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Establishing someones basic medical fitness for flight has long been a prerequisite for pilot certification. Before even going far beyond initial lessons, primary students should have obtained at least a Class III FAA medical certificate, which is a requirement before their first solo.

It would be unfair to say that Gulfstream people have a swagger, but they do exude confidence. And why not. Gulfstreams are the world leader in large cabin, extremely long-range business jets, and with the new midsize G150 in service, they are now setting new performance and comfort standards in that category, too. I had […]

I recently signed up for Social Security and had to dig out my DD214, the military service record that summed up my two years in uniform. Reading through the form, I was reminded that I’d actually earned the Good Conduct Medal. No big deal, really, it just meant that I’d toed the line and curbed […]

Whenever we fly from point A to point B, many of us use the Victor airway system. We pick a route that offers us the smallest increase beyond a great circle distance, or the highest groundspeed and these days, especially perhaps the widest berth from unfriendly airspace. Not always will we get the route we filed and, too often, the cleared route will put us at a major disadvantage.

The words “current” and “proficient” are widely used to define a pilot’s ability to fly. Actually, being current means only that you meet all the regulatory standards which, in turn, don’t mean a whole lot. Almost six months after your last instrument approach you are still considered current for an ILS to minimums. Or, for […]

When Piper announced its new PiperJet at the National Business Aviation Association’s 59th Annual Meeting and Convention last October, it promised to create a whole new category of personal or business airplane. With an expected top cruise speed of 360 knots, IFR range of 1,300 nm, an operating ceiling of 35,000 feet, and all of […]

From a New York Daily News story: “It was too powerful, too sophisticated, too much plane for him.” Diana Munson, Thurman Munson’s wife was quoted as saying: “People who knew anything about flying and aviation knew this was nuts.” And it was said that the New York Yankees catcher and team captain didn’t plan on […]

Major concerns for anyone planning single- pilot operations with a jet airplane are first the availability and cost of insurance, and then what limitations are going to be placed on the pilot and the use of the airplane. The issues the insurance companies have are first that the pilot applicant doesn’t have the requisite experience […]

As you’ve been reading, flying a jet single pilot is one of the most challenging piloting skills there is. It demands an unrelenting focus on the job at hand; the wherewithal to swap hats quickly; and the ability to use automation consistently and efficiently to ease the burden, especially during high-workload phases of flight. In […]

From the beginning the FAA has treated jets differently. In almost every area of certification the standards for jets have been more stringent than for propeller-driven airplanes, and one of those jet standards had been a requirement for two pilots. That rule remained in force until 1977 when Cessna won approval for single-pilot operation of […]