In my previous article Is this on? I gave a short intro about what this blog series will be about, so let’s not waste any time and start with a delicious topic: shakes!

Got you interested there, didn’t I? more »

Back when I started my flight training I decided to take notes after every flight. I figured it might be interesting for someone at some point, but I soon realized it was a great tool for reflection and learning. Now, more than a year after passing my private pilot checkride, and my flight hours having entered the three digit range, I figured I’d share my diary with you in a series of posts, along with one or two reflections after a few more hours of experience. I hope you enjoy it!

Day 1

We sit in the cockpit of the Katana DA20, parked on the ramp at Worms airport, Germany. It’s a rather small aircraft, and it’s cramped. My instructor talks me through the very basics, how to put your hand around the controls, the throttle and RPM levers with a finger still touching the console to get a feel for the lever position without looking and having the hand positioned to move both levers forward if need be. The Katana has a constant speed prop, which some may argue is overly complex for a trainer, but I don’t agree, I think it’s good to have it in you right from the start. On the other hand, the Rotax equipped Katana doesn’t have a mixture control, which I think would’ve been beneficial so I guess it evens out. more »

Hello Aviation World,

My name is SentryRaven and I am going to take you on a trip along radio phraseology and its benefits. Many of our questions on Aviation.SE deal with radio transmissions, be it questions about terms such as in What is our Vector, Victor? or legal questions such as Is it legal for Joe Public to listen to ATC in the UK?. Maybe it’s time to take you into the depths of radio telephony and phraseology – one of the most mysterious things of aviation. Being based in Germany, Europe, bear with me if I refer to documents that pertain to my neck of the woods, such as the AIP Germany – GEN 3.4: Communication Services. How to get it? EAD EUROCONTROL provides a website where EASA member countries can submit their documents, such as IFR charts and AIP sections for easy access, all you will need is to register an account for free. So let me open up that AIP GEN 3.4 and let’s get started! more »

Planned route, Worms-Aschaffenburg
(Yes, this is what German ‘ICAO’-sectionals look like)

It was my first cross country solo as a student pilot. Although I had soloed for the first time almost 7 months earlier, a long winter with poor weather had unfortunately not allowed a cross country solo until now, this beautiful morning in early May. I was heading to Aschaffenburg, 34 nautical miles northeast of my home field, Worms, and with a nice little Diamond DA20 Katana that translates to about 25 minutes enroute. Aschaffenburg is about 20 nautical miles south east of Frankfurt, and sits underneath Frankfurt’s class C airspace with a 3500 feet AMSL floor (roughly 2500 feet AGL). Frankfurt is a very busy airport, but Germany doesn’t use class B airspace anywhere and sticks to class C. If you’re familiar with US class B though, it has about the same feel to it, established two-way radio communication is not sufficient to enter, you’ll need an explicit clearance, although, in a VFR aircraft, you’re not very likely to get that clearance, at least not in Frankfurt.

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