Annual Flight Review - Written Option

There is now an option available for members who do not have a VATSIM account (or simply do not want to fly on VATSIM) to complete the 2009 Annual Flight Review.

The second option is to complete an online "open-book" exam. The exam includes 25 multiple-choice questions mostly about web content at AeroTexas and information from the handbook. The exam will also test your knowledge about a selected non-precision approach, and you'll even get to decode a few METARS along the way - fun, actually!

2009 Annual Flight Review

(You must be logged in to take the exam)

2009 Check Ride Requirements

The annual checkride this year has two options:

1. Select any flight from the regional or continental schedules at AeroTexas, and complete that flight on the VATSIM network using your AeroTexas ID as the callsign. Then, report your flight as usual and note in the comments section that the flight was a checkride, and that it was flown on VATSIM. Note that VATSIM controllers do not have to actually be online for this to be a valid checkride flight.

2. Use a variant of ATAVS to fly a prescribed 2-hour route using VOR and ADF navigation and without an autopilot. More details later - this option will be available sometime on or before 15 November.

To check the status of your check ride click here.

2009 Check Ride - Starts November 1st

The checkride period this year will be from November 1st to November 30th. As in previous years, this is a mandatory checkride for all members of AeroTexas. The difference this year is there are two options:

The first option is the easiest - simply pick any flight from the regional or continental schedules at AeroTexas, and complete that flight on the VATSIM network using your AeroTexas ID as the callsign. Then, report your flight as usual and note in the comments section that the flight was a checkride, and that it was flown on VATSIM.

The second option is similar to what you've seen in the past - completing a flight using a variant of ATAVS; this option may not be available until mid-November, which might leave only a two-week window (more details will be released here when it's ready).

I would really prefer if everyone chose the first option, as we could use the exposure on the VATSIM network. And as further motivation, the second option will be particularly challenging (i.e., about a two-hour flight with no autopilot and lots of VOR work).

The check ride period starts tomorrow - Happy Halloween!

ATX48 earns CATII certification

A big congratulations to Mr. Rice (ATX48), who passed the CAT II flight check. This is the first CAT II cert we've awarded since we changed the way we do these flight checks - online and in tandem. We logged into VATSIM this evening and prepared for a short, but challenging flight from Portland to Eugene. Portland Tower online, amd with us and a few others the comms traffic was pretty chatty. Departing KPDX the winds were variable with visibility at 3 miles in haze with a broken layer starting at 500 feet and extending up through about 7500 or so. On top it was clear above with a nice view of Mt. Hood off the left wing.






After departure the controller was nice enough to switch hats and became Center and helped us along our way to Eugene. He cautioned that low visibility instrument flight rules were in effect at KEUG, and I think this might have been his first CAT II as well! I was lead aircraft, flying my favorite Boeing 737-700, while Rice followed about 10 in trail. Here you can just barely see his right wing light...




As I set up for the approach I verified that the surface conditions were very low. It seemed like the runway never came into view until just above the decision height, which for CAT II is 100 feet! Winds were light but visibility was 1/4 mile in fog and even the vertical visibility was 100 feet. Here the on-board radar shows him being vectored into position - Center was giving him S turns though there was plenty of room...



Cleared for ILS RWY 16R CAT II, I landed with variable runway visual range (RVR) from 2500 to 3500 feet. My landing was not as good as I had hoped, but I taxiied around and managed a quick snapshot of Rice as he made a perfect landing.



Captain Rice makes a perfect landing and earns his CAT II flying the CRJ.

2008 Annual Flight Check

This year our annual flight check consists of a check-ride from our headquarters in Austin to Waco. As 10 of our members have already found out, it's not a direct flight by any means. The flight plan has an obvious backward question-mark look to it.

There are two reasons for this: (1) to establish a more challenging manual flight check-ride; and (2) to avoid the Prohibited Area above Crawford, Texas. In 2001, the FAA amended 14 CFR part 73 to establish, "P-49 Crawford, TX." The prohibited area extends from the surface to 5,000 feet above mean sea level (MSL) within a 3-nautical mile (NM) radius of latitude 31 deg.34'57" N., longitude 97 deg.32'37" W.

So far, flight reports indicate that this is a fun flight. I'm glad about that. Please be sure to complete the check-ride by October 15th.

http://aerotexas.com/checkride2008/

Annual Check Ride

The Annual Checkride returns! Plans are under way for the 2008 checkride to begin sometime in early September. This will be a mandatory activity for all members, staff, and Partners. The checkride will count as an active member flight, and there will be a 3-week window for completion of the checkride. More details will be posted here soon.