Pilot Proficiency

Q: I started flight lessons and put in several hours years ago. I would like to complete my certificate and buy an airplane. Three and 1/2 years ago, I had open-heart surgery, and I’m on medication for diabetes (I should be going off this medication soon). I radically changed my diet, and I am in […]

To answer the question this FLYING user asks, there are other important questions that have to be answered first.

There’s a lot you need to know to prep for a safe takeoff, and performance charts can tell you what you need to know.

The PPN is designed to promote instrument flying, proficiency, and safety.

Mistakes breed in the shadowy land between the systematic and the instinctive.

If you’re a beginning pilot, or just curious, we’ve got the answers that you need to know.

Can you legally—and safely—rely upon a tablet to deliver the goods during instrument flight?

Stack the deck in your favor with some simple planning, preflight briefing, and by using a four-part departure framework.

Q: I’m 83 years old and in good health. Is it too late for me to learn to fly? I took some lessons many years ago in a Cessna 150. A: No, it isn’t too late.  Although there is a minimum age limit for solo flight (14 years old for gliders and balloons, and 16 […]

On a clear June afternoon in 2020, two senior Navy pilots left Jasper, Alabama (KJFX), headed for Pensacola, Florida, 200 nm distant, where they were based. They were flying a Piper Turbo Lance of which the left seat pilot was a co-owner. After a 30-minute cruise climb, the Lance leveled out at 15,000 feet. About […]