General

After writing the title for this month’s Jumpseat column, I chuckled to myself. I hadn’t meant to create a tongue twister. But the title summarized the trip. I’ll explain why. In February Carol and I had planned our annual ski vacation to Park City. Prior to our departure, we had been entertaining guests nonstop in […]

The Cessna 310R departed Daytona Beach International Airport at 8:22 a.m., on a trip to Lakeland, Florida. The commercial pilot in the left seat was acting as pilot in command, while the ATP-rated pilot in the right seat functioned as a safety pilot. The NTSB report states that about 10 minutes later, shortly after reaching […]

Just coming level at 23,000 feet, I bring the props back to 1900 rpm, double-check the altitude with the copilot’s altimeter and the Garmin 430, vend myself a cup of hot coffee and sit back to survey with satisfaction the good fortune that presents itself before me: an interesting two-day, three-segment trip in our Cheyenne […]

It’s funny, the things that stick. Every day, people make comments to me. Whole conversations ensue. Years and years of words, sentences, stories and dissertations pile up in the mental “in” box. Yet out of all those words, only a few lines, jokes, pieces of advice or phrases actually imprint clearly enough on the internal […]

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 […]

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 […]

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”: Q: I own a special light sport aircraft (S-LSA) and I want to add a vertical card compass and back […]

Our Flying Mail column is an equal-opportunity zone. Truth and falsehood mingle freely there. In the April issue a reader, Hal Stiles of North Miami, Florida, wrote to assert that “Pusher props are superior.” He pointed out that the Cessna Skymaster, the push-pull twin with one tractor and one pusher engine, performs better on the […]

Military pilots have a phrase they use called “check six.” It reminds them how important it is to always keep checking their 6 o’clock position to make sure an enemy pilot is not sneaking up behind them. Civilian pilots should use a similar phrase, “check final,” to remind ourselves to always check to make sure […]

In the mid-60s I was posted to Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, home of Headquarters Strategic Air Command. I was not in the HQ, however, but in the Operations Squadron of Offutt’s Air Base Wing. The ABW ran all the base’s goods and services, we in the ops squadron provided support for all the aviators […]