Pilot Proficiency

Last week, the Los Angeles Times reported that two members of the Los Angeles City Council suggested the closure of all flight schools at Santa Monica airport. This is just another scheme in a continuing battle that has been fought for decades and one that has bothered me ever since I first started flying at […]

If you own a copy of Microsoft’s Flight Simulator X, you might want to grab a pen, scratch the name Microsoft off the box and write Lockheed Martin instead. That’s because Lockheed Martin has licensed the software and the intellectual goodies that go with it, marking the end of the line for one of the […]

(March 2011) IF YOU ARE DEVOTED TO airplanes, you’ll understand. If the maximum number of takeoffs and landings per month is of interest to you, you’ll get it. If you’ve ever found a way to fly from New York to San Francisco on a Boeing 707 that landed in Nashville, New Orleans, Dallas, Phoenix and […]

When you’re flying into an airport where there’s a lot of jet traffic, controllers often ask you to keep things going fast. They might say, “best forward speed,” “maintain 160 knots,” or something to that effect, but the desired outcome is the same regardless of who you are: They want you in your piston airplane […]

A letter was issued to the FAA last week by the National Association of Flight Instructors (NAFI) and AOPA criticizing the recent unannounced but significant changes to the FAA knowledge test question database. Noticeable changes have appeared for the airline transport pilot (ATP), flight engineer (FE) and fundamentals of instruction (FOI) tests, and others may […]

(February 2011) — When we shoved open the door of the disreputable little shack, six, maybe seven, pairs of eyes swung in our direction and their expressions read, “Either these two are lost or they just arrived from another planet.” In our pastel wool winter coats, white gloves, pumps and those little lace veils women […]

In last week’s Flying newsletter, our editor-in-chief Robert Goyer wrote about a study that AOPA conducted to find out why a staggering number of student pilots drop out prior to completing their license. It found that, in making the decision to continue flight training, the quality of instruction and sense of community were more important […]

With airplanes being as reliable as they are, it’s easy to have a little too much confidence in their ability to keep us flying. But if an engine failure were to rear its ugly face, you’ll be glad you spent some time anticipating its arrival. Always have a plan in mind for an engine failure […]

(February 2011) — Joe Biden came to visit last Memorial Day weekend. I wish he had called first so I could have invited him for an airplane ride. Sunday morning, May 30, was beautiful on eastern Long Island. You could almost see Ireland, and it was as calm as a lobster on lithium. On days […]

It hasn’t happened very often this winter: For one full day last week, the weather from Maine to Florida was severe VFR. I’d been keeping an eye on the long-range forecast for days in a sincere desire to avoid areas of icing for a planned trip from New Jersey to North Carolina. Never once did […]