as soon as possible to enable the
pilot to properly adjust the aircraft's flight path.
Barring controller directives the airplane on final approach,
and then the airplane at a lower altitude, has the right of
way.
NOTE: An aircraft in distress, i.e., has
declared an emergency, has priority at all times.
Aero-tip of the day: Use common sense and give
the other guy (or gal) the right-of-way if they're ahead of you in
the pattern, or flying at a lower altitude. You don't want to "play
chicken" in an airplane.