Martha King

A FLYING reader wonders if they should take the step, and finds out why taking it would give benefits they hadn’t thought of.

It’s important to focus on risk management by scanning the conditions around you and considering any possible hazards—before takeoff.

Don’t drop the airplane to fly the microphone.

When you can say, “Been there, done that!”

He was a good friend. A ski-resort developer, a leader in his community, someone we highly admired. He took off in his Cessna Cardinal at night from his ski resort during a snowstorm on a short trip he flew almost every weekend. He was not instrument-rated. He knew the route well, but obviously not well […]

It was during EAA AirVenture at Oshkosh, Wisconsin. John and I were seated at a dinner table when a friend brought up a visitor. We were informed the visitor was a prince of Saudi Arabia—and what ensued is the kind of extraordinary conversation that can happen at Oshkosh. I am sorry to say that I […]

The ADS-B deadline was looming. We wanted to keep our airplane as a practical transportation tool. But in addition to being legally required, ADS-B and the technology associated with it would make our flights safer. The FAA’s safety analysis on the accident rate of ADS-B-equipped aircraft between 2013 and 2017 is out: For the continental […]

He could have been a ­10-year-old kid. He was certainly acting like one. We were at the Helicopter Association International annual convention, and John was sitting in a helicopter pretending to fly it. He gradually became aware that someone had been standing beside him, waiting for him to come out of his fantasy. “I am […]

The threat from Axis submarines prowling the East Coast of the United States was scary and very real. Onshore shelling terrorized civilians, but the real low-hanging fruit for the submarines was on the seas. By as early as August 1942, Axis subs had caused the loss of thousands of lives, mainly merchant mariners, and sunk […]

For tens of thousands of aircraft owners, the deadline has been looming. ADS-B will be required on January 1, 2020, in airspace that now requires a transponder. It was clear to John and me that we wanted to meet the requirement before the deadline — because without ADS-B our old jet would become useless. And […]