Pilot Proficiency

(December 2010) — High-frequency radio, used for beyond-the-horizon communication prior to the introduction of satellite relays, was subject to the whims of various ill-natured atmospheric elves and goblins; but when it was good it was very, very good, with the clarity and nuance of a fine telephone connection. So it is that I can still […]

If it were true that “Flying is inherently safe; it’s just very unforgiving of mistakes,” it would follow that the best way to improve our flying is to eliminate mistakes. To do that I’d like to suggest that pilots adopt the phrase “Every day, in every way, I’m getting better and better” as their mantra, […]

December 2010 — It starts out as a typical flight. You complete your preflight planning and load the airplane. The engine starts quickly and everything is normal during the run-up, so you taxi onto the runway, add full power and then smoothly lift off for another enjoyable flight. Then, just as you are thinking ahead […]

I have some very intelligent, well informed friends who honestly believe that America is highly vulnerable to the threat of attack with a general aviation aircraft. To them, because no one is scanning pilots and passengers as they board a private aircraft at a small airport, any one of those 200,000 aircraft might as well […]

Having grown up in Sweden, English is my second language (ironically, I can’t write in Swedish to save my life). Learning English was a very gradual process that started around age 10. One song that we learned in Grade 4 or 5 – “An elephant on an orange” – still runs through my mind on […]

When you think about the array of flight technologies available in today’s light general aviation airplanes, it’s sometimes hard to believe we’ve come so far so fast. From infrared enhanced-vision systems and computer-generated synthetic-vision technology to satellite downlinked weather graphics and GPS precision-approach capability, all presented on bright, colorful flat-panel cockpit displays, the instrument panel […]

If you’re looking for a staunch advocate of attitude flying, you’ll find none better or more evangelical than Wolfgang Langewiesche in his classic Stick and Rudder. His sermonizing on the importance of angle of attack (and his practical explanations of what the heck it actually IS) guided many a future Air Corps pilot through the […]

When deciding which avionics to add to your airplane, plenty of great products are within reach—even if you can’t afford to buy everything you want. If your goal is to reduce the chances of your tail number appearing in the NTSB’s accident database, the good news is you’ll need only four key avionics technologies to […]

While most people start flight training because they’ve had a lifelong desire to learn to fly, some start training to overcome their fear of flying. During initial training, future pilots of both categories seem to have, if not a fear, a healthy respect for slow flight and stalls. Their bodies naturally feel that there is […]

I know. Just what you didn’t need to hear. Another batch of New Year’s resolutions that are most likely to wind up forgotten before the spilled champagne dries from your carpet. Well, here they are anyway: five areas in which we could all benefit from a little more attention. 1. Read something old. There was […]