Pilot Proficiency

You’ve never seen anything like this. Extremely strong winds at the USAF Academy Airfield in Colorado Springs, Colorado, caused a dangerous emergency situation for pilots of four tow planes sitting on the tarmac as a 55-knot spring gust front swept across the airport recently. Two of the four pilots were forced to take to the […]

The more intimate your relationship is with your airplane, the better prepared you are to provide the airplane with a long, healthy life and, more importantly, you will be more acutely aware of when something is not quite right. You are much more likely to be able to accurately diagnose a problem quickly if you […]

In 2012, USA Today reporter Thomas Frank was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. He didn’t win. Maybe coming so close to claiming journalism’s top accolade and missing out ate at him. And so he set his sights on a tantalizing new subject – the miserable safety record of little airplanes – that could finally […]

When we make a turn in flight, why do we use the rudder? We all know from the books the answer is to “correct for adverse yaw” — which is just a fancy way of saying to overcome drag from the aileron. When you initiate a turn, which should you move first, the aileron with […]

_”The Cub is the safest airplane in the world; it can just barely kill you.” _ — Max Stanley, Northrop test pilot A friend who recently launched into an RV-8 project sent me the video of an aerobatic performance by local RV guru Jon Thocker. Jon’s routine was graceful, precise and beautifully filmed, so it […]

As the gear of the Mooney 201 thumped into the wheel wells, I squinted over the glareshield at a setting sun that was transforming the horizon into a postcard of purple, yellow and red. We climbed southwestward toward the VOR that established most of the routing around our airport. It wasn’t a 777, but just […]

One of the pleasures of this job is hearing from readers. Some write to correct my errors or to note my omissions. Some are hostile, though the population recommending my immediate consignment to the infernal fires has for some reason dwindled in recent years. Maybe they went first. Some ask questions. Some of the questions […]

The summer flying season is upon us and so are strong sunrays. It’s time to think about how to best protect yourself from contracting skin cancer and other damage that can result from the UV beams that bear down on you inside and outside the cockpit. You may think you are inside and protected while […]

“Erika, I’m sorry, but I’m stuck up here. The snowstorm is pounding away and all the roads are closed. You’ll have to pick him up at the airport tomorrow and entertain him until I can get to Minneapolis.” “Dad, please, no way. I have a major research project due and I am working a 55-hour […]

After 9/11 the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency’s authority and funding saw massive expansions as its mission swelled from border security to a statutory mandate to keep a watchful eye for terrorist threats anywhere in the country. Part of that broadened authority includes the CBP’s General Aviation Pilot Certificate Inspection program, which as you […]