Search Results for: Cessna 172

All pilots and controllers know about wake turbulence, the vortices streaming out and downward from an airplanes wingtips anytime its generating lift. We know theyre strongest when the generating airplane is heavy, clean and slow. We know not to fly in-trail of a larger airplane at the same altitude unless there are at least three minutes separation, preferably more.

Its enlightening to contrast 1959 with today. The civilian jet era had barely begun, and the skies were still ruled by DC-7s, Connies and Stratocruisers, with Convairs and DC-3s for the short hops. Airline fares were tightly regulated and four-engine airliners stopped at a surprising number of out-of-the-way places. Yet a large majority of Americans had never flown in any kind of airplane.

courtesy the NTSB.”

The final harrowing moments of a deadly midair collision were captured on video on Sunday after a Cessna 185 floatplane collided with a Cessna 172 in Alberta, Canada. The pilot of the stricken 185 made an emergency landing at the airport in Fort McMurray, flipping over after touching down in the damaged plane. Two occupants […]

Everyone remembers the first airplane they flew. But what about the second one? Chances are it was a lot like the first one, but still was different. While the make and model may have been the same, the serial and registration numbers were different, of course. Even trivial differences between the two likely was a topic of discussion with your instructor. The conversation may have included how different avionics equipment was installed, or one of them never had a working landing light, or had a prop offering better performance. In an extreme, you could have been mixing makes, models, wing position and avionics. There likely was a moment where you couldnt find that blemish on the windshield you used as a reference point, or found the throttle too stiff.

As the aircraft climbed through FL190, the pilot reported a loss of power. An emergency descent was begun and an unscheduled landing was planned. Some power was restored as the airplane descended. On landing, inspection revealed the shaft between the turbocharger compressor and exhaust wheels had broken in two.

Redbird Flight Simulations and AOPA launched a program this week at the Sun ‘n Fun airshow designed to bring student pilots with no prior flying experience from zero time to solo flight preparedness in one week. The aim of the One Week Ready to Solo program is to show how much fun it is to […]

A little more than a year after Glasair first announced its new light-sport Merlin, the airplane made its first flight last week from the company’s facility at the Arlington Municipal Airport in Arlington, Washington. The flight lasted 57 minutes with Glasair test pilot Grant Smith, who evaluated the performance of the Rotax 912 iS engine […]

Februarys Cowboy and Cowards sparked some passionate responses about known icing and my assertion that known icing is observed icing. To better understand known icing, we need to look at the concept from definitional, legal, and safety perspectives.

Its a signature moment in the classic 80s beach-volleyball documentary Top Gun. Two Naval aviators swagger past a parked line of Grumman F-14 Tomcats. I feel the need, Tom Cruises Maverick character declares to his buddy Goose, who joins in the chorus. The need… for speed! Mav and Goose were bragging about the sound-barrier-busting velocity only a few pilots get to experience. Still, whether your winged rides top speed is Mach two or 100 knots, there is one universal truth: if youre firing up an airplane, youve probably got somewhere to go or a mission to accomplish.