Pilot Proficiency

Are you in the category of pilots who park the airplane, lock it up and leave as soon as you land from a flight? You may want to take some time to hang out with your aerial chariot for a while after it gets you safely on the ground. Opening up the inspection door in […]

The entire Flying team is getting ready to head for sunny Palm Springs to oversee final preparations for Flying Aviation Expo at the Palm Springs Convention Center, which kicks off on Thursday, October 15, with the Parade of Planes through the streets of downtown. Based on pre-registration numbers, it’s going to be a great show, […]

Neuroscientists tell us it is impossible for the human brain to multitask. We might think we’re becoming more productive by splitting our attention, but in reality when we attempt to multitask we really end up doing twice as much as we should, half as well as we could. There are unavoidable negative impacts when we […]

I’m front-page news. The lead story in my state’s big daily newspaper. On Page 1, above the fold. Where the Albuquerque Journal announced that my plane and I have “earned a spot in aviation history.” How did I do that? Simple. I set a world speed record. And you can too. WHAT DO YOU NEED […]

We’re just a couple of weeks away from Flying Aviation Expo and the excitement for Southern California’s premier aviation event, planned for October 15-17 in Palm Springs, is growing by the day. If you haven’t made up you mind whether you’re coming, here is a list of reasons why you have to be there. • […]

Leadership. They write books about it. There are seminars, webinars, pamphlets and university courses about this elusive trait. I’ve known a few great leaders in medicine and one particularly great one in life. I’ve tried my own hand at medical school leadership. I really have no idea as to whether I was any good at […]

The first part of the flight was peaceable enough. It was just two hours from Savannah, Georgia, to White Plains, New York, with two passengers (one a spry 95 years of age, delightful smile included) and plenty of gas. The weather at the destination was the only wrinkle in the silk fabric of a perfect […]

Ladies and gentlemen, we’re about to make history. For better or worse, general aviation is on the precipice of transformative change unlike anything the industry has seen in its history. Maybe we don’t comprehend the scope of the change that is coming, or perhaps we feel there’s little as individuals we can do to affect […]

It was a typical spring day in Minnesota, warm and clear at last, but with a brisk south wind blowing across the runway. I’d just driven 45 minutes to fly the Cub for the first time since November, and I thought that the wind was still within the plane’s capability. Once I broke ground and […]

If you are a responsible pilot you run through a before takeoff checklist that includes a runup of the engine that makes sure the magnetos are both grounded and that there is no gunk preventing the spark plugs from firing to produce a smooth running engine. But if there is an issue during the runup, […]