General

An axiom of flight training, particularly simulator training, is that you should train the way you fly and fly the way you train. It is obvious that if you practice normal, abnormal and emergency procedures under the most realistic conditions possible, you will be best prepared for the real thing if and when it happens. […]

What, you may ask, is a middle altitude? A wiseacre might say that it is the airspace between low and high altitudes and he would be right. The highest level for the middle might be Flight Level 250. The aircraft certification standards change above that altitude. Or it might be Flight Level 230 where air […]

Just when I thought it was safe to get back in the pattern and that pilots were finally taking to heart proper radio discipline, I got a frantic call from my friend Jim. He was very upset about an incident that had occurred two days earlier as he was approaching the Morristown (New Jersey) Municipal […]

** Click here to see the “Turbulance in Congo” photo gallery** “If we’re lucky, we’ll actually see the volcanoes today,” Cindy Silong says as we make our way through the murky gray skies of southeastern Uganda. Frankly, I’ll consider myself lucky if I see anything clearly today. There’s an overcast just above us, and we’re […]

If you are like me you have the best of intentions. As a conscientious pilot who wants to fly in a professional manner, you desire to stay up to date on the latest aviation information. You are planning to go to the next safety seminar that the FAA or AOPA puts on in your area. […]

Before every flight by Gulfstream test pilots, the flight test engineer conducts an exhaustive briefing on every imaginable detail. Obvious issues are weight, CG location, fuel load, reference airspeeds and so on. Less apparent are restrictions on operation of the specific airplane being used, such as airspeed or altitude limits that have not yet been […]

** Click here to see the photo gallery** The first sign that I’ve left modern civilization-and whatever thin veneer of order might accompany it-appears as I try to exit baggage claim and customs at the international airport in N’Djamena, Chad. I walk through the customs doorway into the terminal lobby and suddenly find myself in […]

It should be a simple question. After all, it seems like almost every classroom, hangar, shop or production area has posters reminding people that “Safety Comes First” and to “Be Safe,” “Fly Safe” and “Work Safe.” Yet when I ask the people attending my Preventing Human Error seminar to define safety, to explain how to […]

Back before the days of Nexrad on a GPS screen, controllers were usually the only resource for pilots of light airplanes without weather radar to avoid bad weather. Even though their screens were not optimized for showing weather, they could usually steer a pilot around the worst areas. Controllers have also been very helpful in […]

Clich here to view the Desert Caravan photo gallery The tiny desert strip of Julud is receding below the Caravan’s wheels, and I’m beginning to breathe a little easier. With its 2,000-foot elevation, a rough and almost indiscernible dirt runway that changes heading more than 10 degrees in its 750-meter length, a tall ridgeline close […]