Search Results for: maintaining your airplane

MSL is an acronym that stands for mean sea level. It is used by both aircraft pilots and drone pilots alike as one of many determinants of altitude.  However, it is not a measurement that describes the space above the ground and below the pilot. That data point is called AGL, which is short for […]

Editor’s note: The following article is not intended to be a ranking, but is only to serve as a list of possible options. As the saying goes, your mileage may vary. Living in the State of Washington provides pilots with numerous opportunities for career advancement. From opportunities to captain seaplanes to transporting passengers on commercial […]

Northrop Grumman subsidiary SpaceLogistics allowed FLYING rare access to the lab where engineers quietly made space history performing the first operational commercial satellite servicing mission.

There’s an old saying: “Landings are mandatory; takeoffs are optional.” Like so many other phrases we hear in the pilot lounge, it’s cute while trying to be educational. Although I’ve had to abort a takeoff before, and demonstrated them many times when transitioning to various multi-engine airplanes, I’d never really understood the truth of the […]

One of the local GA airports in my area recently got an FAA improvement grant. They got new taxiway lights—real ones, to replace the old blue reflectors—and new paint for all of the surface and runway markings. The hold-short signs at the ends of the runway are now carefully mounted, bright red and well-lit at […]

Non-towered Longmont Airport (KLMO) had one RNAV 28 instrument approach. It’s not unusual to have five airplanes in the pattern. On this particular VFR day, one was lifting off from a touch-and-go, another was on crosswind, the third neared midfield downwind, another turned from downwind to base, and another airplane was on short final. In […]

The Kings also joined NAFI in recognizing their 2022 scholarship winner.

Instrument pilots know that IMC is challenging and far less forgiving than flying visually. Proficient flying by instruments is a must for us lest we enter the NTSB annals. When the ink on our instrument tickets was still wet, our skills were ultra-sharp. But as time passed, without continued practice those instrument skills slowly atrophied. […]

If you have ever been on a late-night flight and found yourself walking out of the airport terminal, you might have glanced at the empty gates and dark airplanes. That might have caused you to think that aviation shuts down overnight, but that’s far from the truth.  Once the sun sets, a whole different side […]

ASTM International’s F37 Committee always welcomes new members, and you don’t need technical expertise.