Pilot Proficiency

When flying into uncontrolled airports, you rely on other pilots in the area to help avoid midair collisions by following the recommended procedures and communicating intentions on the common traffic advisory frequency (CTAF). Without a controller providing guidance, it is important to follow the recommended arrival and departure procedures to minimize the risks. While radio […]

Some pilots aren’t totally sure of the differences between a spin and a spiral dive. That’s OK in the classroom setting when discussing aerodynamic theory, but it can be dangerous in the cockpit should either flight condition be allowed to develop and the pilot doesn’t immediately know what’s going on or the corrective actions to […]

10 m wind corresponds exactly to the wind as would be observed. The model data also offers gust strength and maximum wind for the hour.

In Wx Smarts we focus on outsmarting the weather through heightened weather-situational awareness. Yet, in my three years here, I havent discussed forecast models. Its time.Models dont yet belong in the cockpit, but they can be valuable for planning and understanding whats going through the minds of the forecasters. Plus, models are useful for long-range outlooks.

Grumble, grumble. It was a bad morning around the breakfast table at the Hilton near Teterboro Airport in New Jersey. There were three crews altogether. Two of us pilots were billeted at the nearby Holiday Inn, definitely not to be confused with a ­Ritz-Carlton, and we’d driven over to join the others. It was a […]

It was a little after noon on a cloudy December day when a B36TC Bonanza with five aboard climbed out of Baker City, in northeastern Oregon, bound for Butte, Montana, 234 nm away. A few minutes after takeoff the pilot called Salt Lake Center to activate his IFR flight plan. He was cleared direct to […]

Relationships are often defined by shared experiences. So was the case with Loretta and me. When the tower asked if we wanted to declare an emergency, my date’s panicked expression suggested that our future together might require more than a safe landing. The Cessna 182 ferry mission was to be routine. N15AP had just been […]

After just over two years of flying our Comanche, Martha and I “needed” a second engine, and more knobs, levers, switches and gauges. In short, we “needed” a Twin Comanche. But we couldn’t afford one. That’s why the “bargain” Twin Comanche in Trade-A-Plane caught our eye. We knew the airplane would be rough, but we […]

We all strive for landings that are silky smooth, where the wheels of the airplane appear to kiss the ground before they slowly roll to a stop. But in addition to making a soft touchdown a priority, you should have an area on the runway in mind as the touchdown zone. If you are not […]

“Cessna 53223 cleared to Runway 18 via Charlie taxiway, Pasquale 3 departure, squawk bingo.” That’s a typical controller clearance for my friend Charlie Peck. Charlie is retired from IBM and flies his Cessna 172 nearly every good weather day. He keeps it at the Portland International Jetport in Portland, Maine. The Auburn-Lewiston airport is his […]