Questions tagged [usa]
Use this tag for questions which are specific to the United States, but not regulatory in nature. For questions about aviation regulations in the US, use the faa-regulations tag.
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Can military personnel land their own private aircraft at military bases?
First off, I am asking similar, but logistically different question to What process do I follow to land a civilian aircraft on a military base?
If I am in the US Military (with a valid ID), am I free ...
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What is CENRAP?
According to the AIM, in class B and C airspace separation of VFR traffic is "suspended during CENRAP operations":
Separation of VFR aircraft will be suspended during CENRAP operations.
Traffic ...
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What jet is pictured on the FAA pilot certificate?
The front of the FAA pilot certificate shows two aircraft. One is the Wright Flyer. The other appears to be a 2 or 3 engine commercial jet. What model of aircraft is that jet? The engines look ...
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What is the difference between Distant (D) NOTAMs, Local (L) NOTAMs and FDC NOTAMs in the US?
I would like to know the difference between Distant (D) NOTAMs, Local (L) NOTAMs and FDC NOTAMs in the US. Is their meaning obsolete or still in use by the FAA?
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What are the qualifications for a small airport manager?
I live in a small city in the Southeastern United States and the county's airport has an opening for the manager. The airport is paved but no control tower, serves general aviation as well as company ...
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What are the best practices for gathering preflight weather and information?
As a VFR student pilot, I'm still developing a pre cross-country flight routine. Weather has without a doubt been the most difficult portion of my preflight information to digest, as there are so many ...
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What records should a CFI keep to prove they took due care in the quality of their instruction?
I know there has been some cases where a flight instructor is sued after a current or former student does something that gets themselves (the student) killed or causes damage.
I know that there have ...
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Why do so many airports have the same CTAF frequency?
In the United States, many non-towered airports have CTAF frequencies (often shared with UNICOM as well) that tend to overlap with various other airports within a 50-100 nm radius, at least in more ...
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Is the phrase "going missed" standard in the US?
The use of the phrase "going around" is specified by ICAO Doc 4444 as the phrase to use when we're aborting the landing and heading for
another lap in the traffic pattern if we're on a visual or VFR ...
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When sharing an airplane, what liability does the owner bear?
What liabilities apply to the owner of an aircraft who allows other pilots to use his aircraft for not-for-profit and non-commercial use?
Example: An aircraft owner has a friend that wants to use ...
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On old sectional charts, what was the purpose of the domestic ADIZ regions and what was the difference between a "Defense Area" and an "Open Area"?
Looking at an old US sectional chart from 1956, I noticed a few oddities around where Air Defense Identification Zones (ADIZs) were placed.
Compared to modern airspace where the US ADIZ is strictly ...
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What are MTRs used for?
Ok, before you say, "Military Training Routes are used for... uhh... military training," let me elaborate.
I've read about how they work with ATC and speed restrictions etc. What I'm wondering is ...
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How unusual is it for 3 or more E-6 planes to be airborne at the same time?
I noticed there are at least 3 x E-6 aircraft flying at present (call signs: MAYO38, NANA67, and one more which may have landed ...
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Denver International Airport pneumatic tube systems
Wikipedia says:
Denver International Airport uses many pneumatic tube systems, including a 25 cm diameter system for moving aircraft parts to remote concourses, a 10 cm system for United Airlines ...
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What will create a "traffic puck" on the UAT band?
I know that for ADS-B in the US to receive TIS-B information you need to be a participating aircraft (ie ADSB-Out). My question is more specifically, if you are flying an aircraft with a 1090ES ...
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Which official document lists active airport identifiers?
Is there an official FAA document with which I can find an airport by its identifier code if I do not have a name or location? In the Chart Supplement I can find the airport if I know the city and ...
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From an ATC perspective, what is an "arrival gate"?
I have seen reference to ATC assigned "arrival gates".
As a passenger, an "arrival gate" is something like B12 or ...
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Are Part 141 or Part 61 pilots safer?
Is there any statistical data showing whether private pilots trained at Part 61 or Part 141 schools are less likely to be involved in an accident, all else (including amount of experience, type of ...
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How are military aircraft type certificated?
It seems that FAA requirements for any particular aircraft revolve heavily around the aircraft's type certificate. Civil aircraft are broken up into several categories based on weight or passenger ...
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Should IFR flight plans in the USA still have one waypoint per sector in 2023?
Alternate title: How come ATC has cleared aircraft direct from Laredo to Columbus 17 times?
If you hop on ForeFlight today (Feb 20 2023) and search for suggested routes between KLRD and KCMH you'll ...
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Ferry Permit for aircraft outside the U.S
The aircraft originally had a U. S. airworthiness certificate then was exported to Brazil. It is now being sold to a company in the U. S. for U. S. operations. Can this aircraft be issued an "N" ...
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How are Landing Fees Collected?
Some airports (mostly busy Class B airports from what I gather) have a landing fee. For example, in the Airport Facility Directory for San Francisco, there is a section under "AIRPORT REMARKS" that ...
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Why is an ATC operational error called a "deal"?
Air Traffic Controllers who lose separation between aircraft call that event a "deal". Why?
When the Conflict Alert function was added to the computer system, it reported conflicts to the area ...
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What were the 20 airspace classes in the US before 1993?
ICAO adopted the current airspace classification in 1990. The US followed suit in 1993.
But, I found this:
In case you didn't know, the U.S. had 20 different types of airspace designations prior ...
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How can I find the location and coverage of aviation VHF transmitters?
In the USA, is there a way to find locations of VHF transmitters that are used for air traffic communication, and the frequencies they transmit/receive on? There are some places (Northern Bay Area, CA)...
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What would they call the US President's personal plane?
Air Force One is called that because it is operated by the Air Force. The President's personal helicopter is called Marine One because it is operated by the Marines.
What would the President's ...
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What security regulations apply to US private airstrips?
What kind of security regulations govern the 15,000 private airstrips in the U.S.? Do they fall under TSA jurisdiction?
I'm a freelance writer working on a story and wondering how senior Al Qaeda ...
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Why doesn't the US have a flag carrier airline?
With the recent United Airlines fiasco, I was reading up on their history and the airline industry and to my surprise I found that United Airlines is not the US flag carrier. In fact, the US does not ...
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Can private flights between the US and Canada avoid using a port of entry?
I'm considering getting back into flying private after a 15 year absence. I'm a dual US/Canadian passport holder. I'd like to fly between homes on Nantucket, MA and rural Nova Scotia regularly. Is ...
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How many US airports have 4 or more parallel runways?
Which airports in the US have four or more parallel runways?
How many are planning additions in the next 5 years?
A few years back, 10 years, Charlotte opened their 3rd parallel runway and it was ...
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Can a US state declare an airplane unairworthy?
(This arguably is a question for SE.Law, but because it's so aviation-specific I figured I would ask it here first)
A partner got this in a routine excise tax email from the Massachusetts Department ...
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How does the FAA decide if a PPL applicant with ADHD can fly?
For the past few years, I've been struggling with fidgeting, difficulty spending long periods of time on creative tasks, difficulty finishing long and complicated tasks, and a few other symptoms. ...
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How does one deal with a UNICOM operator directing aircraft like at a towered airport?
Seems like an odd scenario, however I have experienced this a few times now. A non-towered airport will have someone on the radio directing traffic and reading out weather info like barometric ...
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Why does the ATIS say "read back all instructions"?
Whenever I'm at a class D, I'm always confused as to why the ATIS says "read back all runway assignments and hold short instructions." Isn't that just a given? It seems redundant and it ...
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In lost comms situations, when and where do the pilots of big commercial jets expect to get green light from tower?
In the event of lost comms, GA pilots are generally expected to circle over the airport looking for light gun signals from the tower. What about big commercials jets? Are they also expected to circle ...
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To what extent is the HOST system still in use?
The Host Computer System (HOST) used to be the backbone of the US air traffic control centers (ARTCCs). There was a lot of publicity early in 2015 about the En-Route Automation Modernization (ERAM) ...
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Do U.S. aircraft carriers still include a Marine Corps squadron?
When I was in the 3rd Marine Air Wing back in the early 70s, there was one Marine Corps squadron on each navy aircraft carrier, but on some shows I've seen recently (mostly on the Smithsonian Channel) ...
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How does an airspace class change from E to D affect already airborne aircraft?
In the US, there are some airports with a part-time tower. When the tower is in operation, the airspace around the airport is class D and requires communication with the tower. When the tower is ...
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What is a red airway on the VFR sectional?
The VFR sectionals show a number of airways/routes marked in red. Here are several near KMTH, you can see B-646 extending east of the NDB:
There are others in Alaska that are lettered A, R or G, e.g. ...
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Can a lost aircraft get a DF Steer?
When I got my pilots license in 1975, a lost airplane could call almost any FSS and get a DF (Directional Finder) steer. The range was probably upto 30mi. I would request a practice one every 3-4 ...
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Why does Logan Airport's Runway 32/14 only have arrivals on the 32 heading?
I was going through this PDF document on Logan International Airport's runway usage and I saw that Runway 32/14 only has arrival activity. Why is that the case? Is this the the reason or part of it ...
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Where can I find that video of a college built blown wing aircraft?
I once found a video of a single engine, piston and propeller, high wing plane that had been built, or modified by a US college/university. They added a 200 HP turbine engine behind the baggage ...
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What charts do I need flying VFR between KPRC and KLAS?
Some friends and I are going to fly up to Vegas from college to watch the Red Bull air races in a few weeks. And after looking at the charts, I realized I am in a pretty unique situation.
The ...
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Can resistive fuel senders/transducers be repaired/reconditioned?
I need to replace two fuel senders in each wing of a Socata TB20, and a replacement is almost $500.
I wanted to know whether a shop exists in the US that reconditions these?
After some research, I'm ...
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How do I find all the frequencies for my local TRACON?
I'd like to program my hand held radio with all frequencies that I can expect to need around my area. Specifically, I'd like to find an official list of all the frequencies used by the local Tracon ...
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Is the phraseology in the early portion of the movie The Net realistic?
Bear with me for a moment; I know that this is based on a movie scene, but there's a real question at the end.
Early in the 1995 movie The Net, there's a scene where a programmer is flying their ...
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Why are almost half of the world's helicopters in North America?
I was reading this report and came across the following quote:
North American purchase plans [for civilian-use helicopters] are a significant component of the overall 2017 survey demand, as the ...
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In case of a drone strike with an airplane below 400 feet, who is at fault?
If a plane is flying VFR (see and avoid) below 400 ft, and the pilot collides with a drone due to not seeing the drone until it's too late to take evasive action, then would the pilot be at-fault for ...
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Are CTAF and UNICOM frequencies routinely recorded?
ATC communications are recorded for later examination by accident investigators or regulatory agencies. Are CTAF frequencies at untowered fields usually recorded? How about manned UNICOM frequencies?
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Does FAA simulator (AATD/BATD) count toward experimental rating 1,000 hours requirement?
In the USA, a pilot can obtain an AEA (authorized experimental aircraft) rating to fly demilled surplus military turbojet-powered aircraft under FAA 5-1580(A). Part of its requirements are to have ...