Pilot Proficiency

Anybody who follows general aviation knows that we’ve got our share of problems. The list goes on and on: New airplanes cost too much. FAA regulations and mandates are suffocating us. GA airports are under constant attack. The EPA wants to outlaw our 100LL avgas. Too few pilots are still flying. With so much to […]

FlightSafety is expanding its eLearning offerings by adding a NextGen communications and navigation course in order to familiarize flight departments with the future of technology. The two-hour course will cover all the bases, including key events in the history of air traffic management, transponder and radar theory basics, identification of NextGen air transportation systems and […]

The Air Force Materiel Command has publicly admitted to a mishap in which an Air Force test pilot crew got the ride of their life in April of this year. An AC-130J Ghostrider, an airplane weighing as much as 164,000 pounds, went inverted during a test flight and was severely damaged, a mistake that is […]

When did the world shrink? When did the vast distances between continents fall away like sheer cliffs, leaving behind a much smaller planet? The aviation-savvy reader might choose a specific date, Dec. 17, 1903, on the sand dunes at Kitty Hawk with the Wright brothers — the dawn of the age of the airplane. Today, […]

My best friend, Mike,­ and I woke to the subtle muttering of raindrops and realized that beyond the curtains of our Ketchikan, Alaska, motel room there was only gray, dismal sky. Damn. At that moment a scenario began that could have ended up as an NTSB accident report, starting with unquantifiable indicators and an irrational […]

As details of a tragic crash of a Hawker business jet emerge, it has been confirmed that nine people lost their lives when the airplane crashed into an apartment building in Ellet, a neighborhood in Akron, Ohio, on Tuesday. While the apartment building and an adjacent home were destroyed in the post crash fire, it […]

Taking a careful look at the pressure in each of the tires before taking off is standard for any good preflight. But do you just take a glance at the wheels to see if they appear to be inflated? Using a pressure gauge once in a while to make sure your tires are inflated to […]

We’re mere weeks away from seeing the FAA’s first take on revised small aircraft certification standards, what has come to be known as the Part 23 rewrite. FAA Administrator Michael Huerta said the notice of proposed rulemaking should be published before the end of the year, a time table he’s hopeful the agency can meet […]

“Hey, fly the airplane.” I looked up, startled to see that we had entered a left bank. At Martha’s urging I came in with strong right rudder, ignored the left boost pump, and flew the airplane to the runway. The checklist on a Cessna 340 calls for both fuel boost pumps to be switched on […]

Both his wife and the instructor who had recommended him for his instrument rating two years earlier described the 1,500-hour pilot as thoughtful and analytical. He had “strong flying skills,” the instructor said; his wife observed that “he liked to plan ahead and have a contingency plan.” The 640 nm trip from Torrance, a southern […]