Pilot Proficiency

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 […]

“Recognize that conversation is a powerful distracter.” As I quoted those words from the NASA study of crew error accidents in January’s article, a flood of accident case studies flowed through my head. Some I had discussed earlier in that same article — the Teterboro controller who was engaged in a discussion on the phone […]

It’s been just over a decade since the FAA commissioned WAAS for general aviation use. So these days I am so used to having WAAS that I don’t think twice about it, particularly when flying behind a Garmin G1000 panel. But if you are purchasing or renting an airplane that is a few years old, […]

When Flight debuted, I shook my head, like most of my airline colleagues. A Super 80 rolled upside down? Really? That being said, the preposterous nature of the event was still intriguing. I was tempted to see the movie for that reason alone. But I would ruin date night with my wife, being compelled to […]

Folks from Jeppesen have been strolling the grounds of EAA AirVenture this week with an iPad in hand to give demonstrations of a nifty VFR flight app with some cool capabilities and a surprising price. The subscription service costs $49 — which usually elicits the question from Oshkosh showgoers, “Per month?” Nope, that’s the price […]