Pilot Proficiency

Cirrus SR22T Xenia, Ohio / Injuries: 1 Fatal The airline transport pilot was repositioning the airplane to its home base after maintenance was completed at a repair station. The pilot filed an instrument flight rules (IFR) flight plan with a cruise altitude of 9,000 feet mean sea level (msl). The en route portion of the […]

Tamarack Aerospace is in the final stages of FAA certification for the first commercially viable installation of its Active Technology Load Alleviation System (ATLAS), which allows wingtip extensions with winglets to be installed without increasing the load on the wing. The installation includes Tamarack Active Camber Surfaces (TACS) on the outboard portions of the trailing […]

The pilot’s loss of airplane control,” said the ­National Transportation Safety Board, “was due to his diverted ­attention to the canopy opening in flight.” At what point the canopy opened ­completely is not clear, but several witnesses described the airplane rocking sharply from side to side and oscillating sharply in pitch during the takeoff roll, […]

It was a whole new world to us. From the air, John and I saw the Great Plains, the Rocky Mountains, the Pacific Ocean, and what was to become our new hometown in California — all on our first cross-country after we got our licenses. We were hooked. From that time on, our lives were […]

For decades, aircraft have used engine bleed air for a variety of purposes, spanning everything from engine starting to cabin pressurization to anti-icing. Here’s how engine bleed air works.

John Mugavin is made of rare stuff. This stocky, hugely talented, successful and gutsy guy is also as friendly and “old shoe” as they come. Mugavin is a familiar name around here for both the primo auto-body shop he owns and operates, and his fame as a dirt-track driver. Twenty-five years after building his first […]

I seldom experience déjà vu in my aerial life, though it lurks around every corner of my ground-bound existence. Enough changes from flight to flight to find something fresh in every airborne encounter, and the shift in perspective makes even old haunts seem entirely foreign when seen from above. But here and now, with the […]

For many pilots, the only time we’ll ever encounter a DME arc is during instrument training or on a check ride. Still, it’s a good idea to know how to fly one. The good news is that a DME arc is simple once you understand how to execute it. One common misconception many pilots have […]

One of the highlights of the 2016 Flying Aviation Expo was the spirited debate between renowned aviation educators John King and Rod Machado over the FAA’s newly implemented Airman Certification Standards, which replaced the decades-old Practical Test Standards. The debate was as informative as it was entertaining, with King and Machado breaking out the facts […]

In an era when technology has evolved as the solution to just about every problem the aviation industry confronts, it’s refreshing to hear a story in which a pilot’s hunch, a gut feeling, played a role in the safe operation of an airplane full of people. The story is worth reading because, although it all […]