Peter Garrison, Author at FLYING Magazine

Peter Garrison taught himself to use a slide rule and tin snips, built an airplane in his backyard, and flew it to Japan. He began contributing to FLYING in 1968, and he continues to share his columns, ""Technicalities"" and ""Aftermath,"" with FLYING readers.

Mastering the 180-degree, power-off approach requires not just accuracy, but the judgment to go around when conditions fail. Pilots must remember that a missed maneuver is a learning opportunity, not failure. [Credit: Glenn Watson]

Peter Garrison Wednesday, September 30, 2026

Off Target: The High Cost of Trying to Salvage a Bad Approach

It wasn’t that important for one Georgia pilot to get it right.

The author shares 50 years of memories with dear friend and great pilot Mike Melvill. [Credit: Peter Garrison]

Peter Garrison Friday, August 21, 2026

Hero Civilian Astronaut Was Man Without Enemies

Late Mike Melvill recalled as a nice guy who can never be replaced.

Even a slight alteration in the position of a stall strip can change the stalling behavior of an airplane. [Credit: Adobe Stock]

Peter Garrison Tuesday, July 21, 2026

Pilots Must Be Prepared for ‘Unacceptable Stall Behavior’

Routine post-maintenance check flight turns catastrophic.

The author’s airplane sits on the grass near the ancient temple site of Tikal in Guatemala. [Credit: Peter Garrison]

Peter Garrison Wednesday, June 17, 2026

My Own Private GPS

How lost are you really, when you think you’re lost?

Flight time may possibly be more affected by the rate at which ski jumpers slow down than by the rate at which they lose height. [Credit: U.S. Ski & Snowboard]

Peter Garrison Wednesday, May 20, 2026

Flight Without Wings: Lift Comes in Many Forms

Olympic ski jumpers are all tip and no wing, so how do they do it?

Air brakes are among those things—the onward march of modernity relies on them—that you don’t see the need for until you get them, and then you can’t imagine doing without them. [Credit: Peter Garrison]

Peter Garrison Wednesday, April 8, 2026

The Missing Control: Air Brakes Are Indispensable

Would you drive a car without brakes?

To hold the controls of an airplane is easy. To snatch them from another pilot, literally or figuratively, is one of the hardest things a pilot might have to do. [Credit: Adobe Stock]

Peter Garrison Wednesday, February 25, 2026

In the Cockpit, Are Two Heads Better Than One?

Sometimes the multiplication of eyes and minds does not prevent fatal airplane accidents.

Denys Finch Hatton with the de Havilland DH.60G Gipsy Moth in Africa. [Credit: Karen Blixen Museum]

Peter Garrison Tuesday, January 20, 2026

Why We Fly, Indeed: There’s Always Something New Out of Africa

Fundamentals of flight elude naming, but not feeling.

The remote lands of Alaska attract pilots and hunters but require extra flying caution. [Credit: Adobe Stock]

Peter Garrison Friday, December 26, 2025

Medley of Errors Causes Alaska Pilot’s Downfall

Discussing dangers does not make them go away.

Sometimes we have to wonder if stabilizer locations chosen for subtle aerodynamic reasons, as you would like to imagine, or merely aesthetic ones. [Credit: Adobe Stock]

Peter Garrison Wednesday, November 12, 2025

Where to Put It: Is Stabilizer Position Wisdom or Whim?

Designers just seem to put the aerodynamic element wherever seems convenient.

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