Search Results for: Lear 45

Mishaps happen for a number of reasons, but all too often theres a “what were they thinking?” element to an NTSB accident report. In the calm, clear skies of retrospect-or a motionless easy chair-its easy to condemn a bad decision and move on. But its not usually a single bad decision that causes tragedy. Pilots dont take off intentionally choosing to put themselves in a no-win situation; they dont mean to kill themselves, their families and friends.

Never have I regretted spending money on airplanes. The costs for upgrades and maintenance may have been prodigious, but they always felt good. The airplane was either improved or restored. I never questioned these investments. Same for hangar, insurance and fuel. I wanted the airplane protected indoors, I wanted to protect the people flying in […]

The 500-hour pilot held a private license for aircraft single-engine land. He did not have an instrument rating, but had been receiving instruction toward one. The airplane was a J35 Bonanza, manufactured in 1958 and equipped with tip tanks that increased its fuel capacity to 100 gallons. The pilot was solo when he left New […]

The week was not going well. My landlord had accidentally cut down my flowering plum tree. Huge roadblocks had sprung up in three separate work projects. I’d had to shell out $550 to get my car fixed. And I’d been inundated by a swarm of termites coming through my bathroom walls. So it was with […]

Flight under instrument flight rules (IFR) is largely procedural. Theres little room or tolerance for zany spontaneity so, if you love surprises, look elsewhere. But although we fly by the book, when the plot thickens, we do in fact have options (although theyre more like regulatory provisions) for choosing a different ending. Usually, the thickening agent affecting our best-laid plans is weather-related. Before we can exercise that freedom of choice, however, IFR pilots must fulfill certain obligations. Some of these rules are similar to those for VFR flight, such as how much fuel we should have on board. Some, however, go literally a step beyond, such as the requirement for specifying an alternate destination (as well as hopefully having some rough plan for getting there). The idea of even thinking of an alternate airport may be foreign for some newly anointed VFR pilots, but in the IFR world, its a well-known commodity.

you need to find out why and then decide how to fix it. Sometimes

As the last guys finish their dinner, we all look at each other with similar glances. Not a word needs to be said but everyone is thinking the exact same thing. The expressions say it all. It’s time to walk upstairs and play ball. We’ve been preparing ourselves for this for years now, and it’s […]

Sugarloaf Mountain is a popular visual checkpoint for pilots here in central Maryland where Im based, but with its peak rising just 800 feet above mostly flat farmland it barely qualifies as a mountain. After a recent tour of the Southwest in my flying clubs Cessna 182RG, I have a new appreciation for really big mountains, density altitude and the tricks they can play with our little airplanes.Also from that trip comes a tale of how a group of flatland pilots from the East coast did the planning, the navigation, the weather-checking and the aviating over unfamiliar territory and lived to do it again. Its also a primer on how even low-time pilots flying basic, non-turbocharged airplanes can, with a little planning and lots of flexibility, tackle these and other challenges without becoming a statistic.

I notice the article “Top Five Engine Myths” (March 2007) has not generated any controversy. Please let me provide a remedy. I am a retired performance engineer for Pratt & Whitney, having worked on experimental jet engines. After a second career as an A&P/IA with a flight school and Part 135 charter operation, Im now retired again. Im also an Instrument-rated Commercial pilot.

Is landing an art or a science? That’s what the pilot of this King Air is about to find out as he maneuvers for a landing on a scenic runway out west, in the mountains. Once the King Air gets down, go flying with Tom Benenson as he explores landing through the eyes of a […]