Pilot Proficiency

Last week, I was fortunate enough to spend some time in Alaska to get my seaplane rating at Alaska Floats & Skis just outside Talkeetna. I was staying at a beautiful lodge that the flight school has available for its trainees. While I was there, a few groups of flying enthusiasts came and went – […]

We all know the old saying: flying is hours and hours of boredom punctuated by moments of sheer terror. What rarely gets mentioned are those other times, when we pilots get that uneasy feeling. Many of you will know what I’m talking about. For instance, you’re flying above inhospitable-looking terrain or in solid IMC when […]

Wednesday morning was one of those mornings I was “living the life.” At 0800 John Moreland, the southeast rep for SWT Aviation, a certified CubCrafters sales center, picked me up at Orlando-Apopka in a Sport Cub for a leisurely flight over to Deland and back so I could get a feel for the airplane. I […]

The preflight is one of the most important phases of flying. Missing a critical preflight item can have devastating consequences. You only need to lose a few bolts before some crucial components start departing the airplane. So unless you would like to see what it’s like to fly without your aileron, rudder or elevator, it’s […]

Like it or not, Cirrus is now officially a Chinese company. I know that’s a bitter pill to swallow for many who viewed the Duluth, Minnesota-based company as a unique triumph of American entrepreneurial and aeronautical spirit. But let’s face it, Cirrus has been owned, in essence, by Middle Eastern investors for the last decade. […]

(July 2011) On Feb. 12, 2009, A Bombardier Q400 (a modernized Dash 8) operated by Colgan Air crashed near Buffalo, New York, claiming the lives of 50 people. In the intervening years the fallout from the disaster has had a sweeping impact on aviation regulation in the United States, arguably more than any other accident […]

(June 2011) It makes me want to go back to high school,” I confessed to Patrick J. Cwayna Sr., CEO of the West Michigan Aviation Academy (WMAA). His response wasn’t surprising. “I hear that a lot,” he said. “Many of the students’ parents tell me that; they really recognize the value of what we’re offering […]

(June 2011) For an 80-something-hour pilot, the Sacramento Valley was like a giant flying playpen for me. The foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains border the eastern side while the Coastal Range separates the valley from the Pacific Ocean on the west. The Cascades, including 14,000-foot Mount Shasta, form the northern boundary of the valley. […]

We all know making left-hand turns is the proper way to fly a traffic pattern most of the time – unless, of course, you’re landing at an airport with a non-standard, right-hand pattern or flying a straight-in instrument approach procedure. But what about departing from a non-towered airport? Can you make a straight-out departure and […]

You’re on your Private Pilot checkride and established in a steep turn. Everything is perfect. You’re spot on your altitude and the bank angle is pegged at 45 degrees. It seems easy. You’re thinking: “I’ve got this!” Then the nightmare happens. Your scan moves down to your heading indicator and you realize you’ve already blown […]