Pilot Proficiency

During 18 months in 2003 and 2004, SpaceShipOne, Scaled Composites’ original air-launched spaceplane, made 14 free flights of which six were powered, the rest glides. Although SS1 was a novel design with an untried type of motor and was venturing into inhospitable territory last visited by the X-15 almost 50 years earlier, the privately funded […]

Chances are you take a certain amount of pride from flying traffic patterns with near military precision, nailing your target altitude and airspeed and squaring off your turns while taking into account the effects of the wind. Not only does this practice demonstrate what a great pilot you are, but it also makes you predictable […]

The pilot, 58, was a hotel owner in the northwest England town of Chester. Although he did not fly professionally, he held commercial licenses for both fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters. In 2002 he had replaced his first airplane, a 160 hp fixed-gear Socata Tampico, with a 1970 Cessna 310, which he flew for 300 hours […]

Two hundred airplanes were planning to depart from a small airport at the exact same time: midnight. Most were jets. There was one ground power unit available for the entire lot. One of the field’s two runways was closed. This gave us something to think about. In fact, we had all day to contemplate the […]

I reached over to the left of my seat and squeezed the red tabs of the oxygen mask. The mask hissed as the inflatable straps began to fill with air. I pulled the device out of its holder and placed it over my face. Immediately after I released the red tabs, the cup and goggle […]

The maintenance delay in Baltimore, the frenetic jostle of Atlanta’s crowded ramps, the low drizzly ceiling in Minneapolis, the myriad little challenges and rewards of the day — all these things have faded with last light, and only the dusky shadows of the day remain. The flickering gas flares of the Bakken Oilfield fade astern […]

The phenomena can happen in any snowstorm where the conditions happen to be ripe for lightning formation. It turns out that lake (or ocean) effect snow has a higher-than-average incidence of thundersnow where cold air passes over warm, moist water. Even though the temperatures are cold, there’s enough vertical development due to the temperature difference […]

Every now and then someone asks, Whats your favorite airplane? Before one stormy January evening, that was a tough call for someone with 47 years and 12,000 hours of flying. After that evening, one particular turboprop twin always takes first prize.

Are you one of many pilots intimidated by the invisible voices behind the avionics panel? Well, if you are, there is a magic action you can take to overcome your fear. It is as simple as scheduling a visit to a local air traffic control tower or Terminal Radar Approach Control (TRACON) facility. By meeting […]

When taking off from your home airport, what’s your preferred departure technique? Do you choose to climb at Vx (best angle-of-climb airspeed), Vy (best rate-of-climb airspeed) or perhaps some other speed? In high-performance piston singles especially, max performance takeoffs at Vx or Vy may not be the smartest idea. Sure, you’ll gain extra altitude climbing […]