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There are two important measurements of turbine engine power output. The one published in basic specifications, and tossed around when pilots get together to talk, is the takeoff power rating. And that’s important. But a more difficult to define, and equally important, measure of turbine enginepower is how much is available at useful cruise altitude. […]

As I close my eyes and lean back against my towel-covered lounge chair, my toes digging into soft, white sand and my senses calmed by the sound of the waterfall splashing into the lagoon next to me, I have to work hard to convince myself that I am not, in fact, somewhere in Hawaii or […]

The Liberty XL2, a two-place trainer/touring airplane manufactured in Melbourne, Florida, might well be the most eccentric, innovative and downright quirky certified airplane you can buy, and chances are good that even if you have heard of it, you don’t really know just how odd and cool it is. The Liberty embodies several notable contrasts. […]

The Beech King Airs owe four decades of success to having the best mix of cabin comfort, performance, excellent flying qualities and famous reliability. The new C90GT keeps the comfort and wonderful flying feel that pilots love and deliversa lot more performance. It can’t catch the light jets, but it has dented their speed advantage […]

Way back in the early ’70s, when I was writing the “Student Pilot” column for Flying I wrote one titled, “I’d Rather Do It Myself.” In it I recounted my discomfort when approaching and landing at an airport that had no control tower. Airports without towers go by several names: uncontrolled, non-towered and perhaps most […]

A mantra in pilot training is that you should train the way you fly, and then fly the way you train. Thanks to its enormous fleet of Level C and D full-flight simulators, FlightSafety International has been providing absolute realism in flight training for many years, except in one area-high altitude physiology. Until now, the […]

It seemed like a simple exercise. With a masters degree in drama with a minor in film and television and post graduate work at the New York University institute of film and television, I thought I was qualified for the assignment to make a list of the best and worst aviation movies. My first thought […]

With the coming age of very light jets (or whatever you want to call them) just around the corner, the question has been repeatedly raised but never really answered: How will pilots fare when transitioning from piston-powered airplanes to this new breed of little jets? It’s a much more complicated question than it at first […]