J. Mac McClellan

The private pilot license has outlived its usefulness, and it’s time to create a new pilot certification system that addresses more specifically the way people choose to fly today. The one-size-fits-all training progression through the private, commercial and instrument rating certificates just doesn’t serve today’s needs for safety and airplane utility. There are really two […]

Piston twins are demonized by insurance companies and most general aviation pilots, and Flying magazine is responsible for the situation. Well, we are to blame for calling attention to the potential safety problems with twins, but our information has been misunderstood and certainly misapplied by many involved in general aviation. We have it right, and […]

In the 99-year history of powered flight it would be hard to pick the worst year, but these past 12 months are near the top of every pilot’s list. Frustrated is the word that sums up the way most of us feel. Though much of aviation has returned to near normal, a cloud of suspicion […]

I have had the opportunity to watch many, many start-up companies try to build their first aircraft, and the record of success is dismal. But I was pleasantly surprised when I visited Adam Aircraft’s operation in Denver. I think this company has a good chance to make it. The new airplane is named the CarbonAero […]

The FAA has got it right this time with publication of its sport pilot and light-sport aircraft rules. These new rules finally recognize the crucial differences in the type of general aviation airplanes people want to fly, and how they want to use them. Categorizing airplanes and pilots by intended use is actually an old, […]

What is it with pilots and fuel? The most obvious requirement for continued powered flight-fuel in the tanks-seems to confound pilots more than P-factor. It’s impossible to know for sure how many pilots run out of fuel each year, because many power-loss events do not result in an accident if there is no serious personal […]

I never thought I would live to see the day that all civil aviation in this country was grounded. But it happened on September 11. It was spooky as my wife, Stancie, and I walked our dogs in the early evening in the Connecticut suburbs just northeast of New York City. Normally the air is […]

Check out Dick Collins’s BIG AIRPORT CHECKLIST This safety piece, which first appeared in the August edition of the Flying, was written months before the September 11th attacks on America. While the nature of our airspace has changed, and continues to change, we believe the general message, that you need to be prepared and profession […]

I’m sick of the term “pilot error.” A true pilot error is a rare event. But what is so often labeled a pilot error is actually a pilot decision that didn’t result in the outcome expected by the pilot, the regulators or the public. Real pilot errors can only occur in transport-category airplanes that are […]