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I've flown the stretch from Mammoth to Oakland in the winter. Even though it's a low spot, altitude is your friend - 14,000 on O2 works quite well, although I don't know whether a Cherokee with three people can get up there. The main issue, in my experience, is icing. Nine times out of ten...

The current version (4.0.2) seems every bit as good as the version I bought over a year ago. It may even be better. If you like it, I think you should buy it. It is consumer-grade software. Don't expect the "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" philosophy of aviation and military stuff. All the...

I also have only a flip phone. The only reason I got it was that, before Lockheed Martin took over, Flight Service wait times were around 20 minutes in the Washington DC area and the cell made it possible to drive to the airport while on hold. My airport is in the Flight Restricted zone and...

I now have four hours on 4.01. Sometime around 3.4, SafeTaxi continued to pop the airport map but ceased to display the ownship icon on it. SafeTaxi now works again.

I've loaded the NE region AFD on my 32 G Nexus 7 and tried DCA, 2W5, and GAI. All AFD pages come up quickly and correctly. Perhaps the problem is how Adobe is configured?

My company has its home office in Albuquerque, and we rent from Del Sol when we need a local aircraft. Good instructors, good fleet.

Garmin Pilot 4.01 and GDL-39 4.10 are both up and running and my full EFB functionality is restored. Fortunately, my Friday flight was cancelled, so no harm done other than the hassle of having to remove the GDL-39 and bring it home. After about two hours of flight today, it seems to work quite...

There are some unusual requirements for landing at DCA. These include crew vetting a limited number of airports you can depart from, and an armed guard on board. Paul

Seems like a bunch of new features I never asked for and won't use. Plus, I have to invest some labor in bringing the GDL-39 back from the airport and doing a firmware update. I wish they would just leave things alone. Paul

To land a civilian aircraft at a military base, one must file DD forms 2400, 2401, and 2402, apply 30 days in advance, and confirm 24 hours before. In practice, the 30 day thing is usually waived if you have to be there on short notice. .It''s also possible to get a blanket permission -- I was...

I've owned a 1981 172RG for 27 years and well over 4,000 hours. I use it for almost all family, personal, and business travel over 75 miles. I used to be based at DCA, but am now at VKX. I have several comments on both the aircraft and the points raised in previous posts in this thread. 1...

I've done both DC to the West Coast and DC to South Florida many times. Be advised that an instrument rating is very helpful, almost mandatory, for longer trips, particularly in the Southeast. Back when I was VFR-only, my trip postponement rate was about 50% in a DC summer. However, Great Plains...

Since I didn't have a smartphone, ipad, or Nexus at the time, one of the big factors was that the Garmin can run on ships power, while the Stratus has a temperature-sensitive internal battery. This would mean having to remove the Stratus after each flight -- too much hassle.

Immediately.

If it's a 172M, the POH calls for an approach speed between 55 and 65 knots. Your instructor is having you fly at the top of that range, which seems like a safe choice.

I had "A10, flight of two, twelve o'clock, 1,000 feet below you, four miles," called as traffic once. I replied, Potomac, traffic in sight, only see one." After a short pause, one A10 driver replies, "that's the idea". As they passed below me, they were flying Thunderbirds-style...

As I approached the Leesburg Airport (JYO) about twenty years ago, I was perplexed by what seemed to be a large, multiengine aircraft moving at about the speed of a Cessna 152. It turned out to be the the Lufthansa (ex-Martin Caiden) Junkers 52, in town as part of a commemoration of the...

Taxi at a walking pace. On takeoff and landing,never touch the brakes until you have slowed to a walking speed. Follow these rules and ice operations are pretty normal. Some major airports operate for long periods of time with an ice cover - Cleveland Hopkins comes to mind. The operators treat...

I live in Arlington, am based at VKX, and instruct there and at GAI. The FRZ and SFRA are a walk in the park compared to the ordeal of driving through mile of perpetual gridlock to the remote suburban airports.

Without having flown with you, I can't offer any suggestions other than doing a phase check with another instructor to get a second opinion on your strengths and weaknesses. I will say that when I solo a student has a lot to do with weather and traffic conditions as well as student readiness.