Pilot Proficiency

Congress created the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics in 1915 “to supervise and direct the scientific study of the problems of flight with a view to their practical solution.” What would eventually become the world’s largest and most productive aeronautical-research establishment began as a committee of 12 unpaid men with a budget of $5,000 per […]

This is our tenth weather-accident article in a series we started in 2015. Our intent is to examine some of the ways that seasoned pilots manage to get into deadly predicaments. Safety procedures are well-covered in training materials, your aircraft manual, and FAA publications, so we prefer to teach the aviation meteorology of these situations. Our goal is to give you a rich background to help you to make good decisions when things go wrong.

“Stop, you’re getting your head down. Tell the pilot monitoring what you need. You seem to want to do everything by yourself.” So said Capt. Andy when I was the pilot flying early in my tenure on the Cessna Citation CJ3 at JetSuite. He was right. Up until then, all my flying had been single […]

When their equipment doesn’t work, pilots need to work a little harder.

The relationship between the chief pilot and the principal is extraordinary. Like our entrepreneur friend, Bill Cook, and his chief pilot, Bob Harbstreit, people in this relationship become mutually entwined. They develop very respectful and trusting relationships. I know of no parallel relationship outside of aviation. It is not unusual for entrepreneurs to fly as […]

It was a beautiful March day in 1976 in South Texas, and I was excited to be flying my Sweet Adeline women’s barbershop quartet from San Antonio to Amarillo, Texas, for our regional barbershop singing contest. My husband and I owned a 1965 Mooney M20C—yes, with a Johnson bar—and we flew it quite a bit […]

Because I’m both an airplane nut and history buff, many of my European work layovers involve either seeking out aerial adventures or investigating some bit of the 2,000 years of tumultuous history that seem to lurk around the continent’s every corner. Often, I am able to combine these interests—for a great deal of aviation history […]

Since competing in a local air race a few weeks back, on the heels of the Kentucky Derby and the Indianapolis 500, I’ve been ­wondering if this ­fascination—this lust to ­compete—is just part of our DNA. Are we ­genetically programmed to pit ourselves against each other to prove who’s the fastest, the most ­cunning, the […]

The airspeed indicator may be the oldest and most fundamental of the flight instruments, but it is also the one least suited to its job, which is primarily not to tell us how fast we are going but rather where we are in the flight envelope. It is pleasant to know, as we cruise along, […]

Since the mid-1970s, satellite imagery has made its way into everything from television weathercasts to flight weather briefings. We see them constantly. When a hurricane is approaching the coast, viewers are presented with satellite images. When the local news shows the forecast, a satellite image is almost always used. This technology has grown progressively more complex and powerful over the years, and more than ever it can be a valuable part of flight planning. Lets examine some of the basics of the technology and look at todays capabilities.