Photos

Bill Warlick has had an interesting career. He began flying at 14, graduated from NC State in Aerospace Engineering, joined the Navy, instructed in T-28s, and flew several tours in the P-3 Orion – the Navy’s patrol version of the Lockheed Electra – before spending three winters flying ski-equipped C-130s in Antarctica. He did stints […]

Fly with pilot Lane Wallace as she tours with Goma Air in the Congo.

When I earned my first jet type rating more than 25 years ago it was just assumed that I knew how to fly and could pass the course. If I couldn’t, the check ride would find my shortcomings, and I would be out the door. The training was one size fits all, sink or swim, […]

The FAA has awarded an initial contract to purchase ADS-B ground-based equipment, and set a bunch of dates for implementation of the system, but what is this new air traffic control technology, and what will it mean for airplane owners and pilots? A place to start is with the letters that make up the abbreviation, […]

Happily, the days of a dealer tossing the keys to a new owner and wishing him luck are gone, at least for most of the industry. The delivery process today, even for light airplanes, is extremely involved. Before a new owner leaves the factory with his brand-new, shiny flying machine, he’ll have to sit down […]

The year 1979 was the last big year of aircraft shipments. Almost 18,000 were sold that year. About 3,000 of those airplanes were piston twins. Today, any single that sells 534 units a year is red hot. In 1979, that’s how many Seneca twins Piper sold. If the piston single business looks lethargic when compared […]