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.")

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. 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.

Look for our daily Aero-Tips segments, coming each day to you through the Aero-News Network.

Aero-Tips 11.28.06

"Old Bob" Siegfried is a retired United Air Lines captain (he'll like that I spelled out UAL as three words) and a wise, expressive gentleman. He's been profiled in AOPA Pilot and other magazines, and among other things has been a visiting instructor teaching at the US Air Force Test Pilot School at Edwards Air Force Base. Among many other projects Old Bob (that's how he signs his name) patiently educates pilots on internet chatlines, superbly mentoring dozens if not hundreds of pilots. Recently he posted the following on an aviation user's group:

"...the minimum Required Obstacle Clearance is 250 feet for the straight in non precision approach. The Required Obstacle Clearance for a circling approach is 300 feet...."

To Bob's observations I'll add:

Remember that your altimeter, if set correctly to a local altimeter setting, can legally be as much as 75 feet off for IFR. So at Minimum Descent Altitude (MDA) you may be as close as

• 175 feet to an obstacle on a nonprecision straight-in approach,
• 225 feet in a circling approach.

Be a little inaccurate with dialing in the altimeter setting, or use a remotely located or out-of-date altimeter setting, and you may be even closer to terrain and obstacles. (Note: now you know why approach minimums often go up if you don't have a "local" altimeter setting!).

Be meticulous about:

• checking your altimeter for tolerance before IFR flight
• entering the altimeter setting that's current just prior to beginning the approach, and
• absolutely remaining at or above MDA until in conditions that let you visually identify and avoid sometimes hard-to-see obstacles, and in a position to descend at a normal rate to landing.

Aero-tip of the day: Watch your MDA. There is very little margin for error.

FMI: Aero-Tips