For more than a decade, I have been writing articles for Midwest Flyer Magazine, and now Midwest Flyer Monthly. This is not the first — nor will it be my…
Category: Instrument Flight
INSTRUMENT FLIGHT – Somewhere to Land
I remember a TV movie titled “Nowhere To Land” that aired in 2000 and starred Jack Wagner as Captain John Prescott, Christine Elise as Kim McGee, and James B. Sikking as George Eller. My thoughts turn to numerous…
INSTRUMENT FLIGHT: CFIT in a TAA (Controlled Flight into Terrain in a Technically Advanced Aircraft)
The aeronautical abbreviation CFIT has been around for quite some time. Many of us who have lived on this planet for a number of years can remember the horrific accident…
INSTRUMENT FLIGHT: We Have An Amendment To Your Routing
As we are flying along happily on autopilot, we hear ATC say: “N2852F, we have an amendment to your routing…advise when ready to copy.” These are dreaded words that pilots…
INSTRUMENT FLIGHT – The Epic Flight of Juliet Juliet
So, my article will explain why the name I gave it can be defined as memorable, as well as being the name of one of my favorite airplanes, the “EPIC”…
Anatomy of An Approach (On My Way To An Alternate)
In my previous column entitled the “Anatomy of An Approach” (February 2025), I wrote about analyzing and setting up an IFR approach. I was in a holding pattern after going…
Anatomy of An Approach In a hold, where do we go from here?
In my previous column (December 2024/ January 2025 issue), I was flying Bonanza 38Y on my way to ARSHA to hold after doing a missed approach on the ILS-09 at…
The Anatomy of an Approach Using Checklists, Acronyms, Flow Patterns, Buttonology, By the Numbers
As in the title of my column, you can assume that the article will be somewhat lengthy as each item could be a college term paper. Because all airplanes are…
Knowing The Symptoms & What To Do If Your Autopilot Acts Up
by Michael J. “Mick” Kaufman During EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2024, there was an aircraft accident not related to the convention that claimed the lives of seven individuals that were members…
The Localizer Back Course Revisited
by Michael J. “Mick” Kaufman © Copyright 2024. All rights reserved! Published in Midwest Flyer Magazine August/September 2024 Digital Issue So why would anyone want to do a “localizer back…
Putting Your Autopilot On Probation
by Michael J. “Mick” Kaufman © Copyright 2024. All rights reserved! Published in Midwest Flyer Magazine June/July 2024 Digital Issue I have used the phrase, “What Is It Doing…
Moving From Legacy Autopilots
by Michael J. “Mick” Kaufman © Copyright 2024. All rights reserved! Published in Midwest Flyer Magazine February/March 2024 Digital Issue Over the many decades that I have been flying, there…
Flying An Autopilot With Flight Envelope Protection… The Garmin ESP-X
by Michael J. “Mick” Kaufman © Copyright 2023. All rights reserved! Published in Midwest Flyer Magazine December 2023 Digital Issue It has been a busy summer flight training and finishing…
What was that voice in my million-dollar headset?
by Michael J. “Mick” Kaufman © Copyright 2023. All rights reserved! Published in Midwest Flyer Magazine August/September 2023 Digital Issue In my column in the June/July 2023 issue of Midwest…
Let’s Chat With Air Traffic Control
by Michael J. “Mick” Kaufman © Copyright 2023. All rights reserved! Published in Midwest Flyer Magazine June/July 2023 Digital Issue As new pilots, we need to learn a new language…let’s…