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 04.13.06

We all know the rules -- for Part 91 aircraft operations, pilots must plan to have at least 30 minutes’ reserve fuel when arriving at destination for day Visual Flight Rules (VFR) flight; 45 minutes’ reserve is required for night VFR and for Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) operations. (Note: the IFR fuel requirement extends to alternate planning as well)

These minima apply only to planning that takes place before you leave the ground. Once you’re airborne, you’re responsible for accurately monitoring your fuel state to ensure you will have enough to safely complete the trip. The 30 minute/45 minute planning requirements legally go away once the engine starts, although it’s extremely advisable to continue to destination only if your monitoring and in-flight calculations show you’ll still have at least this safety reserve in the tanks when you land.

Minimum Fuel Advisory

If weather or other events force you to make decisions that keep you aloft longer than expected--or increase you fuel burn rate, or result in fuel venting overboard and shortening your range--and you’re flying in an area where Air Traffic Control (ATC) is sequencing traffic, there’s precise language to tell controllers you are eating into your minimum reserves. A call of Minimum Fuel Advisory tells ATC your fuel supply is low enough that you cannot accept “undue delay” before being cleared to land. Proclaiming a Minimum Fuel Advisory is not declaring an in-flight emergency, but is telling controllers that the situation may devolve into an emergency if you are told to remain clear or sequenced behind several other airplanes. You’re not given priority, but your condition will be given strong consideration. Don’t hesitate to declare a full “emergency due to low fuel” if at any point you feel you no longer have enough fuel to safely land.

(Note: this terminology came as a result of the Avianca Flight 052 Boeing 707 crash near New York in 1990... when unclear terminology during and after to multiple en route holds continued until the airliner ran out of fuel and crashed.)

Aero-tip of the day: Always know your fuel state—and use Minimum Fuel Advisory if the situation becomes dire.

FMI: Aero-Tips