Pilot Proficiency

With all the innovation and new products that landed on the general aviation scene in 2012, there were more than enough big stories to fill out the year. As AOPA’s list of most clicked-on eBrief stories shows, however, some of the most popular were those that returned to GA’s roots and celebrated the blending of […]

While we all know that a clean airplane gets a few extra knots, looks better and extends the life of the multitude of components that make up the machine, not many pilots clean the airplane they fly themselves. If you fit that category, either because you would rather pay for the service than do it […]

Have you ever been flying over a cloud deck and noticed a rainbow halo around the shadow of your airplane? Besides being pretty to look at, this ring-shaped rainbow – called a “pilot’s halo” or “glory of the pilot” because we’re usually the only ones who get to see it – should be a clue […]

The state of California recently passed a law that outlines the shape of the state’s future highway plan, paving the way for the integration of so-called “driverless cars” into California’s highway system, which has one-third more high-speed roadway than any other state in the nation. Many of these driverless cars would in fact feature drivers […]

One of my favorite jokes is the offhand remark that “Everyone talks about the weather, but no one ever does anything about it,” a quote that has been attributed to Mark Twain. Twain’s comment about the weather reminds us that there are some things, such as death, taxes and fuel prices, that we can complain […]

Several years ago my uncle and I flew up to Boston to pick up our new company airplane and fly it back to Georgia after the installation of an ice-protection system. We had dropped the airplane off two weeks earlier — a milestone for me as a pilot and my uncle as a student pilot, […]

What better way to wrap up the year than with a list of flyingtips to help carry you into 2013? From how to master a forward slip to recognizing the signs of spatial disorientation, we’ve compiled our most popularflying tips of the year in a list that offers something for beginning pilots, expert aviators and […]

We all know that thorough preflight planning makes for safer, easier flights. If you’re flying VFR, an important component of preflight planning is getting to know your destination airport. But there are times when unforecast weather conditions or, worse, a malfunction of some kind may prevent you from continuing to the airport you originally planned […]

We all have to learn how to perform short- and soft-field landings as part of the training for the private pilot certificate. The short-field landing is one of the most difficult maneuvers because of the precision required to pass the task. You have to maintain the approach speed to accuracy and land the airplane within […]

Thursday, October 11, 2012, a floatplane capsizes in Glen Lake, New York. The two pilots that were in the aircraft escaped without injury. The local emergency services were activated. After ensuring the safety of the pilots, a volunteer dive team decided that they would flip the aircraft back over. After attempting unsuccessfully for many hours, […]