Chart Wise

KBJC is a great option for those flying to Denver, but there are a few things to watch for on this approach.

VOR approaches may look easy to perform, but check the details.

Arguably one of the most stunning lakes in the United States, Lake Tahoe sits at a relatively high elevation surrounded by even loftier mountains. This can make flying an approach to South Lake Tahoe, California, something that requires a little more attention than your average approach, especially if you are going to be using the […]

When most people think of Holland, wooden shoes, canals, windmills and tulips are often top of mind. But that’s the Holland on the east side of the Atlantic actually known as the Netherlands. The subject of this month’s Chart Wise, Holland in the western part of Michigan, does bear some similarity to the European country […]

Despite a falloff in world air traffic since early 2020, Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport (PANC) in Alaska still represents a stopover point for thousands of airline and business-aviation flights between North America and Asia, as well as thousands of local general aviation and military airplanes. Visitors will notice that many of those local GA […]

Chicago’s Midway International Airport (KMDW) is heavily used by the airlines, business-aviation turbine fleets, and a sizable number of smaller GA transient and training aircraft, especially since the city of Chicago closed nearby Meigs Field (KCGX) some years ago. The PANGG 3 (RNAV) arrival is one of seven at KMDW, and controllers say it’s commonly […]

As pilots north of the Mason-Dixon Line continue wrestling with the snow and ice of another winter, a few lucky aviators have been planning flights to much warmer destinations. And where better to head than sunny, warm Florida with pristine beaches and daily temperatures in the upper 70s and low 80s? As unlikely as it […]

If you enjoy watching airplanes, especially any of the quickly declining global fleet of jumbo jets, Muhammad Ali International—the old Standiford Field (KSDF)—in Louisville, Kentucky, is an excellent place. The home of UPS, KSDF offers the opportunity to see large Boeings—747s, 757s and 767s—as well as Airbus A300s and McDonnell Douglas MD-11s operating day and night. […]

If you’re an active IFR pilot or training to become one in the US, you have a choice of two instrument approach-plate providers. One is Jeppesen (now within Boeing Global Services), and the other is the US government, which provides plates known as digital terminal procedure publications—and often known to pilots by two outdated terms: […]

The key aspect of any standard instrument departure is the word “standard.” SIDs were created to reduce the required radio traffic between air traffic controllers and pilots, as aircraft transition from the terminal to the en route airspace in busy environments such as the one surrounding Van Nuys, California. This past year, KVNY locally handled […]