Pilot Proficiency

We’re just a couple of weeks away from Flying Aviation Expo and the excitement for Southern California’s premier aviation event, planned for October 15-17 in Palm Springs, is growing by the day. If you haven’t made up you mind whether you’re coming, here is a list of reasons why you have to be there. • […]

Leadership. They write books about it. There are seminars, webinars, pamphlets and university courses about this elusive trait. I’ve known a few great leaders in medicine and one particularly great one in life. I’ve tried my own hand at medical school leadership. I really have no idea as to whether I was any good at […]

It’s hard to deny that we love watching pilots battle the elements and nail (or not) a particularly challenging crosswind landing — whether it’s in a light single or an airliner. But how about the world’s largest passenger airliner — an Airbus A380? One YouTuber managed to catch the massive wide-body jetliner arriving at Düsseldorf […]

The first part of the flight was peaceable enough. It was just two hours from Savannah, Georgia, to White Plains, New York, with two passengers (one a spry 95 years of age, delightful smile included) and plenty of gas. The weather at the destination was the only wrinkle in the silk fabric of a perfect […]

Ladies and gentlemen, we’re about to make history. For better or worse, general aviation is on the precipice of transformative change unlike anything the industry has seen in its history. Maybe we don’t comprehend the scope of the change that is coming, or perhaps we feel there’s little as individuals we can do to affect […]

It was a typical spring day in Minnesota, warm and clear at last, but with a brisk south wind blowing across the runway. I’d just driven 45 minutes to fly the Cub for the first time since November, and I thought that the wind was still within the plane’s capability. Once I broke ground and […]

October, Palm Springs and airplanes. What could be better? Final preparations are underway for Flying Aviation Expo, the premier West Coast fly-in event for general aviation pilots and enthusiasts, with hundreds of exhibitors and thousands of visitors anticipated at the three day show October 15-17 inside the Palm Springs Convention Center in southern California. The […]

If you are a responsible pilot you run through a before takeoff checklist that includes a runup of the engine that makes sure the magnetos are both grounded and that there is no gunk preventing the spark plugs from firing to produce a smooth running engine. But if there is an issue during the runup, […]

A Piper Aerostar used in the Tom Cruise film “Mena” crashed near Medellin, Colombia, on Friday, killing two and leaving one in critical condition. The U.S. embassy confirmed the crash Sunday, but did not release the names of the occupants. However, local reports say the victims of the deadly crash were veteran Hollywood pilot Alan […]

If you could pick any era in the admittedly brief history of powered flight in which to be a pilot, what year or decade would you choose? Would you desire to be a pioneer of flight, using your unfair knowledge of aerodynamics and aircraft systems to build and pilot early machines that could fly circles […]