Grant Opperman

It’s a crisp December morning in Las Vegas, and hundreds of the world’s top aerobatic pilots gather. None of them are flying, despite clear weather. Instead they pack the Rio Hotel and Casino’s Brasilia ballroom to listen to a motivational speaker. “Live lives of adventure and purpose,” the speaker encourages them. “Stretch yourself beyond your […]

In more than 40 years of flying, Mary Schu says she has never been more frightened than the day she encountered extreme ­icing in flight. Schu flies in Oregon, one of the United States’ “iceboxes.” She’s the National Association of Flight Instructors’ 2015 Flight Instructor of the Year as well as an FAA-designated pilot ­examiner. […]

Some things you just can’t understand unless you were there. So, it’s fitting that a pair of crash survivors are most responsible for one of the most notable and controversial recent aviation safety innovations. They were there. The first, Boris Popov, had his day of motorboat-towed hang gliding over Lake Owasso, Minnesota, go topsy-turvy after […]