J. Mac McClellan

The original Learjet Model 23 was certified 45 years ago and the airplane was a visual sensation in the aviation press and even the general news media. Part of the notoriety came from the flamboyant Bill Lear who promoted the airplane — and himself — to any and all that would listen. But the Learjet […]

I have come across a bunch of reporting on psychological studies of how humans perceive, or at least how they choose to deal with, risk to their safety. These studies helped explain to me how we pilots accept some high risks but avoid other less dangerous situations. What psychologists have proven over the years is […]

Accidents during cruise are almost unheard of in turbine airplanes where the risk is concentrated in the departure and arrival phases of flight. General aviation pilots also come to grief most frequently in the airport vicinity, but an alarming number of accidents happen during cruise, which should be a benign part of any trip. Most […]

The new automatic flight control systems in airplanes ranging from fixed-gear singles to business jets are just amazing. I never imagined I would see such capability except in multimillion dollar jets, but it’s there in a Skyhawk. The big flat-glass displays get all of the attention, but it is the flight guidance computer at the […]

Continental announced at Oshkosh that is had earned certification for fadec control on its big turbocharged engines, and that it had completed testing and knows how to qualify all of its engine models to burn 94UL unleaded avgas. The company also announced a number of price cuts and incentives for factory engines and certain replacement […]

The new Beechcraft King Air C90GTx will have a higher maximum takeoff weight, and winglets to cut drag, so it will carry more payload farther and faster. And the “x” package can be retrofitted to many existing airplanes in the King Air 90 family. The new version increases the maximum takeoff weight of the King […]

For many years airplanes have been the only transportation vehicles still allowed to use leaded fuel in the United States. Even NASCAR transitioned to unleaded gasoline for its stock car races a couple years ago in a symbolic move of going green. In aviation we have had a solid defense for leaded fuel because there […]

The new automatic flight control systems in airplanes ranging from fixed-gear singles to business jets are just amazing. I never imagined I would see such capability except in multimillion dollar jets, but it’s there in a Skyhawk. The big flat-glass displays get all of the attention, but it is the flight guidance computer at the […]

Whenever new pilots ask me to suggest a first airplane to learn to travel in, the Cessna 182 Skylane is always at the top of my list. My recommendation of the Skylane is especially strong for a pilot new to IFR flying. Part of the reason I believe so firmly in the value of the […]

On June 1 Bonnier Corporation purchased Flying magazine and four other titles from Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S. The writers, editors and staff of Flying were all transferred to the new company so all of the familiar names and columns will continue. Bonnier is a huge media company based in Sweden. Over the past few years […]