Pilot Proficiency

Our county medical society was hosting a winter conference at Sun Valley, a ski resort town in Idaho. Being an avid skier and pilot, I jumped at the opportunity to scratch both itches and fly to the conference. The FBO at my field had a Seneca II available, with oxygen, boots and hot props (but […]

Flying on a gorgeous afternoon last week in the Florida Keys, I saw something that made me shake my head. From my vantage point cruising east at 1,200 feet after stopping for lunch in Key West, I spotted a tiny speck of an airplane at an altitude of maybe 50 feet buzzing cars on a […]

Gallup reported today that Congress’ approval rating has dropped to 14 percent, the lowest figure in four decades of polling. The recent battles over the budget and health care are driving the public’s exasperation with the House and Senate, and rightly so. But pilots shouldn’t be so quick to criticize. Never have we enjoyed a […]

As the holiday season is upon us, many people are finding ways to give back to the community by volunteering at local soup kitchens or donating food or toys to charitable organizations. If you are looking for ways to give back and continue to help once the holidays are over, you can use your airplane […]

The trend among aviation educators to ingrain in students the importance of keeping their eyes looking outside the cockpit is excellent counsel in an increasingly digital world. But an equally important piece of the safety puzzle is to use everything in our arsenal, from our eyes to our ears to the avionics in the panel, […]

In 1973, the end of American involvement in the Vietnam War signaled the end of the draft. A few months prior to leaving for college in 1975, the Selective Service System no longer required me to register. It wasn’t long thereafter that the Air Force dramatically reduced its demand for pilots. My secondary alternate status […]

To say that electrical systems are not my strong point is something of an understatement. The reality is I don’t actually believe in electricity, and although I’ve spent a lifetime regurgitating answers to questions on oral and written tests about amps and volts and ohms and AC and DC current and inverters and buses and […]

My first year of membership in DiamondShare is almost over. And as the end of my one-year lease approaches, I have an important choice to make: stick with the shared-lease program or find some other way to fly. My introduction to the DiamondShare experience was somewhat unusual in that I was handed the keys to […]

When planning a flight, pilots are trained to prepare for contingencies; minor problems and emergencies will arise at some point throughout every one of our flying careers. We taxi slow enough in case we experience a brake failure. In a single-engine airplane we choose a route of flight from point A to B that will […]

The FAA puts great emphasis on the use of checklists, so much so that failing to use them during a checkride will result in a pink slip. While you should always have a checklist within reach to back you up, there is another easy way to make sure you are not missing any critical items […]