Adventures & More

It was cold at altitude: minus 39 degrees C. It was cold when we landed too: 9 degrees F. As I shut the Cheyenne down, I cautioned my wife, Cathy, to stay in the airplane until I could get the car and come get her and the dog, Corbett. She needed no persuading. Just then […]

(February 2012) Books about airplane design often mention wing incidence as if it were a parameter of some importance. It isn’t. In fact, “wing incidence” is a misnomer. I propose — and fully expect my proposal to have no effect — that the term be abandoned, and that we speak of “fuselage incidence” instead. The […]

__Not too long ago, Skip called to see if I wanted to pull the 180 out and join a gaggle of RV-8s flying to Columbus, Indiana, for Sunday breakfast, but I had a test to give that morning. He said he had texted me earlier, but I don’t “do” texting, at least not yet. With […]

In our FBO Spotlight series, we’re highlighting FBOs around the country that have received rave reviews from our readers. This latest Spotlight is brought to you by Bruce Dunbar, who recently stopped by Freedom Aviation in a Cirrus SR22. Here’s what he has to say about the experience. Freedom Aviation (KLYH) Lynchburg, Virginia “Great service […]

Do you ever look to the skies and wonder what airplanes are flying above you? If you have an iPhone 4S, you can simply ask Siri – the service that not only answers your questions, but actually talks back too. But apparently it’s important to use proper language when you talk to Siri, just like […]

In our FBO Spotlight series, we’re highlighting FBOs around the country that have received rave reviews from our readers. This latest Spotlight is brought to you by Tom Bressan, who recently stopped by Havasu Air Center in a Bonanza A36. Here’s what he has to say about the experience. Havasu Air Center (KHII) Lake Havasu […]

Popular belief says the cleaner the leading edge of an airfoil is, the more efficient it becomes. But scientists are now looking into how strategically placed bumps on the main rotors of helicopters may boost performance. Researchers at the German Aerospace Center (DLR) in Göttingen, Germany, claim they got the idea of using the concept […]

Aviation biofuels hold many promises, perhaps the most important being their ability to yield reductions in greenhouse gases emitted by aircraft in flight. Still, airlines will be willing to transition to sustainable fuels only if there is a financial case to do so. Fuel costs are a significant portion of an airline’s overall operating costs […]

In the late 1950s, Pat Bryson dared to do what no other female in her small southern Missouri town of West Plains had ever done. She dreamed of learning to fly. When she was 15, she begged her father to allow her to take a ride in an airplane, a Cessna 170 that a man […]

We’ve all heard the term, but what is bonus depreciation and how does it work? Normally, when a business purchases a piece of durable capital equipment such as a printing press, a backhoe or a corporate jet, that business is allowed to deduct the cost of the equipment from its taxable income, thereby reducing its […]