Pilot Proficiency

Eugene Corbett Patterson died last January. You may have a flicker of name recognition, as his obituary was in almost every newspaper in the country. The New York Times announced his death on the front page and devoted considerable space to this farm boy, soldier, scholar, journalist and editor. To me, he was the best […]

Recently I received notification of an event I couldn’t pass up — a “General Aviation Accident Reduction and Mitigation Symposium,” sponsored by the Arizona Pilot’s Association (APA) and the Arizona Safety Advisory Group (ASAG), which links many of the aviation groups in Arizona in the quest to reduce accidents, and especially fatal accidents, in the […]

The mnemonic lights, camera, action reminds pilots to turn the transponder to ALT before lifting off in controlled airspace. But did you know that the FAA recommends activating the transponder while on the ground? You may have been trained to put the transponder in STBY mode while taxiing. But this practice no longer satisfies the […]

The following article is from the January 2013 print issue. Way back in the early ’70s, an old friend of my husband’s, Harry Combs, invited us to join him and his wife at the National Aviation Hall of Fame enshrinement ceremony and dinner in Dayton, Ohio. Serving as master of ceremonies that year, Combs was […]

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 Mitch Wohl, who recently flew into Centennial Airport in Denver in a Cessna 170. Here’s what he had to say about one of the airport’s FBOs, Denver Jet […]

Normally if I heard about a documentary that purported to uncover “new” evidence about the TWA Flight 800 disaster, I would roll my eyes. But I’m actually quite interested to see the film and am approaching it with an open mind. Here’s why. The crash of Flight 800 into the Atlantic Ocean off the coast […]

The opportunity for me to touch and feel the inner workings of the machinery providing the thrust that keeps me airborne had always seemed an interesting proposition. With Pratt & Whitney (P&W) practically in my backyard, that possibility became a reality. On the aviation-is-a-small-world front, I was fortunate to have established a relationship with a […]

As you might guess, Martha and I are interested in the balance between aviation liberty and national law enforcement, and we would like to pass on some thoughts. It appears that government agencies are using their ability to monitor general aviation flights to select aircraft to intercept on landing based on what they consider to […]

When the weather’s truly awful the decision to stay on the ground rather than fly is easy. But you’ve budgeted this time for flying anyway so why not get some use out of it? You might instead decide to “chair fly,” where you sit down and mentally go through various checklist items. If you have […]

The most talked-about airplane rental concept to come along in recent memory is officially open for business with the launch of OpenAirplane, a network of FBOs and flight schools that lets pilots receive one annual checkout and then rent airplanes at locations across the country. Because the service is so new, OpenAirplane is limited to […]