397 APR Key Explained: GPS Approach & Autopilot Errors to Avoid with DPE Jim Pitman
Aviation News Talk – Pilot Stories, Safety Tips & General Aviation News
Release Date: 08/15/2025
397 APR Key Explained: GPS Approach & Autopilot Errors to Avoid with DPE Jim Pitman
Aviation News Talk – Pilot Stories, Safety Tips & General Aviation News
Max talks with airline pilot and Designated Pilot Examiner (DPE) Jim Pitman to clear up a persistent avionics myth: that pressing the APR (Approach) key activates a GPS approach. In reality, APR is part of the automatic flight control system (AFCS)—not the GPS navigator. Its function is to arm the flight director’s lateral and vertical capture modes so the autopilot (if engaged) can follow the approach path. You can also view a . Just look on the page for August 15, 2025 video. And while you're on that page, please sign up to support the show. Jim’s “apples vs. oranges” analogy...
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396 How All Pilots Benefit from New MOSAIC Sport Pilot and LSA Rules with Sean Elliott + GA News
Aviation News Talk – Pilot Stories, Safety Tips & General Aviation News
In this episode of the Aviation News Talk podcast, Max Trescott talks with Sean Elliott, Vice President of Advocacy and Safety at the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA), about the FAA’s groundbreaking MOSAIC final rule—and how it benefits all pilots, not just sport pilots or Light-Sport Aircraft owners. Sean explains that MOSAIC replaces the old, restrictive Light-Sport Aircraft definition with a performance-based standard, removing the long-standing 1,320-pound maximum takeoff weight limit and focusing instead on a clean stall speed (VS1) of no more than 59 knots CAS for sport...
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395 NYPD Pilot Ken Solosky on 9/11 — Listen Now on the Rotary Wing Show
Aviation News Talk – Pilot Stories, Safety Tips & General Aviation News
Ken Solosky was the NYPD's Chief Pilot on 9/11, responsible for coordinating helicopter operations during the most devastating day in modern American history. In this short teaser, you'll hear a preview of our in-depth interview with Ken, including why rooftop rescues at the World Trade Center weren't attempted and how the team coped with confusion, misinformation, and tragic loss. The full episode is available now on our new podcast: . Listen and subscribe in your favorite podcast app, by clicking on the link above, and then click the Follow button in the upper right. Or, you can...
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394 Pasadena PD Helicopter Crash Analysis and Cirrus SR22 Safety Lessons
Aviation News Talk – Pilot Stories, Safety Tips & General Aviation News
Max talks about a dramatic ground collision between two Pasadena Police Department helicopters and the wide-ranging lessons pilots can draw from it. On November 17, 2012, two Bell OH-58 helicopters collided at the Pasadena PD Benedict Heliport when one returned from a flight and struck another that was sitting on the pad with its rotors turning. Six people suffered minor injuries, but the accident destroyed both aircraft and revealed systemic issues far beyond a single pilot error. Max uses the NTSB report and audio clips from the Rotary Wing Show—where host Mick Cullen interviewed Dan...
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393 Bonanza Ruddervator Crisis Solved: $500K Prize Spurs Certified Replacement
Aviation News Talk – Pilot Stories, Safety Tips & General Aviation News
Max talks with Tom Turner, Executive Director of the American Bonanza Society’s Air Safety Foundation, about an extraordinary initiative to preserve the operational future of the iconic V-tail Bonanza aircraft. When Textron Aviation quietly stopped producing the magnesium ruddervator skins—a unique flight control surface used only on V-tail Bonanzas—it left over 5,000 aircraft potentially grounded due to a lack of repair parts. Even minor damage could make these aircraft unrepairable. To solve this crisis, the ABS Air Safety Foundation awarded the $500,000 Maciel Ruddervator Prize...
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392 ForeFlight’s Dynamic Procedures: Interactive Approach Charts on the Moving Map
Aviation News Talk – Pilot Stories, Safety Tips & General Aviation News
Max talks with Cole Crawford from ForeFlight about the company’s latest innovation: Dynamic Procedures. Built to replace the static, legacy approach chart paradigm, Dynamic Procedures enables pilots to access IFR approach information dynamically, contextually, and interactively—right from the ForeFlight map screen. Cole explains that most pilots spend their time in ForeFlight’s moving map, but approach procedures often pulled them out of that environment into static “plates.” Dynamic Procedures changes that by embedding approach information into the map itself, using a smart...
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391 Should You Learn to Fly in a Bonanza? Max Trescott and Tom Turner Talk Training Options + GA News
Aviation News Talk – Pilot Stories, Safety Tips & General Aviation News
Max Trescott teams up with Tom Turner—executive director of the American Bonanza Society’s Air Safety Foundation—to help listener Marc Brodecki weigh options for earning his private pilot certificate. Marc, a 39-year-old aerospace engineer in Los Angeles with glider experience, is evaluating three flight training options: a nearby tailwheel-focused school (that includes a Stearman), a larger flight school at Torrance using Sling aircraft, or buying and learning in the Beechcraft Bonanza he eventually wants to own. Tom provides extensive guidance on Bonanza ownership. He discusses...
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390 Electric Airplane Test Flight: Max Trescott Reviews the Bristell B23 Energic
Aviation News Talk – Pilot Stories, Safety Tips & General Aviation News
Max Trescott takes listeners inside the cockpit of the future in episode 390, as he shares his firsthand experience flying the fully electric Bristell B23 Energic trainer and talks with executives from H55, the Swiss company behind its electric propulsion system. This in-depth episode explores the technical, operational, and strategic aspects of electric flight training aircraft. The B23 Energic is a joint project between Czech aircraft manufacturer BRM Aero and H55, the latter founded by the team behind the Solar Impulse aircraft that flew around the world on solar power. Max discusses...
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389 Benadryl, Zyrtec, and More: FAA Wait Time Rules for Pilots with Dr. John Trowbridge
Aviation News Talk – Pilot Stories, Safety Tips & General Aviation News
Max Trescott interviews Dr. John Trowbridge, a physician and former senior Aviation Medical Examiner, to tackle a hidden yet critical safety topic: how over-the-counter (OTC) and prescription medications contribute to general aviation accidents. Studies have found that up to 40% of fatal accidents involve pilots with impairing substances in their system—ranging from allergy medications to sleep aids to alcohol. The problem? Many of these substances are legal and even commonplace, yet can significantly degrade judgment, memory, attention, and coordination. Dr. Trowbridge emphasizes that...
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388 Fly Farther, Fly Smarter: The Benefits of Getting High
Aviation News Talk – Pilot Stories, Safety Tips & General Aviation News
Max Trescott welcomes aviation columnist, aerobatic instructor, and DPE Dr. Catherine Cavagnaro to explore smarter ways to plan cross-country flights. The conversation is inspired by Catherine’s June 2025 AOPA article titled “The Benefits of Getting High,” which argues that pilots often default to lower cruising altitudes or direct GPS routes without considering efficiency or safety trade-offs.Catherine explains that pilots should dig into their aircraft’s POH (Pilot’s Operating Handbook) to find performance charts that highlight how altitude affects both time and fuel efficiency....
info_outlineMax talks with airline pilot and Designated Pilot Examiner (DPE) Jim Pitman to clear up a persistent avionics myth: that pressing the APR (Approach) key activates a GPS approach. In reality, APR is part of the automatic flight control system (AFCS)—not the GPS navigator. Its function is to arm the flight director’s lateral and vertical capture modes so the autopilot (if engaged) can follow the approach path. You can also view a video version of this episode. Just look on the page for August 15, 2025 video. And while you're on that page, please sign up to support the show.
Jim’s “apples vs. oranges” analogy helps pilots keep the two systems straight:
Apples = GPS navigator functions like activating an approach, sequencing waypoints, and CDI scaling.
Oranges = AFCS/autopilot functions like heading, NAV, APR, and altitude hold modes.
Max and Jim break down common scenarios in G1000 and Garmin Perspective+ cockpits, including:
- How to know an approach is active (look for magenta waypoint below the approach title).
- Why APR is often pressed at the wrong time—and how that can disarm modes.
- When to press NAV instead of APR (e.g., intercepting before clearance).
- How to interpret scaling modes (LPV, LNAV, terminal, en route) inside the HSI.
- Using OBS mode effectively and when to turn it off.
They also discuss common checkride errors, such as failing to deselect OBS or mishandling the SUSP (suspend) key during a hold. Jim explains why the FAA expects private pilot applicants to demonstrate basic knowledge of installed automation—even without an instrument rating.
You’ll hear practical techniques to avoid “automation surprise,” like keeping the active flight plan visible, always checking the flight mode annunciator (“scoreboard”) before and after pressing a button, and using the “look–press–look” habit.
Finally, they clarify the confusion between loading and activating an approach: often, the best way to start is simply going direct to the IAF or IF rather than pressing “Activate Approach.”
Pilots can download Jim’s free “G1000 Common Errors & Solutions” guide at flywithjim.com/G1000 and Whether you fly glass-cockpit IFR regularly or are just starting instrument training, this episode will help you use the APR key correctly, fly more precise GPS approaches, and avoid costly autopilot errors.
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