Photos

John walked into the simulator briefing room with an ivory grin. He was wearing a crisp tropical shirt-not quite the standard dress for your typical check airman. I smiled. A tropical shirt is my favorite attire for a south Florida evening. “Hmm … my nine-month beating might not go so bad,” I thought. The copilot […]

It’s been 100 years since Continental built its first engine, and Continentals have powered dozens of milestone airplanes, but its storied history is as much a rap against the company as it is an undeniable measure of success. Most pilots incorrectly believe that Continental is building the same engines the same way it has for […]

I am being a recalcitrant student. “Put the heading bug on the airport runway heading,” my friend Bruce says. “Why?” “That way you’ll know which way the runway heading is,” he answers. “Or,” I reply, “I can just look at the compass.” To my way of thinking, if I can’t remember that I’m taking off […]

Occasionally, people insisting “Not in my back yard” have good reason. For example, the other day Miss Biscuit, one of my horses, got out of the pasture and dug divots in a neighbor’s soft, water-soaked backyard. I repaired the lawn. He had a point. Although many of the NIMBYites’ claims are knee-jerk reactions, their potential […]

A little over three years ago, this column discussed a contentious issue. The issue concerned guns in an airline cockpit. I took an opposing view. My arguments had valid reasons, but they were based on the unknown. And for the most part, the procedures for arming pilots were an unknown even to the architects of […]

“Hey, Lane, what RPM are you running now?” Jeff’s question cuts through my headset, muting my in-flight music entertainment for a moment. I glance at the Cheetah’s tachometer. “Twenty-six-hundred,” I answer. “What are you running?” “Little over eighteen.” There’s a pause. I glance over in the sky to where Jeff, in his shiny new RV-6A, […]

Insurance companies and safety experts-self appointed and otherwise-are constantly worrying that owner-flown jets…particularly the coming crop of new light jets, can be flown at 41,000 feet by a single pilot who may not be very experienced. What’s up with that? What’s so special about 41,000 feet? The answer is that FL 410 is the traditional […]