Search Results for: Cessna 172

| It’s an annual rite of passage for millions of high school seniors: anxiously checking their mailboxes for thick envelopes and weighing their options about where to go to college. For that special breed of student who couldn’t imagine anything less than a career in aviation, the choices become somewhat clearer. If your goal is […]

A few years back, a Cessna 172 pilot had trouble starting his airplane and decided to hand-prop it near the Typhoon restaurant at the Santa Monica airport. No one was inside the Skyhawk. The engine spun up, and the airplane made a solo trip across runway 21. In the process, it made a business jet […]

Photo by Jim Raeder| The used airplane picture has gone through some big changes in recent years, and none have been more dramatic than those that have occurred in the market for piston airplanes, which are still selling for far less than they did before the downturn of 2008. While certain brands and models of […]

It is very likely — I hope — that this slightly edited version of a 709 re-examination letter is the only one you’ll ever see. The FAA can legally demand a retest of your qualifications any time it chooses, but in practice, this happens only on the heels of some event — an accident or […]

Ice isn’t nice. And this time of year, it’s much easier to find when airborne in most places throughout the Northern Hemisphere. Thankfully, forecasting and reporting technologies have improved over the years to the point where, at least in our experience, it’s rare to find ice where it wasn’t in a forecast. At the same time, even piston singles can be equipped for flight in known icing conditions, albeit briefly. All that is to say icing shouldn’t be the problem it used to be. Unless, of course, you’re off your plan, or the forecasters blow it.

When the subject of legendary light airplanes comes up, one of the names certain to be mentioned early in the conversation is the Beechcraft Bonanza. The latest model, the G36, bears a passing resemblance to the revolutionary original, which Beech Aircraft began selling way back in 1947. But today’s Bonanza is a very sophisticated platform, […]

Aviation headsets have come a long way since the early days, when aviators were forced to suffer hearing loss as they accrued hours upon hours in the cockpit amid the continuous thrum of roaring engines. Any new headset you buy today will likely provide decent noise cancellation, new levels of comfort and, in many cases, […]

The FAA puts great emphasis on the use of checklists, so much so that failing to use them during a checkride will result in a pink slip. While you should always have a checklist within reach to back you up, there is another easy way to make sure you are not missing any critical items […]

I think it should be every light twin pilot’s responsibility to be current and proficient enough to safely handle an engine failure no matter where they occur. On takeoff, this can only be done safely with enough runway for an accelerate-stop distance computed for load and density altitude. Furthermore, compute single-engine climb performance for the conditions at hand.

At 1820 Pacific time, the airplane veered off the right side of a runway and collided with a hangar. The private pilot and three passengers were fatally injured, and the airplane was destroyed by a post-crash fire. Visual conditions prevailed; an IFR flight plan had been in effect.