Pilot Proficiency

Static wicks are long, thin extensions that are often attached to the outboard trailing edges of wings and horizontal and vertical stabilizers to dissipate the static electricity that can accumulate in flight. Because these protrusions are not easy to see, it’s easy to walk into them, and when you do they’ll often be damaged. But […]

The impact of people’s fascination with, even addiction to, cell phones and texting is becoming more evident every year. Consider the following: • A study found that children using cell phones are 43 percent more likely to be hit by a vehicle while crossing the street than children who are not using cell phones. • […]

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 Bruce Barber, who recently flew into Minnesota’s Worthington Municipal Airport in a Cessna 172. Here’s what he had to say about one of the airport’s FBOs, Integrity Aviation: […]

As you start the roundout on final approach and begin to flare, visual cues become extremely important. Where exactly should you be looking as you bring the control wheel back and prepare to place the wheels just where you want them on the pavement (or the grass, if you’re really lucky)? To give you a […]

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 Laura Lyne, who has flown into DeKalb-Peachtree Airport in Atlanta in a Mooney, Cessna 210, Baron and Aero Commander. Here’s what she had to say about one of […]

You’ve no doubt heard and read a lot about 3-D printing in the last couple of years. Known as “additive manufacturing” in industrial-design circles, the process is used to produce three-dimensional solid objects of virtually any shape from a digital model fed into a special kind of printer. Several teams have already created 3-D printed […]

The 77-year-old, 8,000 hour pilot-owner of a Cessna 182, accompanied by his wife, flew from Anchorage to Juneau, Alaska, on a July afternoon. The couple was in the process of moving to Hoonah, about 31 nm west-southwest of Juneau; the ostensible purpose of this trip was to position the 182 there before the start of […]

Hold on. I know the title is trite. Your enthusiasm for reading further may be at a low point, but hang on for a minute. I mean to persuade you that this is something other than a cliched rehash of admonishments to stabilize your approach. It is hard to believe that, after flying continuously for […]

Detailed weather conditions at airports are easy to obtain through a metar, ATIS, AWOS or ASOS. Conditions such as winds, temperatures, cloud conditions and visibilities are measured by ground-based equipment and can be obtained through frequencies, phone numbers, iPad apps and some panel-mounted avionics. But weather conditions are harder to measure in the air. That’s […]

As we passed our first waypoint of 20 degrees longitude westbound over the North Atlantic, my copilot and I studied the TCAS symbol on the navigation display. Another airplane was approaching us from behind at the 5 o’clock position. Our 777 was cruising at FL 390. The other airplane was 1,000 feet below at FL […]