Aircraft operations guide the flow of traffic throughout the National Airspace System by the use of standard procedures
Increased traffic congestion, aircraft in climb and descent attitudes, and pilot preoccupation with cockpit duties are some factors that increase the hazardous accident potential near the airport
The situation is further compounded when the weather is marginal, that is, just meeting VFR requirements
Pilots must be particularly alert when operating in the vicinity of an airport
This section defines some rules, practices, and procedures that pilots should be familiar with and adhere to for safe airport operations
Aircraft operations begin with a departures from the terminal environment and transition into the Enroute environment
Increased traffic congestion, aircraft in climb and descent attitudes, and pilot preoccupation with cockpit duties are some factors that increase the hazardous accident potential near the airport. The situation is further compounded when the weather is marginal, that is, just meeting VFR requirements. Pilots must be particularly alert when operating in the vicinity of an airport. This section defines some rules, practices, and procedures that pilots should be familiar with and adhere to for safe airport operations
Departures:
Departure procedures facilitate the flow of traffic out of the terminal area
They may be simple such as departing in a direction on course to complex instrument procedures through the busiest airspace in the country
Once enroute, pilots fly the highway of the skies, typically known as Airways. Although many routes are published between navigation aids, pilots may elect to fly direct between fixes (known points)
Following the enroute phase of flight, a pilot enters a terminal area for an approach and landing
The term "approach" has become a general term and may refer to operations under Instrument Flight Rules or to describe the terminal phase of flight to landing when flying Visual Flight Rules (VFR)
Therefore different types of operation will have different types of approaches and terminology
The instrument approach plate consists of five principle sections:
The Pilot Briefing and Procedure Notes;
The Plan View;
The Profile View;
Approach Minimums, and;
The Airport Diagram
The pilot briefing and procedure notes describe the approach and relate directly to the conduct of an Approach brief
The plan view depicts a birds eye view of the procedure which can be a Charted Visual Flight Procedure, an Instrument Landing System approach, or an RNAV approach procedure
The profile view depicts the same procedure as viewed from the side (profile)
Different approaches are published to meet the needs of equipment and locality requirements, including:
Unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) are fundamentally changing the way we view aviation
Classified into five categories called "groups," UAS range from small hand-launched aircraft, similar to model aircraft, to aircraft comparable to a Boeing 747
As the Federal Aviation Administration works to integrate these systems into the national airspace system pilots, owe it to themselves to learn how UAS will impact their operation
