Pilot Proficiency

Mark Twain’s fanciful novel featured an industrial age New Englander transported back in time to the court of King Arthur, but this true tale is about an East-Coaster, his family, his airplane and a trip to Carmel, California. The basic plot ingredients feature a 35-year-old Piper Cheyenne I turboprop that they’ve owned for 16 years […]

The Internet is rife with speculation as to what may have caused the crash of a Russian jetliner in Egypt on Saturday after an airline executive categorically ruled out pilot error or a mechanical problem. The suggestion by the executive with airline Kogalymavia is that a missile or a perhaps a bomb brought down the […]

It goes without saying that safety has to be the first priority for any airline, but reliability certainly runs a close second. If an airline is perceived as unreliable, no amount of travel vouchers or complimentary cocktails will restore a negative image. A carrier’s scheduled performance is a direct measure of its product quality. The […]

Space-geeks rejoice! NASA recently released into the public domain a collection of thousands of digital photos from the Apollo era, including a wide collection of spectacular shots from the lunar landings. The collection includes images from Apollo missions 7 through 17. Many of the images have never previously been released. In addition to loads of […]

Over the weekend, the board of directors of the General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) created a new “associate member” category for electric and hybrid-propulsion aircraft. The reason for the new membership category is to hasten the worldwide development, growth and airworthiness certification of electric airplanes, which very well could play an important role in securing […]

While we all love flying, there are times when there is not a whole lot to do in the cockpit. Once you have climbed to your cruise altitude and configured the airplane for cruise you may ask yourself “what’s next?” After you’ve enjoyed the view for a while, the idle time in cruise is a […]

Flying Aviation Expo wrapped up on Saturday with the Parade of Planes back to the Palm Springs Airport, leaving everybody who was there smiling and wanting more, more, more. I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say the second annual Aviation Expo was twice as good as the first. The convention hall featured more exhibits, […]

It drives me a little crazy that the Code of Federal Aviation Regulations is so vague on so many crucially important points. For example, the regs say private pilots can share certain flight costs with passengers. The rule seems pretty straightforward. It’s not until you come across up various “legal interpretations” by FAA lawyers that […]

An airplane whose CG is significantly far behind the aft limit becomes neutrally stable or even mildly unstable. It can still be flown by a sufficiently alert pilot, but to a pilot who is unprepared for it, the experience is disorienting and can easily lead to overcontrol. Overcontrol in the nose-up direction, in turn, can […]

As a longtime reader of aviation accident stories in I Learned About Flying from That, I never thought that so soon into my aviation adventure I’d find myself telling a story of my own. All of the events that follow took place during an aviation-packed day that would begin with the eager anticipation of visiting […]