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As mentioned in other posts, the AIM is useful for finding out all kinds of things about flying. It is not regulatory per se but much of the content involves explanation of the regulations. As they say in the Preface, “This manual is designed to provide the aviation community with basic flight information and ATC [...]

A recent AskTheCFI post had a student pilot asking about the TPA at a field (I66) when it’s not listed in the A/FD. The answers weren’t particularly informative so I thought I’d write short post. If you look in the A/FD for TPA’s you’ll see that the traffic pattern altitudes are usually either 800′AGl or [...]

This is a phenomenon that happens frequently in coastal California. John Lindsey’s daily weather report triggered this post. “At 5 a.m. this morning’s low at the Paso Robles Airport was 45 degrees while the temperature at the San Luis Obispo County Airport was 63 degrees. Temperatures at Avila Beach and Diablo Canyon were even warmer, [...]

A recent Opinion by the FAA Office of the Chief Counsel, changes my understanding of when you can file an IFR flight plan. I had been under the impression that both the plane and a pilot had to be IFR rated to file and fly under IFR, but his opinion states, Your fIrst question asks [...]

The note beside this Class Delta airspace says See NOTAMs/Directory for Class D/E (sfc) eff hrs. From the A/FD AIRSPACE: CLASS D svc (1400–0400Z‡) other times CLASS G. Unfortunately, this isn’t as clear as it seems. The entire Class D airspace (to 2,700′ MSL) doesn’t revert to Glass G because as the AIM states: 3.1.3.a [...]