Pilot Proficiency

It was a normal Saturday morning. I had just left the bank and pulled up to the busy street to wait for a break in traffic so I could make a right turn. I had quickly checked to the right when I first stopped at the sidewalk, and then focused on the traffic approaching from […]

The magic of flight has captured 19-month-old Noah as he stares up at the giant nose of a Douglas DC-7 on display at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum. Do we have a future pilot in the making? While it’s too early to say whether Noah will develop a passion for aviation, he looks […]

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 Bill Gardner, who recently flew into Laughlin/Bullhead International Airport in Bullhead City, Arizona, in a Beech 33A. Here’s what he had to say about the airport’s FBO, Landmark […]

There’s a lot we still don’t know about yesterday morning’s crash of a UPS Airbus A300 in Birmingham, Alabama. But what we do know is both troubling and at the same time eerily reminiscent of the Asiana Flight 214 crash in San Francisco last month. The causes of these crashes won’t be determined for some […]

From time to time I find myself in the study of some aviation aficionado — former Flying editor Stephan Wilkinson comes to mind — admiring the cargo of his bookshelves. Many a volume that I would like to sit down with on a rainy afternoon; many that I have never heard of. The lavishly illustrated […]

Every time I turn final and select the last notch of flaps, I assume one of two things are going to happen: either I’m going to land or I’m not. I always keep in the back of my mind the thought that I might have to go around, for whatever reason. On occasion, even when […]

Dual Electronics’ XGPS170 combination GPS/ADS-B receiver is now compatible with WSI’s Pilotbrief Optima iPad app. WSI’s app, available through the Apple iTunes store or at wsi.com/pilotbrief, provides what the company describes as “professional-grade weather services at a private pilot price.” It also incorporates charts and flight-planning software. Adding ADS-B via the Bluetooth connection on the […]

On a Sunday morning in March a 150-hour private pilot, 61 years old, and his wife went for a short flight in a rented Cherokee Warrior. It was a nice blue-sky day. The nearest weather reporting point, 20 miles to the south, was calling the visibility 10 miles — which meant, for all practical purposes, […]

| It takes a village to make an animated film. Around 500 people contributed to the creation of Planes, Disney’s latest animated movie, slated for release on Aug. 9. I had the chance to meet with a few of the key creators to learn more about what goes into making an animated movie that, through […]

I encountered a minor problem while working on my private pilot ticket: Members of the Des Moines, Iowa, company’s flying club kept crashing their airplanes! In one case, a member got into weather he couldn’t handle in a Tri-Pacer with minimal instruments. So he put her down in a cornfield. He wasn’t hurt, but the […]