Search Results for: Lear 45

A decade ago, some people scoffed when Embraer announced its intention to create a complete line of business airplanes, from entry-level jets to behemoth bizliners, especially when the sum total of the company’s bizav experience to that point had been creating the Legacy 600 from the ERJ-135 regional jet. But once the Phenom series of […]

Standing on the ramp, glancing at Runway 17/35 at North Houston Airport (9X1), I took a deep breath as I ticked off items on the preflight checklist for N9271U, the 1976 Cessna 150M that had been my primary trainer so far. The brutal heat and humidity of the Houston-area summer had not yet set in, […]

“Good judgment comes with experience; unfortunately, experience is usually gained through bad judgment.” That saying is probably as old as Wilbur and ­Orville. We old pilots have developed our good habits through many years of flying and training. We have made mistakes along the way, and we have learned from them. We have had the […]

As on all major holidays, July 4, 2015, was a day to take my beloved Grumman Yankee out to stretch her legs and keep my flying skills proficient. Never did I expect that this would be a day of reckoning and facing up to my first inflight mechanical failure in more than 36 years of flying. […]

I know you’ve heard the saying “Superior pilots use their superior judgment to avoid situations requiring their superior skills.” And I’m sure you know some superior pilots or have them at your field. Steely-eyed, square-jawed types — their flying skills are immense; with or without their planes they can bound over tall buildings. When I’m struggling […]

My best friend, Mike,­ and I woke to the subtle muttering of raindrops and realized that beyond the curtains of our Ketchikan, Alaska, motel room there was only gray, dismal sky. Damn. At that moment a scenario began that could have ended up as an NTSB accident report, starting with unquantifiable indicators and an irrational […]

It was a beautiful day for flying. The takeoff from Waco Regional Airport in Waco, Texas, was routine and uneventful as I turned onto a northwest heading as indicated by the GPS. I had reduced from takeoff power to about 2,450 rpm and about 24 inches of manifold pressure. As I was leaving 1,500 feet […]

I had to land within 200 feet of the white mark to pass the last phase of the checkride. Easy, I thought, as I turned the Schweizer 2-33 sailplane onto final. I’ll show this guy how good I am. I’ve got to hold 45 knots, 300 feet — that’s a little fast; let’s apply more […]

Two business associates and I were on the second leg of a three-leg business trip that would carry us from Chino, California, to Las Cruces, New Mexico, to Boulder, Colorado, and then back home. The first leg was one I had made on numerous occasions because my company had several customers in the New Mexico […]

Flying is a risky activity. Many pilots like to think otherwise, but this basic truth is being officially acknowledged by the FAA. It has recruited groups of highly qualified instructors, examiners and course designers to collaboratively design an improved pilot evaluation system. The latest working group is charged with assisting in the implementation of Airman […]