Setting your transponder code allows ATC to follow your progress in their airspace using this technology, but do you know the difference of when you are just being ‘followed’, and when ATC is actually ensuring your separation and making sure you don’t collide with terrain, or other aircraft?
It is almost certain to have happened to every VFR pilot, whether on that first solo navigation exercise, or many hours down the line… That ‘Oh F@#$’ moment when you realise that you have somehow lost situational awareness and you don’t quite know where you are.
As with all human inventions, the altimeter is fallible, and should it fail in flight, having a back up plan of how to fly without it, is a skill worth having.
It may be one of the most basic instruments in your aircraft, yet, it is a legal requirement, and has an essential place in the cockpit, especially when all else fails.
The pitot-static system is simple, yet very important as it affects 3 critical instruments. Understanding what happens when part of it gets blocked, will help you to fly in a safe manner.
A good instructor will teach you how to avoid the dreaded bounce, which is almost an inevitable part of learning to land an aeroplane, but more importantly, what to do when it happens.
