Pilot Proficiency

Illustrations by Barry Ross| Climbing through 15,000 feet, I breathe a sigh of relief, slide my seat back and take a look around. Orange County, California, has one of the busier departure procedures in the country, and it’s a bit of a workout even when you’re familiar with it. But now that we’re high above […]

You may recall at the start of the summer flying season FAA Administrator Michael Huerta implored general aviation pilots to fly safely in June, July and August. In an open letter to the GA community delivered just before the Memorial Day weekend, Huerta begged us, “Make sure you’re ready – really ready – to fly.” […]

It’s never a good idea to use a taxiway as a runway (though it’s happened plenty of times). But as you probably know controllers will frequently instruct pilots to do just the opposite — that is, use a runway as a taxiway. We normally accept these special taxi clearances without giving much thought to the […]

A lawyer called recently and asked for some help with an aviation-related case. I think he probably inherited it, being the most junior associate in his law firm. When it became apparent that this was a pretty complex issue, and knowing what it costs to consult with a lawyer for longer than two nanoseconds, I […]

Many of the aviation accidents I have written about fall into the “What were they thinking?” category. This would include a noninstrument-rated pilot who takes off into weather that is so bad even the birds are walking; the pilot who continues into ominous weather; and the pilot who tries to take off on a short, […]

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 Robert Thrailkill, who recently flew into Portland-Hillsboro Airport in Portland, Oregon, in a Beechcraft P35. Here’s what he had to say about one of the airport’s FBOs, Aero […]

United Airlines announced yesterday it will recall all of its furloughed pilots — nearly 600. The announcement bodes well for those who predict a pilot shortage, though experts stress that this does not necessarily signal growth for the troubled airline industry. The recalls will fill expected staffing needs caused by retirements and new duty-time rules, […]

My name is Jack — I am 82 years old. My friend Gary is 83 years old, and my 1947 Aeronca Super Chief (N3900E) is 65 years old. In 1960, I went to work for Alaska Airlines for 25 years. Before and during that time, I worked on a lot of different airplanes, and for […]

While you need to enlist a certified flight instructor once every couple of years for your biennial flight review, you don’t need to pay a CFI to learn new things about flying. If you connect with other pilots at your flight school or at neighboring hangars, you are likely to learn new things and find […]

The date was Dec. 23, 1943 — I was 21 years old. I was in the rear cockpit of a Fairchild PT-19 primary trainer with a total dual time to date of 10 hours. My instructor was in the front cockpit. The wide-open grass landing strip of Cimarron Field Primary Flight School in Oklahoma was […]