Search Results for: Cessna 172

Ive always enjoyed flying at night. Theres usually a lot less traffic, the ATC frequency is quieter and its rare to be delayed for an approach, landing or takeoff. Sunsets can be quite amazing from a personal airplane, and Ive been fortunate enough to witness a few sunrises, too. Owing to day-job schedules and airplane availability, most of my instrument training happened at night and, even with all that going on, Im by no means an expert on flying in the dark.

It happens every year in Oshkosh, just as the last airshow winds down and thousands of aviation aficionados begin dragging their chairs, coolers and kids toward their cars wondering how long it will take to exit the airport grounds. Almost at the same moment, a big collective smack to the forehead can be heard as […]

At about 0842 Eastern time, the two airplanes were destroyed in an in-flight collision. The airline transport pilot flying the Cessna and the airline transport pilot flying the Grumman were both fatally injured. Visual conditions prevailed.

After decades of faulting pilots involved in collisions or near-misses for inadequate vigilance, the NTSB now officially concedes that see-and-avoid is a highly unreliable system.

The General Aviation Manufacturers Association and Build A Plane‘s annual Aviation Design Challenge for high school students has come to a close, culminating in the selection of Olney High School from Olney, Texas as the winner. Four students from the school, along with one teacher and one chaperone, will soon travel to Arlington, Washington, to […]

The number 3 cylinder exhaust pushrod broke, due to a valve stuck in the closed position. The valve was not stuck at the time of the investigation. No marks were seen on the top of the piston as viewed through a borescope. The lifter came apart as a result of the broken push rod but appears to have been operating properly prior to the event.

While on the base leg for his private grass airstrip, the pilot noticed he was high, so he added flaps to increase his descent rate. On final, the airspeed was a little fast and during the landing, he flared the airplane a little high. After touchdown, the pilot applied the brakes, but the airplane did not respond, so he applied a little more brake. The airplane nosed over and came to rest inverted, sustaining substantial damage to both wings and the empennage. The pilot reported he should have performed a go-around instead of attempting to salvage the landing.

For Trae Lefan’s 15th birthday, his parents got him a discovery flight in a Cessna 172, and that was all he needed to realize that this was what he wanted to do for the rest of his life. Today, the father of two is an airline pilot with ExpressJet, and while the road to becoming […]

The pilot reported that when he raised the landing gear shortly after takeoff, he heard a loud crunch as the gear entered the wells. The pilot climbed the airplane to about 3000 feet and observed the landing gear circuit breaker was popped and the alternator was off. The pilot attempted to extend the landing gear normally several times, however, the circuit breaker popped each time and the gear remained retracted. The pilot also attempted to use the emergency gear extension, to no avail.

At one time or another, weve all passed an FAA knowledge test requiring us to calculate aircraft performance for various phases of flight, such as takeoff, cruise and landing. Even though weve been trained and tested on our ability to interpolate the answer down to the foot, mile, minute or gallon, these calculations alone dont ensure were always operating the aircraft prudently. For one thing, they dont account for poor technique, worn equipment or errors.