Pilot Proficiency

There’s been a lot of hand-wringing in Washington after that super-secret American spy drone fell into Iranian hands last week. Tehran claims it shot down the UAV, which analysts have identified as an RQ-170 Sentinel. The White House has asked for it back. The Iranian government has responded with the diplomatic equivalent of, “In your […]

(December 2011) It is ungodly hot. Sweat cascades off of me; rivulets of perspiration form at the temple, and when I look down, they coalesce into drops that drip into my glasses. I am raining myself into a pair of bifocals. As an unhappy result, I can’t see, much less organize, the flight management system […]

Carol and I met Nick after accidentally parking our Cherokee Six in his spot. The spot was reserved for Key West Seaplane’s amphibian Cessna 206. It was Christmas Day. Because the FBO was closed, the ramp had become a semichaotic aluminum mess. After we adjusted a few airplane positions, Nick and I exchanged business cards […]

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 Rick Steele, who recently flew into KRVS in a Mooney M20J. Here’s what he has to say about the great service at one of the airport’s FBOs, Riverside […]

Anybody can submit an online petition to the White House on any topic they choose — and that’s just what somebody has done in the wake of FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt’s abrupt departure from the agency this week, in an attempt to build public support for an intriguing potential replacement: Capt. Chesley Sullenberger, known better […]

The grass strip where I learned to fly in a Piper J-3 Cub in the late 1980s served as an ideal training environment for a new pilot — for about nine months out of the year, that is. In winter, the 1,900-foot turf runway would usually be covered in snow, ice, mud or sometimes a […]

Randy Babbitt resigned late Tuesday as FAA Administrator two days after he was arrested in Fairfax, Virginia, for alleged drunk driving. Fairfax police said that the administrator was driving on the wrong side of the road. It is the policy of Fairfax police to release the names of public officials they arrest and to not […]

Fairfax, Virginia, police arrested FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt this weekend for drunk driving. Babbitt was allegedly under the influence of alcohol and driving on the wrong side of Old Lee Highway in Fairfax when he was pulled over. Babbitt was alone in the automobile, according to reports. The city does not release blood alcohol levels […]

Many pilots have a list of favorite airports where they know they can get a decent hamburger or engage in some friendly banter with the locals. If you fly a minimum number of hours a year and tend to stay in your local area, however, it’s easy to lose the skills you attain by varying […]

(December 2011) Three and a half years ago I wrote about the Mitsubishi MU-2 controversy (“Dangerous Airplanes or Dangerous Pilots?” — May 2008). For much of its life, the MU-2 had the unenviable status of having one of the worst turboprop accident rates and fatal accident rates. People wrote articles questioning the sanity of anyone […]