Pilot Proficiency

The plight of the glider pilot who was arrested for overflying a nuclear powerplant in violation of zero federal or local laws reminds me of another instance in which overzealous police overstepped their bounds after a pilot did exactly what he was supposed to be doing. It happened on New Year’s Eve in 2003. My […]

Recognizing that pilots’ stick-and-rudder skills may be atrophying in an increasingly high-tech world, the FAA has issued a new safety alert for operators (SAFO) reminding crew members to continuously maintain and improve their hand-flying skills by switching off the autopilot every once in awhile. An analysis of flight operations data including several incidents and accidents […]

We all remember the tedious work of the manual flight planning required for the Private Pilot certificate, where we spent hours calculating headwind components, ground speeds and, ultimately, the fuel required for the trip. Advanced avionics have made the task of knowing whether you have enough fuel as complicated as entering the fuel remaining and […]

At first blush, you’d expect the year 2012 to have been a placeholder, a midrecession period where general aviation companies treaded water while waiting for the economy to recover. Nothing could be further from the truth. Indeed, 2012 saw a remarkable level of innovation, from the most unassuming sport airplanes to the fastest and most […]

The performance of any airplane is a function of the physics of the flight situation. Doing a great job flying the airplane will not in any way allow you or any pilot to make that airplane do anything it isn’t inherently capable of doing. Poor pilot performance, on the other hand, can be credited with […]

Airplanes could be seen taxiing down the streets of Scottsdale, Arizona, in the early morning hours as they made the two-mile journey from the Scottsdale airport to the WestWorld special events facility where the annual Barrett-Jackson collector car auction is held from January 13-20. Lancair is one of the manufacturers in attendance with the high-performance […]

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 […]