Flying Staff

From the beginning the FAA has treated jets differently. In almost every area of certification the standards for jets have been more stringent than for propeller-driven airplanes, and one of those jet standards had been a requirement for two pilots. That rule remained in force until 1977 when Cessna won approval for single-pilot operation of […]

Each month, Flying answers questions about the new Sport Pilot/Light Sport Aircraft rule with assistance from the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA), the authority on the opportunities available within the category commonly known as “Sport Pilot”: I renewed my CFI this year but don’t use the rating. Actually, I am now flying in the Sport Pilot […]

The most common type of airplane accident involves departure from the runway on landing. Some pilots lose control and go off the side of the runway with plenty of pavement remaining, but many others simply run out of room and go off the end. The FAA and NTSB are so concerned about landing runway accidents […]

With the practiced air of a concert pianist adjusting his piano bench, Les Abend slid his captain’s seat forward and towards the midline of the American Airlines 757, adjusted the seat height and rudder pedals with habitual precision, surveyed with satisfaction the array of dials, screens, switches and throttles, then turned to me and first […]

The photos were tucked in the back of the gallery, almost hidden behind the colorful nautical scenes and seaside landscapes that typifies most of the commercial paintings sold in town. The photos also featured local landmarks of the harbor, the town and the North Shore coastline-but they stood out from the other artwork in two […]

“I always use flaps for climb. I get more lift that way.” Some would call this statement perfectly logical, because flaps do increase lift and increased lift certainly ought to make an airplane climb faster. Others would say that the reasoning is fallacious, and that flaps, by increasing drag, reduce rate of climb rather than […]

It wasn’t until one of the very last stops and the very last day of my visit at Oshkosh that I really understood that I still lead a sheltered airline life. The revelation didn’t sink in until my jaw went slack after catching a surprised glimpse of Larry Neal’s flying motorcycle exhibited in the Ultralight […]

The Sino Swearingen SJ30-2 flies in the face of conventional business jet wisdom in almost every respect. While the rest of the industry is firmly convinced that passengers demand the greatest possible amount of cabin space and simply won’t endure a cramped cabin for very long, the SJ30 delivers coast-to-coast range at a cruise speed […]

The risk all of us in aviation focus on is flying safety, and that is paramount. But there is another major risk to consider, and that is the chance that a new design will not actually be an improvement. That’s why evolutionary airplanes have enjoyed such success,and none more so than the Hawker 125 line […]