Standard Terminal Arrivals, or STARs, can seem intimidating when you first look at the chart. Multiple transitions, fixes, and routes can make a seemingly simple arrival look far more complicated than it really is. In this video tip, we’ll use the FINGER FIVE arrival into the Dallas area to break down how the different transitions come together, compare traditional VOR/DME-based STARs with modern RNAV arrivals, and look at how an IFR-approved GPS can make flying these procedures easier to understand and manage.
This video tip is from Sporty’s Instrument Rating Course. If you want to sharpen your skills and build more confidence in the system, Sporty’s Instrument Rating Course covers these required reports in detail—along with real-world scenarios and ATC audio to help you sound like a pro on every flight.
I never liked the saying, “plan the flight and fly the plan.” Most GA flying requires bending the plan to fit the reality of the moment—or ends with the breaking of something valuable. When the aircraft capabilities are limited and crew resource management consists of talking to oneself, flexibility is king.
A more useful statement might be, “plan the flight to have a plan.” These days of iPad route planning and magenta lines allow perilous absence of forethought. This was hammered home to me one day while climbing VFR towards my GPS-direct course. I realized I had absolutely no idea what heading that was. I just knew it was up and to the left. That’s not a plan. That’s tagging along for the ride.
The right plan enables flexibility by providing options, yet constraining them within safe boundaries. A perfect example of this is the under-appreciated contact approach.
See and Avoid
Simply put, a Contact Approach lets you keep your IFR clearance and find your own path to the runway. The requirements are remaining clear of clouds with a mile visibility and not dying as you get to the pavement.
Suppose you’re approaching an airport from the south that has only one published approach coming in from the north. As you fly over the airport, you see the runway and a clear path to descend and join final. Requesting and receiving a clearance for a contact approach lets you descend and land without trucking miles past your destination only to turn around and come back.
However, you can request a contact approach and still fly most or all of a published approach as you see fit, so long as you stay visual. You don’t even need the destination airport in sight. Imagine cruising along on an intermediate leg of a published approach that’s taking you in and out of clouds with turbulence or icing.
When you’re in the clear, request a contact approach. Once granted, you can avoid the clouds with climbs, descents, or deviations left or right of the approach course. You could still follow a published segment to help find the airport, but 400 feet lower, or a mile right of course.
Doesn’t that remove obstacle protection? Absolutely. You’re now responsible for staying out of trouble, but that might be easy in visual conditions, as they exist on a particular day.
The freedom is similar to a Special VFR clearance, however, you’re still legally IFR. Special VFR clearances are for specific blocks of airspace: the Class D surface area around a towered airport or a Class E surface area around an uncontrolled airport. Technically, the pilot has no less-than-VFR freedom outside that airspace. The contact approach clearance covers operation in any controlled airspace.
Staying IFR also keeps an IMC escape hatch open for you: With a Special VFR clearance, reentering the clouds would be an emergency; with a contact approach, it’s just a missed.
Well, it’s a missed without a procedure, which means the onus is on you to stay out of the rocks and get back to ATC immediately. Contact approaches shouldn’t end with reentering IMC, but if you have a general plan you’ll be ready for that corner case.
Which all brings us back to planning for flexibility. Flying IFR on good-weather days, you should be ready for the visual. On marginal days, you can fly the charted black lines to your destination airport but be ready for a switch to a contact approach in case the situation warrants it. That’s what masterful use of the system is all about.
Educating ATC
While most controllers are happy to offload responsibility to you and clear you for the contact approach, some controllers meet a request with, “Confirm you’re cancelling IFR?”
Whether they forgot that part of the ATC operating guidelines or just aren’t enthusiastic for something out of the ordinary, you may have to clarify. “I’m staying IFR. I’m requesting a contact approach, which is like a visual but requested by the pilot and only needs a mile visibility.”
The silence following may be them asking around the control room. Hopefully, your clearance will come back, along with all the flexibility it allows.
Reader Poll
https://media.ifrfocus.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/08101213/practical-IFR-contact-approach.png10001250Jeff Van Westhttps://media.ifrfocus.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/14115136/IFR-Focus-Logo_White_Blue_Web-01.pngJeff Van West2026-09-15 08:55:262026-09-08 10:12:20Practical IFR: The Contact Approach
During my first checkouts in airplanes with autopilots, the autopilot was usually treated as a footnote at the end of the flight; a sort of “bonus” item to play around with in cruise and figure out how it works. That’s a terrible strategy for a modern autopilot.
Today’s systems can dramatically lighten your workload. They manage lateral and vertical guidance in almost any phase of flight, fly approaches and missed approaches, and can even prevent (and recover from) a flight upset. They can also become an unpredictable distraction at exactly the wrong moment.
You can’t gain the benefits and avoid the pitfalls by simply knowing what button to press. You must understand how the autopilot thinks, verify it’s doing what you want, anticipate what it will do next, and, most importantly, recognize when it’s not doing what you want and correct it.
Here are six habits you can adopt to reap the full benefits of a modern autopilot.
Use the Autopilot as a Crewmember
The engaged autopilot can be thought of as the Pilot Flying, and you are the Pilot Monitoring.
Crew operations designate a Pilot Flying (PF), whose main job is simply controlling the airplane, and a Pilot Monitoring (PM), who handles everything else—navigation, communication, checklists, ATC, and so on. In your case, the engaged autopilot can be thought of as the Pilot Flying, and you are the Pilot Monitoring.
There’s one important catch: Your PF (the autopilot) is like a trainee who flies really well but doesn’t think for itself. It will never question a bad command. Instead, it will follow the bad instructions with impressive precision.
Avoid this by always following up your button push with a check of the status strip, sometimes called “the scoreboard.” On a Garmin PFD, this is the display at the top center of the PFD showing engaged modes in green and armed modes in white. Other systems have different conventions, but the key habit is universal: Command a mode, then verify it.
When you have strong mode awareness, you don’t need to micromanage your autopilot’s every control movement. In fact, doing that can cancel much of the workload benefit. But you mustalways know what’s active, what’s armed, and what will happen next.
Don’t just monitor the autopilot—anticipate it.
The most effective way to use automation is to know what it should do next before it does it.
Select the Right Modes for Climbs Versus Descents
For most climbs, indicated airspeed (IAS) mode or flight level change (FLC) is the best choice.
For most climbs, indicated airspeed (IAS) mode or flight level change (FLC) is the best choice. That’s because as the airplane climbs and horsepower decreases, the autopilot protects airspeed. If necessary, it will sacrifice climb rate in order to always maintain the safe flying speed you command. Vertical speed (VS) mode, by contrast, will continue to pitch up to try to maintain climb rate even as airspeed deteriorates. If you ask for 700 feet per minute and you’re only doing 500 fpm, the airplane will pitch up—even if it has insufficient power to ever reach 700 fpm. Depending on your system, the result could be a stall, underspeed protection kicking in, or an automatic autopilot disconnect. Not good.
That doesn’t mean VS mode is forbidden in climbs. For a short climb of 500 or 1000 feet, it may be the simplest tool.
For descents, VS mode works best, so long as you are fine controlling your airspeed with power adjustments. That caveat hints at a few situations where IAS could be better in descent. In turbulence, IAS mode can target an appropriate turbulence speed and keep you comfortably below maneuvering speed. And if you have gear or flaps extended and want to be sure you don’t accidentally overspeed them in a descent, IAS mode can do that.
Some autopilots don’t offer both IAS and VS modes. The larger principle is understanding what each mode you do have protects for and what you’re responsible for managing, and planning accordingly.
Follow an Order of Operations
For climbs and descents, the standard order is to first tell the autopilot where to go and then how to get there.
For climbs and descents, the standard order is to first tell the autopilot where to go and then how to get there. To climb from 4000 to 8000 feet, first set 8000 in the altitude preselect (where to go), then engage IAS mode and set the appropriate climb speed (how to get there). Of course, you still must manually set climb power and configuration. The same applies to descent. Set the target altitude first, and then command the descent (and adjust power and configuration as necessary).
This order guarantees that every climb or descent has an endpoint. If you set a climb or descent before selecting an altitude, you’ve temporarily created a situation where the plane will climb or descend indefinitely. Any distraction before you finish the task by setting the altitude could leave the target at “indefinitely.” In a descent, “indefinitely” means “into the ground.”
The principle extends to lateral modes too. If ATC clears you direct to a waypoint, first activate direct-to on the navigator, and then engage NAV mode. Tell it where to go, then how to get there.
Know Your NAV Modes
NAV modes often won’t capture unless you’re already close to the course.
Most modern, integrated autopilots make lateral navigation simple. On a Garmin GFC, the single NAV button can intelligently follow GPS, a VOR radial, a localizer, or even a back course. When you press the NAV button, the autopilot’s brain knows the appropriate tracking logic from context, and annunciates what it’s actually following.
Older systems aren’t always that smart and may have different modes for different sources, and may simply chase needle deflection without any awareness of what the GPS is doing. On these older systems, GPS Roll Steering (GPSS) can bridge the gap between old and new tech by sending GPS guidance in the form of heading commands that are followed in HDG mode. The details vary, so know what your installation actually does.
Remember, NAV modes often won’t capture unless you’re already close to the course. Garmin autopilots will capture NAV courses when the CDI is within half-scale deflection. Otherwise, they’ll simply arm the mode. That leaves you responsible for getting close enough to the course that it will capture.
Press APR Only When Appropriate
APR also arms approach vertical guidance.
On modern Garmin autopilots, the APR button is straightforward. Laterally, it does the same thing that NAV does, arming or capturing whatever navigation source is chosen. The difference is APR also arms approach vertical guidance. That’s for both approved vertical guidance, like an LPV glidepath or ILS glideslope, and advisory “+V” vertical guidance on other RNAV approaches.
That makes for a simple habit: Press APR when you’re cleared for the approach. That way, when the approach guidance eventually appears and centers, the autopilot will capture it. On the other hand, if ATC tells you only to “join the localizer,” you haven’t necessarily been cleared to descend on the approach, so you don’t want to follow vertical guidance. In that case, use NAV to capture the localizer, but don’t press APR until you’re actually cleared for the approach.
It’s also important to understand what APR does not do. It doesn’t load or activate the approach or do anything with the GPS. And it doesn’t follow non-approach VNAV guidance—that’s a whole other topic.
Older autopilots may use APR differently, so understand the logic in your airplane rather than assuming old patterns will transfer.
The other thing APR does not do on most autopilots is capture a preselected altitude. It’s up to you to discontinue the descent at DA, or go visual and continue for landing.
Know How and When to Turn it Off
Every autopilot user should know every way to disconnect it, not just the AP button on the yoke or controller. On typical installations this usually includes moving the electric trim and pulling the autopilot circuit breaker.
The disconnect switch often also interrupts the electric trim when pressed and held, which is crucially important in a trim runaway. The aircraft-specific AFM Supplement for your installation contains abnormal and emergency procedures like this that you should add to your checklist. It also contains regulatory limitations that are just as binding as those in your POH. For example, a Garmin GFC autopilot typically must be disengaged until 800 AGL in most situations. The exception is that they can be used until 200 AGL on approaches. GFC installations usually have airspeed limits, a fuel imbalance limit, and a requirement to operate from the left seat.
Autopilot procedures, avionics interactions, and specific buttons change from airplane to airplane—but the habits don’t. An autopilot isn’t merely a “bonus item.” It’s a tool that demands the right mindset from the pilot. Learn your system and establish a mindset to match. The right autopilot habits will lower your workload and allow you to pay more attention to the things that really matter.
Editor’s Note: This article is adapted from material in PilotWorkshops’ new Garmin GFC Autopilots: Next Level online course, taught by Ryan Koch. The 140-minute course takes these concepts further with progressively complex flights covering everything from autopilot fundamentals to departures, approaches, VNAV, missed approaches, holds, and non-RNAV procedures.
Learn more about the course and try the free demo at Sportys.com.
https://media.ifrfocus.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/26155317/You-Know-How-to-Use-Your-Autopilot.-But-Do-You-Understand-It.png10001250Ryan Kochhttps://media.ifrfocus.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/14115136/IFR-Focus-Logo_White_Blue_Web-01.pngRyan Koch2026-09-11 08:55:332026-09-11 09:28:52Don’t Just Press Buttons: Modern Autopilot Habits That Matter
Flying on instruments into big cities is a great way to use the rating – you’re always on a published IFR procedure, guided by ATC. You can land right in the metro area, close to transportation and destination options. Pilots based under a Class B shelf or at a high-traffic Class C airport are probably familiar with these perks and are used to busy airspace. For those who fly in quieter environments, though, “big and busy” can seem overwhelming. But it’s well within any IFR pilot’s capabilities if treated like challenging weather or a new aircraft – using training, preparation, and personal minimums to expand the envelope safely.
Routing and Orientation
Let’s begin by pointing out that flying IFR into Bravo airspace isn’t as scary as you might think once you see the process. Start with routing, and know that STARs (Standard Terminal Arrivals) and SIDs (Standard Instrument Departures) are your friends. If you learned that small aircraft can file “No STARs/SIDs” and get away with it, that’s only partly true and depends on the airspace. This remark on the flight plan can be disregarded and often is – more on that later. Or it can cost you a lot of avgas because ATC will vector you around other aircraft flying those procedures.
With that in mind, let’s go to St. Louis Regional (KALN), just under the Class B shelf for Lambert International (KSTL). Check the weather and where the airline traffic is flowing to get an idea of where Approach is directing traffic to satellite airports. Also look at recently cleared routes to help file a feasible flight plan. Include an early fix from a STAR if it fits your arrival direction. Even if a procedure has speeds and altitudes for turbines or is labeled so, waypoints on these routes can be assigned to pistons at lower altitudes. For St. Louis Regional, there are two STARs. Coming from the north, you might use all or some of FARMR THREE. This is shared among other nearby airports, so be sure to find “St. Louis Regional” for designated runways using the STAR. If you expect the RNAV 11, notice that the STAR instructions include FASHE, an initial fix to the approach.
Route amendments are common, so review the charts and practice loading, activating and amending these on your avionics. That might include VNAV features on your GPS and autopilot, which are handy for crossing-altitude assignments. If you have GPSes 1 and 2 and can do quick changes, consider turning off the cross-fill to load a separate flight plan on the No. 2 with another possible route. This can help you find and spell a fix quickly to amend the active route, or even replace a flight plan. In fact, ATC often issues shortcuts on STARs when traffic allows and will clear you direct to an upcoming fix.
Managing Workload
It’s also common for ATC to break you off an arrival to vector you into an approach, so maintain situational awareness as you near a portion of the IAP. ATIS and preceding aircraft will give you early cues of what’s ahead. You might get instructions on airspeed, such as “maintain best forward speed” for spacing. In that case, the maximum IAS is up to you and ATC will monitor the situation. If told to “maintain 120 knots,” copy and comply. If you’re uncomfortable with any instruction, say “unable” and offer a compromise. If you can’t manage 120 knots, maybe 110 is workable. And even though they’re busy, controllers will address “say again” and requests to clarify routes or clearances. They do it for all types of aircraft. Sure, it’s best to minimize the transmissions and keep up with the flow, so this is where solid communications skills go a long way to help you fit into a fast-paced environment.
If you’re uncomfortable with any instruction, say “unable” and offer a compromise.
Along with ensuring you’re “up to speed” for this flight, your best line of defense is to manage workload. Take action the moment you feel you’re getting behind. If you’re not ready for that approach intercept, slowing down by 5–10 knots (or whatever you can) gives you that precious few seconds to check your setup. If you’re feeling rushed, you’re likely to start talking faster and pushing buttons quickly, making errors more likely. ATC has ways to help you buy time if you let them know. You can request speed changes, delay vectors, or even a hold at a fix that’s out of the way of the traffic flow. These tools are also available if there’s an issue you want to troubleshoot. This is why I like to step up my IFR fuel reserves when planning flights into busy airspace. Another reason to have as much fuel as practical is in case of delays that affect many aircraft at once, like thunderstorms or a sudden runway closure.
Take action the moment you feel you’re getting behind.
These strategies apply on the outbounds, too, starting on the ground. Like arrivals, SIDs (Standard Instrument Departures) can be part of a cleared route that uses all or part of the procedure. At St. Louis Regional, you’ll likely start with a departure heading and altitude followed by vectors towards a fix on the chart, as in the LINDBERGH NINE. This SID has three published transitions from the STL navaid for aircraft going southbound. All are straightforward, and you might get something even easier, like runway heading to 3000, then “cleared direct MYERZ” followed by a clearance to a fix on your route.
Training and Preparation
Some additional advice before flying in busy airspace:
Assess your skills and get training to improve on navigation, communication, and IFR procedures. Adjust personal limitations accordingly, and be realistic. If you’re not fluent with ATC in non-congested situations, it only gets tougher in Bravo airspace. You might have a stressful experience or get behind the airplane, which is worse than getting behind ATC (back to aviate, navigate, communicate). Consider a VFR day to file IFR to a busy airport for the first time.
Learn about the additional layers at the biggest airports. For example, the main St. Louis hub, Lambert International, has “D-ATIS” (Digital ATIS) broadcast in a robotic voice. There are multiple Ground and Tower frequencies based on your geographic location on the ground or direction of departure. Included is a Metering frequency to call before Ground; that controller coordinates aircraft about to taxi. To sample the real deal, you can listen to various frequencies online at LiveATC.net. Along that theme, study complex airport layouts to get an idea of what to expect. If you know a pilot who has been to the airport in question, you can gain a lot of valuable tips.
Fix mistakes in stride and stay calm. Did you ever read back the wrong frequency? This happens all the time, even to airline pilots, and nobody gets upset. Be concise in your correction and move on. Need a phonetic spelling for a fix? Don’t be shy about asking – the pros aren’t, because they know that any doubts can be dangerous.
It’s all about good situational awareness and cockpit management in a busy environment. These flights are a great opportunity to build knowledge and skills, which will help ensure you can fully enjoy the conveniences of going into big-city airports.
What would you do if an engine problem developed in actual IMC but the nearest airport wasn’t necessarily your safest option?
That’s the dilemma in this month’s IFR Mastery scenario from PilotWorkshops, The End Is Niagara?, featuring instructor Martin Pauly.
You’re flying your RV-14 with your new spouse toward Niagara Falls when the engine suddenly begins running rough in IMC. One cylinder’s EGT and CHT are dropping rapidly, and your troubleshooting attempts don’t solve the problem. The nearest airport is only 10 miles away, but the instrument approach could leave you below glide range over hilly terrain. Better weather and potentially better options lie farther ahead.
One of the most valuable aspects of instrument flying is learning to recognize the tradeoffs behind every decision. Often, the challenge isn’t knowing how to fly an approach—it’s deciding which approach offers the greatest margin of safety given the conditions.
That’s exactly what IFR Mastery is designed to develop. Each month, PilotWorkshops presents a new real-world IFR scenario that puts you in the pilot’s seat. You’ll evaluate the situation, make your decision, and then—inside the full program—compare your thinking with experienced instructors as they explain the factors that influenced their choice.
Think you’ve made the right call?
Watch the free scenario briefing above, then start a free 30-day trial to access the complete scenario, instructor analysis, and the complete library of VFR and IFR Mastery scenarios.
https://media.ifrfocus.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/04100531/New-IFR-Mastery-ScenarioThe-End-Is-Niagara.png10001250Eric Radtkehttps://media.ifrfocus.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/14115136/IFR-Focus-Logo_White_Blue_Web-01.pngEric Radtke2026-09-04 10:06:212026-09-04 10:30:30New IFR Mastery Scenario:The End Is Niagara?
Professional Preparation for Single-Pilot IFR in Busy Airspace
The phone call came from a recently instrument-rated Cirrus pilot sitting at a busy Class B airport with the engine running. He had received his IFR clearance, but he did not understand what Air Traffic Control had given him. The frequency was busy, the FBO line person was watching and waiting patiently to marshal him out of parking, and the pressure he felt was increasing by the minute.
His problem was not that he could not fly an instrument approach. He had recently demonstrated that skill well enough to earn an instrument rating. His problem was that he had never experienced an operation like this.
The FAA’s Instrument Airplane Airman Certification Standards establish the knowledge and skills required for certification, but no practical test can reproduce every environment a pilot may encounter afterward. Although the ACS requires knowledge of Standard Instrument Departures (SIDs), Standard Terminal Arrival Routes (STARs), climb gradients, and associated constraints, the practical test does not specifically require an applicant to fly an actual SID or STAR or demonstrate the “climb via” and “descend via” clearances that commonly accompany them. Nor does it require operations at busy Class B or Class C airports where these procedures are routine.
Busy airspace is not the place to learn those functions for the first time.
Nevertheless, after earning an instrument rating, a pilot may legally depart Atlanta, arrive at Dallas/Fort Worth, or fly into Chicago O’Hare. The pilot in my opening story was qualified, but he had not yet developed the operational experience necessary to manage that environment comfortably.
In Part 121 operations, complex environments are managed through standardization, preparation, defined procedures, and shared cockpit responsibilities. A single pilot does not have another crewmember available to catch an error or absorb part of the workload, but many of the same professional habits can be adapted to the Part 91 cockpit. The objective is to anticipate workload before it arrives.
The objective is to anticipate workload before it arrives.
Prepare Before Engine Start
Professional pilots do not wait for the cockpit to become busy before preparing. If departing a large airport, review the likely runway and SID before contacting Clearance Delivery. Understand the routing, altitude restrictions, climb gradient, navigation requirements, and what a “climb via” clearance will require.
Consider using services that provide Pre-Departure Clearance (PDC) and digital ATIS when available through a compatible avionics or electronic flight bag provider. Receiving the clearance and D-ATIS electronically allows time to review the routing, study the SID, and program the Flight Management System before starting the engine. The objective is not merely convenience. It is reducing workload before the airplane begins moving.
If a clearance received via PDC or radio does not make sense, ask ATC to clarify it. Do not allow embarrassment or concern about occupying the frequency to turn uncertainty into an incorrect clearance. Controllers would rather clarify or repeat an instruction than have a pilot misunderstand it.
Avionics proficiency is equally important. Modern FMS and GPS navigators make complex procedures manageable—but only when the pilot understands how to use them. Before operating in busy terminal airspace, become proficient at loading and modifying SIDs, STARs, transitions, and approaches. Busy airspace is not the place to learn those functions for the first time.
One common trap involves STARs that divide into runway-specific segments. When loading the arrival, the navigator may require selection of the expected landing runway. Without that selection, the route may end near the waypoint where the STAR branches rather than continue along the appropriate runway transition. Understand how the installed avionics handle these procedures before encountering them under time pressure.
Use Cruise Time Wisely
Professional pilots rarely regard cruise as the boring part of a flight. It is valuable preparation time.
Obtain the destination weather and ATIS early enough to complete arrival planning before beginning the descent. Review the expected STAR, including its altitude and airspeed restrictions, and prepare the most likely approach. If more than one runway or approach appears likely, identify an alternate rather than waiting for a change from ATC.
Even when expecting a visual approach, load and brief an appropriate instrument approach as a backup—preferably one with vertical guidance. Resist the temptation to load a GPS-generated visual approach if your navigator offers that option. At many busy airports, controllers expect aircraft to navigate to the Final Approach Fix associated with the published ILS or RNAV approach because that is where speed restrictions and sequencing are often built into the arrival. Airline crews are generally required to have an instrument approach loaded in the FMS even when cleared for a visual approach, so ATC may issue instructions referencing that procedure. Loading the corresponding instrument approach improves situational awareness, supports those instructions, provides a stabilized vertical path, and reduces the chance of landing at the wrong airport or runway.
Loading a procedure is only the first step. Verify that you’ve selected the correct runway and transition, then compare the programmed flight plan with the current published chart. Confirm the lateral routing, altitude constraints, airspeed restrictions, and missed approach procedure. In a two-pilot flight deck, both crewmembers independently verify the programming. A single pilot doesn’t have that second set of eyes, making an unhurried chart-to-screen comparison even more important.
The briefing should be concise and useful. Rather than reading the chart aloud, brief the applicable minimums and enter them into your avionics if that capability is available. Then concentrate on what is unusual or most likely to cause an error: localizer frequency identification and setup, a difficult crossing restriction, terrain, an offset final, parallel runways, a complicated missed approach, runway conditions, or the possibility of a late runway change.
The purpose of a briefing is not to prove that you can read the chart. It is to identify threats before they demand your attention, verify that the waypoints loaded in the FMS match the current chart, and confirm that the correct approach minimums have been entered.
Know When to Say “Unable”
ATC clearances are designed to maintain an efficient traffic flow, but controllers cannot know every aircraft’s limitations. STARs serving airline hubs may contain speeds around 290 knots to sequence transport-category airplanes. That may exceed the operating limitations of many smaller general aviation aircraft.
If your aircraft cannot comply, advise ATC promptly: “Unable the 290 knots.” The same principle applies to climb gradients, descent rates, crossing restrictions, or any other clearance beyond the capabilities of the aircraft or pilot.
“Unable” is not a sign of weakness. It is useful information and a sign of sound judgment.
If an unexpected change requires additional programming, tell ATC that you need time. A request for extended vectors or additional track miles is preferable to hurried button-pushing while the airplane continues toward the terminal area. If necessary, request holding until the new procedure can be loaded, briefed, and verified.
ATC controls the sequence, but the pilot still controls whether the airplane is ready to proceed.
“Unable” is not a sign of weakness. It is useful information and a sign of sound judgment.
Do Not Forget the Airport
Ground operations deserve the same preparation as the flight itself. Many instrument training flights take place at airports with relatively simple taxiway layouts. At large Class B airports, however, taxiways often have two-letter identifiers. At Dallas/Fort Worth, for example, a clearance might include Taxiways EM or EL. To a pilot encountering those names for the first time, the instructions may sound like a rapid string of unrelated letters.
Have the airport diagram open before the airplane moves. Review hotspots, anticipate the likely taxi route, and write down lengthy instructions. If uncertain, stop the aircraft and ask Ground Control for clarification.
Arrival planning should continue through landing and taxi. Before touchdown, anticipate the likely runway exit and know the general direction of parking. This is not the time to be asking yourself, “Do I turn off to the right or left?” At a large airport, the workload does not end when the wheels touch the runway.
Creating Time
Busy airspace is not challenging merely because controllers talk quickly or airports are large. It is challenging because several high-workload tasks can occur simultaneously, and ATC generally expects pilots to understand and promptly comply with the clearances they accept.
The pilot who first begins thinking about the arrival after top of descent will probably feel rushed. The pilot who has already reviewed the STAR, prepared an alternate approach, verified the avionics, briefed the threats, opened the airport diagram, and considered the taxi route will often find the same operation surprisingly manageable.
The objective is not to make a personal airplane operate like an airliner. It is to borrow the professional habits that allow airline crews to manage complex operations safely and efficiently.
Busy airspace rewards preparation and exposes its absence. Review the procedures early, understand the capabilities of your avionics and aircraft, brief the threats, and create additional time whenever the operation begins moving faster than you can safely manage it.
The frequency may be busy, but the cockpit does not have to be. Staying ahead of the airplane begins long before the controller starts talking quickly.
https://media.ifrfocus.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/26160736/Before-the-Frequency-Gets-Busy.png10001250Tim Deckerhttps://media.ifrfocus.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/14115136/IFR-Focus-Logo_White_Blue_Web-01.pngTim Decker2026-09-01 08:55:212026-08-26 16:09:46Before the Frequency Gets Busy
Video Tip: Understanding STARs
/by IFR Focus TeamStandard Terminal Arrivals, or STARs, can seem intimidating when you first look at the chart. Multiple transitions, fixes, and routes can make a seemingly simple arrival look far more complicated than it really is. In this video tip, we’ll use the FINGER FIVE arrival into the Dallas area to break down how the different transitions come together, compare traditional VOR/DME-based STARs with modern RNAV arrivals, and look at how an IFR-approved GPS can make flying these procedures easier to understand and manage.
This video tip is from Sporty’s Instrument Rating Course. If you want to sharpen your skills and build more confidence in the system, Sporty’s Instrument Rating Course covers these required reports in detail—along with real-world scenarios and ATC audio to help you sound like a pro on every flight.
Practical IFR: The Contact Approach
/by Jeff Van WestThe Plan? Fly Two Approaches at Once, Of Course
I never liked the saying, “plan the flight and fly the plan.” Most GA flying requires bending the plan to fit the reality of the moment—or ends with the breaking of something valuable. When the aircraft capabilities are limited and crew resource management consists of talking to oneself, flexibility is king.
A more useful statement might be, “plan the flight to have a plan.” These days of iPad route planning and magenta lines allow perilous absence of forethought. This was hammered home to me one day while climbing VFR towards my GPS-direct course. I realized I had absolutely no idea what heading that was. I just knew it was up and to the left. That’s not a plan. That’s tagging along for the ride.
The right plan enables flexibility by providing options, yet constraining them within safe boundaries. A perfect example of this is the under-appreciated contact approach.
See and Avoid
Suppose you’re approaching an airport from the south that has only one published approach coming in from the north. As you fly over the airport, you see the runway and a clear path to descend and join final. Requesting and receiving a clearance for a contact approach lets you descend and land without trucking miles past your destination only to turn around and come back.
However, you can request a contact approach and still fly most or all of a published approach as you see fit, so long as you stay visual. You don’t even need the destination airport in sight. Imagine cruising along on an intermediate leg of a published approach that’s taking you in and out of clouds with turbulence or icing.
When you’re in the clear, request a contact approach. Once granted, you can avoid the clouds with climbs, descents, or deviations left or right of the approach course. You could still follow a published segment to help find the airport, but 400 feet lower, or a mile right of course.
Doesn’t that remove obstacle protection? Absolutely. You’re now responsible for staying out of trouble, but that might be easy in visual conditions, as they exist on a particular day.
The freedom is similar to a Special VFR clearance, however, you’re still legally IFR. Special VFR clearances are for specific blocks of airspace: the Class D surface area around a towered airport or a Class E surface area around an uncontrolled airport. Technically, the pilot has no less-than-VFR freedom outside that airspace. The contact approach clearance covers operation in any controlled airspace.
Staying IFR also keeps an IMC escape hatch open for you: With a Special VFR clearance, reentering the clouds would be an emergency; with a contact approach, it’s just a missed.
Well, it’s a missed without a procedure, which means the onus is on you to stay out of the rocks and get back to ATC immediately. Contact approaches shouldn’t end with reentering IMC, but if you have a general plan you’ll be ready for that corner case.
Which all brings us back to planning for flexibility. Flying IFR on good-weather days, you should be ready for the visual. On marginal days, you can fly the charted black lines to your destination airport but be ready for a switch to a contact approach in case the situation warrants it. That’s what masterful use of the system is all about.
Educating ATC
While most controllers are happy to offload responsibility to you and clear you for the contact approach, some controllers meet a request with, “Confirm you’re cancelling IFR?”
Whether they forgot that part of the ATC operating guidelines or just aren’t enthusiastic for something out of the ordinary, you may have to clarify. “I’m staying IFR. I’m requesting a contact approach, which is like a visual but requested by the pilot and only needs a mile visibility.”
The silence following may be them asking around the control room. Hopefully, your clearance will come back, along with all the flexibility it allows.
Reader Poll
Don’t Just Press Buttons: Modern Autopilot Habits That Matter
/by Ryan KochDuring my first checkouts in airplanes with autopilots, the autopilot was usually treated as a footnote at the end of the flight; a sort of “bonus” item to play around with in cruise and figure out how it works. That’s a terrible strategy for a modern autopilot.
Today’s systems can dramatically lighten your workload. They manage lateral and vertical guidance in almost any phase of flight, fly approaches and missed approaches, and can even prevent (and recover from) a flight upset. They can also become an unpredictable distraction at exactly the wrong moment.
You can’t gain the benefits and avoid the pitfalls by simply knowing what button to press. You must understand how the autopilot thinks, verify it’s doing what you want, anticipate what it will do next, and, most importantly, recognize when it’s not doing what you want and correct it.
Here are six habits you can adopt to reap the full benefits of a modern autopilot.
Use the Autopilot as a Crewmember
The engaged autopilot can be thought of as the Pilot Flying, and you are the Pilot Monitoring.
Crew operations designate a Pilot Flying (PF), whose main job is simply controlling the airplane, and a Pilot Monitoring (PM), who handles everything else—navigation, communication, checklists, ATC, and so on. In your case, the engaged autopilot can be thought of as the Pilot Flying, and you are the Pilot Monitoring.
There’s one important catch: Your PF (the autopilot) is like a trainee who flies really well but doesn’t think for itself. It will never question a bad command. Instead, it will follow the bad instructions with impressive precision.
Avoid this by always following up your button push with a check of the status strip, sometimes called “the scoreboard.” On a Garmin PFD, this is the display at the top center of the PFD showing engaged modes in green and armed modes in white. Other systems have different conventions, but the key habit is universal: Command a mode, then verify it.
When you have strong mode awareness, you don’t need to micromanage your autopilot’s every control movement. In fact, doing that can cancel much of the workload benefit. But you must always know what’s active, what’s armed, and what will happen next.
Don’t just monitor the autopilot—anticipate it.
The most effective way to use automation is to know what it should do next before it does it.
Select the Right Modes for Climbs Versus Descents
For most climbs, indicated airspeed (IAS) mode or flight level change (FLC) is the best choice.
For most climbs, indicated airspeed (IAS) mode or flight level change (FLC) is the best choice. That’s because as the airplane climbs and horsepower decreases, the autopilot protects airspeed. If necessary, it will sacrifice climb rate in order to always maintain the safe flying speed you command. Vertical speed (VS) mode, by contrast, will continue to pitch up to try to maintain climb rate even as airspeed deteriorates. If you ask for 700 feet per minute and you’re only doing 500 fpm, the airplane will pitch up—even if it has insufficient power to ever reach 700 fpm. Depending on your system, the result could be a stall, underspeed protection kicking in, or an automatic autopilot disconnect. Not good.
That doesn’t mean VS mode is forbidden in climbs. For a short climb of 500 or 1000 feet, it may be the simplest tool.
For descents, VS mode works best, so long as you are fine controlling your airspeed with power adjustments. That caveat hints at a few situations where IAS could be better in descent. In turbulence, IAS mode can target an appropriate turbulence speed and keep you comfortably below maneuvering speed. And if you have gear or flaps extended and want to be sure you don’t accidentally overspeed them in a descent, IAS mode can do that.
Some autopilots don’t offer both IAS and VS modes. The larger principle is understanding what each mode you do have protects for and what you’re responsible for managing, and planning accordingly.
Follow an Order of Operations
For climbs and descents, the standard order is to first tell the autopilot where to go and then how to get there.
For climbs and descents, the standard order is to first tell the autopilot where to go and then how to get there. To climb from 4000 to 8000 feet, first set 8000 in the altitude preselect (where to go), then engage IAS mode and set the appropriate climb speed (how to get there). Of course, you still must manually set climb power and configuration. The same applies to descent. Set the target altitude first, and then command the descent (and adjust power and configuration as necessary).
This order guarantees that every climb or descent has an endpoint. If you set a climb or descent before selecting an altitude, you’ve temporarily created a situation where the plane will climb or descend indefinitely. Any distraction before you finish the task by setting the altitude could leave the target at “indefinitely.” In a descent, “indefinitely” means “into the ground.”
The principle extends to lateral modes too. If ATC clears you direct to a waypoint, first activate direct-to on the navigator, and then engage NAV mode. Tell it where to go, then how to get there.
Know Your NAV Modes
NAV modes often won’t capture unless you’re already close to the course.
Most modern, integrated autopilots make lateral navigation simple. On a Garmin GFC, the single NAV button can intelligently follow GPS, a VOR radial, a localizer, or even a back course. When you press the NAV button, the autopilot’s brain knows the appropriate tracking logic from context, and annunciates what it’s actually following.
Older systems aren’t always that smart and may have different modes for different sources, and may simply chase needle deflection without any awareness of what the GPS is doing. On these older systems, GPS Roll Steering (GPSS) can bridge the gap between old and new tech by sending GPS guidance in the form of heading commands that are followed in HDG mode. The details vary, so know what your installation actually does.
Remember, NAV modes often won’t capture unless you’re already close to the course. Garmin autopilots will capture NAV courses when the CDI is within half-scale deflection. Otherwise, they’ll simply arm the mode. That leaves you responsible for getting close enough to the course that it will capture.
Press APR Only When Appropriate
APR also arms approach vertical guidance.
On modern Garmin autopilots, the APR button is straightforward. Laterally, it does the same thing that NAV does, arming or capturing whatever navigation source is chosen. The difference is APR also arms approach vertical guidance. That’s for both approved vertical guidance, like an LPV glidepath or ILS glideslope, and advisory “+V” vertical guidance on other RNAV approaches.
That makes for a simple habit: Press APR when you’re cleared for the approach. That way, when the approach guidance eventually appears and centers, the autopilot will capture it. On the other hand, if ATC tells you only to “join the localizer,” you haven’t necessarily been cleared to descend on the approach, so you don’t want to follow vertical guidance. In that case, use NAV to capture the localizer, but don’t press APR until you’re actually cleared for the approach.
It’s also important to understand what APR does not do. It doesn’t load or activate the approach or do anything with the GPS. And it doesn’t follow non-approach VNAV guidance—that’s a whole other topic.
Older autopilots may use APR differently, so understand the logic in your airplane rather than assuming old patterns will transfer.
The other thing APR does not do on most autopilots is capture a preselected altitude. It’s up to you to discontinue the descent at DA, or go visual and continue for landing.
Know How and When to Turn it Off
Every autopilot user should know every way to disconnect it, not just the AP button on the yoke or controller. On typical installations this usually includes moving the electric trim and pulling the autopilot circuit breaker.
The disconnect switch often also interrupts the electric trim when pressed and held, which is crucially important in a trim runaway. The aircraft-specific AFM Supplement for your installation contains abnormal and emergency procedures like this that you should add to your checklist. It also contains regulatory limitations that are just as binding as those in your POH. For example, a Garmin GFC autopilot typically must be disengaged until 800 AGL in most situations. The exception is that they can be used until 200 AGL on approaches. GFC installations usually have airspeed limits, a fuel imbalance limit, and a requirement to operate from the left seat.
Autopilot procedures, avionics interactions, and specific buttons change from airplane to airplane—but the habits don’t. An autopilot isn’t merely a “bonus item.” It’s a tool that demands the right mindset from the pilot. Learn your system and establish a mindset to match. The right autopilot habits will lower your workload and allow you to pay more attention to the things that really matter.
Learn more about the course and try the free demo at Sportys.com.
Keeping up: Managing Busy Airspace
/by Elaine KauhFlying on instruments into big cities is a great way to use the rating – you’re always on a published IFR procedure, guided by ATC. You can land right in the metro area, close to transportation and destination options. Pilots based under a Class B shelf or at a high-traffic Class C airport are probably familiar with these perks and are used to busy airspace. For those who fly in quieter environments, though, “big and busy” can seem overwhelming. But it’s well within any IFR pilot’s capabilities if treated like challenging weather or a new aircraft – using training, preparation, and personal minimums to expand the envelope safely.
Routing and Orientation
Let’s begin by pointing out that flying IFR into Bravo airspace isn’t as scary as you might think once you see the process. Start with routing, and know that STARs (Standard Terminal Arrivals) and SIDs (Standard Instrument Departures) are your friends. If you learned that small aircraft can file “No STARs/SIDs” and get away with it, that’s only partly true and depends on the airspace. This remark on the flight plan can be disregarded and often is – more on that later. Or it can cost you a lot of avgas because ATC will vector you around other aircraft flying those procedures.
With that in mind, let’s go to St. Louis Regional (KALN), just under the Class B shelf for Lambert International (KSTL). Check the weather and where the airline traffic is flowing to get an idea of where Approach is directing traffic to satellite airports. Also look at recently cleared routes to help file a feasible flight plan. Include an early fix from a STAR if it fits your arrival direction. Even if a procedure has speeds and altitudes for turbines or is labeled so, waypoints on these routes can be assigned to pistons at lower altitudes. For St. Louis Regional, there are two STARs. Coming from the north, you might use all or some of FARMR THREE. This is shared among other nearby airports, so be sure to find “St. Louis Regional” for designated runways using the STAR. If you expect the RNAV 11, notice that the STAR instructions include FASHE, an initial fix to the approach.
Route amendments are common, so review the charts and practice loading, activating and amending these on your avionics. That might include VNAV features on your GPS and autopilot, which are handy for crossing-altitude assignments. If you have GPSes 1 and 2 and can do quick changes, consider turning off the cross-fill to load a separate flight plan on the No. 2 with another possible route. This can help you find and spell a fix quickly to amend the active route, or even replace a flight plan. In fact, ATC often issues shortcuts on STARs when traffic allows and will clear you direct to an upcoming fix.
Managing Workload
It’s also common for ATC to break you off an arrival to vector you into an approach, so maintain situational awareness as you near a portion of the IAP. ATIS and preceding aircraft will give you early cues of what’s ahead. You might get instructions on airspeed, such as “maintain best forward speed” for spacing. In that case, the maximum IAS is up to you and ATC will monitor the situation. If told to “maintain 120 knots,” copy and comply. If you’re uncomfortable with any instruction, say “unable” and offer a compromise. If you can’t manage 120 knots, maybe 110 is workable. And even though they’re busy, controllers will address “say again” and requests to clarify routes or clearances. They do it for all types of aircraft. Sure, it’s best to minimize the transmissions and keep up with the flow, so this is where solid communications skills go a long way to help you fit into a fast-paced environment.
Along with ensuring you’re “up to speed” for this flight, your best line of defense is to manage workload. Take action the moment you feel you’re getting behind. If you’re not ready for that approach intercept, slowing down by 5–10 knots (or whatever you can) gives you that precious few seconds to check your setup. If you’re feeling rushed, you’re likely to start talking faster and pushing buttons quickly, making errors more likely. ATC has ways to help you buy time if you let them know. You can request speed changes, delay vectors, or even a hold at a fix that’s out of the way of the traffic flow. These tools are also available if there’s an issue you want to troubleshoot. This is why I like to step up my IFR fuel reserves when planning flights into busy airspace. Another reason to have as much fuel as practical is in case of delays that affect many aircraft at once, like thunderstorms or a sudden runway closure.
These strategies apply on the outbounds, too, starting on the ground. Like arrivals, SIDs (Standard Instrument Departures) can be part of a cleared route that uses all or part of the procedure. At St. Louis Regional, you’ll likely start with a departure heading and altitude followed by vectors towards a fix on the chart, as in the LINDBERGH NINE. This SID has three published transitions from the STL navaid for aircraft going southbound. All are straightforward, and you might get something even easier, like runway heading to 3000, then “cleared direct MYERZ” followed by a clearance to a fix on your route.
Training and Preparation
Some additional advice before flying in busy airspace:
It’s all about good situational awareness and cockpit management in a busy environment. These flights are a great opportunity to build knowledge and skills, which will help ensure you can fully enjoy the conveniences of going into big-city airports.
New IFR Mastery Scenario:The End Is Niagara?
/by Eric RadtkeWhat would you do if an engine problem developed in actual IMC but the nearest airport wasn’t necessarily your safest option?
That’s the dilemma in this month’s IFR Mastery scenario from PilotWorkshops, The End Is Niagara?, featuring instructor Martin Pauly.
You’re flying your RV-14 with your new spouse toward Niagara Falls when the engine suddenly begins running rough in IMC. One cylinder’s EGT and CHT are dropping rapidly, and your troubleshooting attempts don’t solve the problem. The nearest airport is only 10 miles away, but the instrument approach could leave you below glide range over hilly terrain. Better weather and potentially better options lie farther ahead.
Where would you go?
Watch the free scenario briefing below and make your decision.
There isn’t always one “right” answer
One of the most valuable aspects of instrument flying is learning to recognize the tradeoffs behind every decision. Often, the challenge isn’t knowing how to fly an approach—it’s deciding which approach offers the greatest margin of safety given the conditions.
That’s exactly what IFR Mastery is designed to develop. Each month, PilotWorkshops presents a new real-world IFR scenario that puts you in the pilot’s seat. You’ll evaluate the situation, make your decision, and then—inside the full program—compare your thinking with experienced instructors as they explain the factors that influenced their choice.
Think you’ve made the right call?
Watch the free scenario briefing above, then start a free 30-day trial to access the complete scenario, instructor analysis, and the complete library of VFR and IFR Mastery scenarios.
Before the Frequency Gets Busy
/by Tim DeckerProfessional Preparation for Single-Pilot IFR in Busy Airspace
The phone call came from a recently instrument-rated Cirrus pilot sitting at a busy Class B airport with the engine running. He had received his IFR clearance, but he did not understand what Air Traffic Control had given him. The frequency was busy, the FBO line person was watching and waiting patiently to marshal him out of parking, and the pressure he felt was increasing by the minute.
His problem was not that he could not fly an instrument approach. He had recently demonstrated that skill well enough to earn an instrument rating. His problem was that he had never experienced an operation like this.
The FAA’s Instrument Airplane Airman Certification Standards establish the knowledge and skills required for certification, but no practical test can reproduce every environment a pilot may encounter afterward. Although the ACS requires knowledge of Standard Instrument Departures (SIDs), Standard Terminal Arrival Routes (STARs), climb gradients, and associated constraints, the practical test does not specifically require an applicant to fly an actual SID or STAR or demonstrate the “climb via” and “descend via” clearances that commonly accompany them. Nor does it require operations at busy Class B or Class C airports where these procedures are routine.
Nevertheless, after earning an instrument rating, a pilot may legally depart Atlanta, arrive at Dallas/Fort Worth, or fly into Chicago O’Hare. The pilot in my opening story was qualified, but he had not yet developed the operational experience necessary to manage that environment comfortably.
In Part 121 operations, complex environments are managed through standardization, preparation, defined procedures, and shared cockpit responsibilities. A single pilot does not have another crewmember available to catch an error or absorb part of the workload, but many of the same professional habits can be adapted to the Part 91 cockpit. The objective is to anticipate workload before it arrives.
Prepare Before Engine Start
Professional pilots do not wait for the cockpit to become busy before preparing. If departing a large airport, review the likely runway and SID before contacting Clearance Delivery. Understand the routing, altitude restrictions, climb gradient, navigation requirements, and what a “climb via” clearance will require.
Consider using services that provide Pre-Departure Clearance (PDC) and digital ATIS when available through a compatible avionics or electronic flight bag provider. Receiving the clearance and D-ATIS electronically allows time to review the routing, study the SID, and program the Flight Management System before starting the engine. The objective is not merely convenience. It is reducing workload before the airplane begins moving.
If a clearance received via PDC or radio does not make sense, ask ATC to clarify it. Do not allow embarrassment or concern about occupying the frequency to turn uncertainty into an incorrect clearance. Controllers would rather clarify or repeat an instruction than have a pilot misunderstand it.
Avionics proficiency is equally important. Modern FMS and GPS navigators make complex procedures manageable—but only when the pilot understands how to use them. Before operating in busy terminal airspace, become proficient at loading and modifying SIDs, STARs, transitions, and approaches. Busy airspace is not the place to learn those functions for the first time.
One common trap involves STARs that divide into runway-specific segments. When loading the arrival, the navigator may require selection of the expected landing runway. Without that selection, the route may end near the waypoint where the STAR branches rather than continue along the appropriate runway transition. Understand how the installed avionics handle these procedures before encountering them under time pressure.
Use Cruise Time Wisely
Professional pilots rarely regard cruise as the boring part of a flight. It is valuable preparation time.
Obtain the destination weather and ATIS early enough to complete arrival planning before beginning the descent. Review the expected STAR, including its altitude and airspeed restrictions, and prepare the most likely approach. If more than one runway or approach appears likely, identify an alternate rather than waiting for a change from ATC.
Even when expecting a visual approach, load and brief an appropriate instrument approach as a backup—preferably one with vertical guidance. Resist the temptation to load a GPS-generated visual approach if your navigator offers that option. At many busy airports, controllers expect aircraft to navigate to the Final Approach Fix associated with the published ILS or RNAV approach because that is where speed restrictions and sequencing are often built into the arrival. Airline crews are generally required to have an instrument approach loaded in the FMS even when cleared for a visual approach, so ATC may issue instructions referencing that procedure. Loading the corresponding instrument approach improves situational awareness, supports those instructions, provides a stabilized vertical path, and reduces the chance of landing at the wrong airport or runway.
Loading a procedure is only the first step. Verify that you’ve selected the correct runway and transition, then compare the programmed flight plan with the current published chart. Confirm the lateral routing, altitude constraints, airspeed restrictions, and missed approach procedure. In a two-pilot flight deck, both crewmembers independently verify the programming. A single pilot doesn’t have that second set of eyes, making an unhurried chart-to-screen comparison even more important.
The briefing should be concise and useful. Rather than reading the chart aloud, brief the applicable minimums and enter them into your avionics if that capability is available. Then concentrate on what is unusual or most likely to cause an error: localizer frequency identification and setup, a difficult crossing restriction, terrain, an offset final, parallel runways, a complicated missed approach, runway conditions, or the possibility of a late runway change.
The purpose of a briefing is not to prove that you can read the chart. It is to identify threats before they demand your attention, verify that the waypoints loaded in the FMS match the current chart, and confirm that the correct approach minimums have been entered.
Know When to Say “Unable”
ATC clearances are designed to maintain an efficient traffic flow, but controllers cannot know every aircraft’s limitations. STARs serving airline hubs may contain speeds around 290 knots to sequence transport-category airplanes. That may exceed the operating limitations of many smaller general aviation aircraft.
If your aircraft cannot comply, advise ATC promptly: “Unable the 290 knots.” The same principle applies to climb gradients, descent rates, crossing restrictions, or any other clearance beyond the capabilities of the aircraft or pilot.
“Unable” is not a sign of weakness. It is useful information and a sign of sound judgment.
If an unexpected change requires additional programming, tell ATC that you need time. A request for extended vectors or additional track miles is preferable to hurried button-pushing while the airplane continues toward the terminal area. If necessary, request holding until the new procedure can be loaded, briefed, and verified.
ATC controls the sequence, but the pilot still controls whether the airplane is ready to proceed.
Do Not Forget the Airport
Ground operations deserve the same preparation as the flight itself. Many instrument training flights take place at airports with relatively simple taxiway layouts. At large Class B airports, however, taxiways often have two-letter identifiers. At Dallas/Fort Worth, for example, a clearance might include Taxiways EM or EL. To a pilot encountering those names for the first time, the instructions may sound like a rapid string of unrelated letters.
Have the airport diagram open before the airplane moves. Review hotspots, anticipate the likely taxi route, and write down lengthy instructions. If uncertain, stop the aircraft and ask Ground Control for clarification.
Arrival planning should continue through landing and taxi. Before touchdown, anticipate the likely runway exit and know the general direction of parking. This is not the time to be asking yourself, “Do I turn off to the right or left?” At a large airport, the workload does not end when the wheels touch the runway.
Creating Time
Busy airspace is not challenging merely because controllers talk quickly or airports are large. It is challenging because several high-workload tasks can occur simultaneously, and ATC generally expects pilots to understand and promptly comply with the clearances they accept.
The pilot who first begins thinking about the arrival after top of descent will probably feel rushed. The pilot who has already reviewed the STAR, prepared an alternate approach, verified the avionics, briefed the threats, opened the airport diagram, and considered the taxi route will often find the same operation surprisingly manageable.
The objective is not to make a personal airplane operate like an airliner. It is to borrow the professional habits that allow airline crews to manage complex operations safely and efficiently.
Busy airspace rewards preparation and exposes its absence. Review the procedures early, understand the capabilities of your avionics and aircraft, brief the threats, and create additional time whenever the operation begins moving faster than you can safely manage it.
The frequency may be busy, but the cockpit does not have to be. Staying ahead of the airplane begins long before the controller starts talking quickly.