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The primary cause of a bounced landing is flaring too high above the runway, perhaps with too much speed. In our ideal, perfect landing, the airplane will quit flying just inches above the runway. Instead, a bounce results when the flare occurs a few feet above it, and the airplane has the energy-resulting from excess altitude, excess airspeed or both-to rebound back into the air. In any event, a bounce results when the airplane isnt finished flying.

The April 4, 2018, crash of a Piper PA-28R-201 Arrow V operated by Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU) continues to have repercussions. Most recently, the FAA has published a proposed airworthiness directive (AD) that would require inspecting each main wing spar of a wide range of Piper airplanes. The proposed AD is a response to the ERAU crash, which involved the inflight separation of the Piper Arrows left wing. Both aboard died and the airplane was destroyed.

Years ago, when I first heard the term runaway trim, my initial thought was something along the lines of, How can that happen? All of the trim systems Id seen up to that time had been manual, unassisted crank, lever or thumbwheel affairs, which rely on the pilot grabbing something and moving it to achieve the desired change. I was aware that trim systems could mechanically fail, but generally would stay in a fixed position when they did. I had discussed and trained for abnormal trim conditions, but how could a trim system run away? Then I learned about electric trim, autopilots and runaway trim, and it all became clearer.

A common night disorientation scenario is transiting from an area with many lights to empty countryside with few scattered lights (or none at all). I distinctly remember my first experience with night disorientation. I was a VFR-only pilot at the time and did not have a good instrument scan, nor much night experience, but thought I was proficient enough. I was flying from Boise to American Falls, Idaho, in a rented two-seat Alarus. The plane was painfully slow, so instead of flying over the highway, I hit the Direct To button on the GPS so I could fly the shortest path over the empty sagebrush back to the airport. Between the lack of lights and the moonless night, I strayed significantly off-course more than a few times. I knew my saving grace was the magenta line that I was able to keep pointed ahead.

As southern California was getting pummeled by heavy winter rains last week, leaders of business aviation alphabet groups, including GAMA, NBAA, NATA and IBAC, gathered at the Van Nuys Airport to promote the adoption of sustainable alternative jet fuels (SAJF). Presentations, workshops and demonstration flights during the Business Jets Fuel Green: A Step Toward Sustainability […]

On December 13, Virgin Galactics SpaceShip Two, VSS Unity, made its first trip to space, reaching an altitude of 51.4 miles, just above the 50-mile boundary defined by NASA. Today, for the first time in history, a crewed spaceship, built to carry private passengers, reached Space, said Virgin Galactic CEO Richard Branson. We will now push on with the remaining portion of our flight-test program. The commercial space sector has great potential, said FAA acting administrator Dan Elwell after the flight. The FAA is committed to helping ensure commercial space transportation grows safely. VSS Unity was lifted to 43,000 feet by the WhiteKnightTwo carrier aircraft, and carried a crew of two pilots, and four NASA experiments.

Members of the National Air Controllers Association will today join NATCA president Paul Rinaldi and representatives of a number of other aviation industry unions and associations, as well as Congressional members from both sides of the aisle, to protest the partial government shutdown that the day after tomorrow will set a new record as the […]

The Arsenal of Democracy has scheduled another mass formation flyover with groups of historic warbirds forming up over Washington D.C. The event, scheduled for May 8, 2020, will commemorate the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II. Twenty-four warbird formations will feature approximately 100 U.S. and Allied WWII aircraft representing significant battles of […]

While the FAA’s final decision on an alternative fuel for piston engine aircraft is delayed until next year, a number of civic and business-aviation leaders will meet on January 17 in Los Angeles to mark a milestone in the development and adoption of Sustainable Alternative Jet Fuels (SAJF) through “Business Jets Fuel Green: A Step […]

According to panelists at a recent Miami, Fla., conference geared to the business jet community and reported by Aviation International News (AIN), not all of the in-service fleet is expected to be compliant by the deadline. (Full disclosure: I often perform freelance work for AIN, for which I am compensated.) In fact, data cited by AIN show compliance is far from universal, with 17.5 percent of the piston-powered general aviation fleet (35,791 of 204,191) currently equipped.