Pilot Proficiency

Many lives and limbs have been lost as a result of spinning propellers, either by someone walking into their revolving paths or by someone inadvertently starting an engine by moving a propeller. I recently spoke with a gentleman who was fortunate to walk away from an incident in which his airplane started up briefly as […]

Last week, after enjoying one flyable day in between snowstorms, I gave up on aviating and took myself to the movies. The flick had great reviews and an impressive cast, but it was as gloomy as the weather. I sat for a couple hours and watched a totally dysfunctional family implode — the mother dying […]

The FAA’s draconian blanket ban on “commercial” UAV flying is a joke. An NTSB judge said as much in March by **tossing out a $10,000 FAA fine **against a videographer who made a promotional film for the University of Virginia using a small quadracopter. Others regularly fly similar remote-controlled craft to shoot videos or take […]

When you are at a gathering of pilots, you are surrounded by remarkable people — people just like you. In the United States, less than two-tenths of 1 percent of the population has made the substantial personal commitment of time, effort, money and stress required to learn to fly. To learn to fly, you have […]

If you ever feel rushed while flying, take a deep breath, gather your thoughts and return to the task at hand — and whatever it was you were doing, do it more slowly. After all, very few things in aviation need to be done in a hurry. Rushing will only cause you to make mistakes. […]

In our FBO Spotlight series, we’re highlighting FBOs around the country that have received rave reviews from our readers. This latest Spotlight is brought to you by Bob Maxwell, who has recently flown into Marv Skie-Lincoln County Airport in Tea, South Dakota, in a Cessna 152 II. Here’s what he had to say about the […]

The first in a series of fly-ins that AOPA is calling a “grassroots effort” took place in San Marcos, Texas, this past Saturday, and the results were beyond anyone’s wildest expectations. The event raised the question, “can a fly-in be too big,” and punctuated it with a big “yes.” This one came close. With “more […]

So far, all pilots other than those flying under light sport pilot rules must possess a medical certificate in order to fly legally. These regulations may soon change and you may be able to fly with a driver’s license and by self-assessment of whether you are fit to fly. Whether you have a medical certificate […]

One of the legends clinging to the Sopwith Camel is that it was so reluctant to turn 90 degrees to the right that pilots preferred making a 270 to the left. Now, this is being said about the airplane that is widely regarded as the premier dogfighter of World War I. You have to wonder […]

Suddenly, the so-called “Part 23 rewrite” has grown from a simple tweaking of aircraft and equipment certification standards to a full-on international effort to harmonize regulations around the world. Changing the rules of the game for how manufacturers approve new technology for light airplanes by shifting from the federal aviation regulations (or their international equivalent) […]