The Top of Descent, the Three-to-One Rule, and Planning Your Arrival Before You Ever Reach Cruise
Learn the three-to-one rule to calculate your top of descent in your head and fly a smooth, stabilized arrival every time.
Patterncross-country planning
Ninety-One One Fifty-Nine, the VFR Cruising Altitudes, and Why East Is Odd, West Is Even, and Everybody Adds Five Hundred Above Three Thousand Feet
FAR 91.159 explained: fly odd-plus-500 eastbound, even-plus-500 westbound above 3,000 AGL to stay separated from oncoming VFR traffic.
PatternThe TAF, the Terminal Aerodrome Forecast, and How to Read the FM, TEMPO, and BECMG Groups Before You Ever Trust the Sky
Learn to read a TAF and decode the FM, BECMG, TEMPO, and PROB change groups so you can plan around what the sky is actually doing.
PatternThe Maximum Elevation Figure, the Little Blue Number in the Middle of Every Sectional Quadrangle That Tells You How Low Is Too Low
What the Maximum Elevation Figure (MEF) on a sectional chart means, how it's built, and how to turn it into a safe cruising altitude.
PatternThe Winds and Temperatures Aloft Forecast, Cracking the Coded FB Line, and How Nine Nine Zero Zero Means Calm Air While Seven Seven Five One Hides a Hundred-Knot Wind
Decode the Winds and Temperatures Aloft (FB) Forecast: read the six-digit code, crack 100-knot winds, and shop altitude for wind and ice.
PatternNinety-One One Fifty-Nine, the Hemispheric Rule, and Why East Is Odd, West Is Even, and the Plus Five Hundred Keeps You Off the Nose of the Guy Coming the Other Way
FAR 91.159's hemispheric rule assigns VFR cruise altitudes by direction so opposing traffic never shares an altitude - here's how it works.
PatternThe Ripon-Fisk-Runway Two-Seven Arrival, the Half-Mile-in-Trail Spacing, and Planning the Last Fifty Miles Into Oshkosh Before You Ever Leave Home
How to plan the Ripon-Fisk VFR arrival into Oshkosh AirVenture, from half-mile spacing to fuel reserves and alternates.
PatternReading the Sectional, the Maximum Elevation Figure, and Picking Checkpoints You Can Actually Find on the Way to Oshkosh
Learn to read the sectional's Maximum Elevation Figure, apply FAR 91.159, and pick checkpoints you can actually spot from the air.
PatternThe Diversion, Fond du Lac, and Flying to the Nearest Suitable Airport When the Oshkosh Gate Closes
How to plan and fly a diversion to your alternate airport when the Oshkosh arrival closes - turn, estimate, and decide before you ever take off.
PatternThe Standard Briefing, the Six Elements Flight Service Reads in Order, and Building Your Oshkosh Go/No-Go the Night Before
Learn the six elements of a standard weather briefing in order and how to build a solid go/no-go decision for your cross-country to Oshkosh.
PatternNinety-One One Fifty-Nine, the Hemispheric Rule, and Choosing a Cruise Altitude That Keeps You Legal and Alive on the Way to Oshkosh
How to choose a legal VFR cruise altitude under FAR 91.159's hemispheric rule - and how it changes for the Oshkosh arrival.
PatternThe Upside-Down Wedding Cake and the Thirty-Mile Mode C Veil Around Class Bravo on the Way to Oshkosh
How to legally fly past Class Bravo airspace and its 30-mile Mode C veil on a cross-country to Oshkosh AirVenture.
PatternThe Wind Triangle, the E6B, and Solving for the Heading That Actually Gets You to Oshkosh
Learn how to solve the wind triangle with an E6B to find the heading and groundspeed that actually get you to your destination.
PatternSpecial Use Airspace: MOAs, Restricted Areas, and the Hatched Lines on Your Sectional You Cannot Afford to Ignore
Decode every hatched line on your sectional - Prohibited Areas, Restricted Areas, MOAs, Warning Areas, and TFRs - and know exactly which ones require permission to enter.
PatternFAR 91.159 and the Cruising Altitude Rule: East Is Odd, West Is Even, and Why the Plus Five Hundred Matters
FAR 91.159 requires VFR pilots flying more than 3,000 feet above the surface to cruise at odd thousands plus 500 feet eastbound, even thousands plus 500 feet westbound.
PatternThe Winds Aloft Forecast - The Number Every Cross-Country Pilot Should Run Before They File
Decode the FAA's FB winds forecast to choose the right cruise altitude, protect fuel reserves, and manage cross-country flights more effectively.
PatternThe Washington DC SFRA and the Airspace That Scrambles Fighters When Pilots Get It Wrong
The Washington DC Special Flight Rules Area is one of the most consequential pieces of airspace in the US - here's what every pilot needs to know to fly it legally.
PatternThe Divert Decision and the Pre-Flight Planning That Makes It Possible
Plan your VFR divert before departure - identify alternates, set a trigger, and execute a calm transition using a four-step framework.
PatternThe Winds Aloft Forecast and the cruise altitude decision that changes everything about your cross-country
Decode the winds aloft forecast (FD winds) to choose the optimal cruise altitude, avoid icing, and plan faster, safer cross-country flights.
PatternVFR cruising altitudes and the hemispheric rule, east is odd, west is even, the half-circle that keeps you from meeting traffic head-on
Radio Hangar explores VFR cruising altitudes and the hemispheric rule, east is odd, west is even, the half-circle that keeps you from meeting traffic head-on.
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