Pilot Proficiency

There is no substitute for getting hands-on experience from the left seat of the cockpit when learning to fly. But, whether you are a budding pilot or an experienced one, you can learn a lot while sitting in the back seat observing how other pilots conduct their flight operations. As the saying goes, there are […]

FlightSafety International is suing an engine repair and overhaul shop that it claims was responsible for the October crash of a Beechcraft King Air into its Wichita Cessna Citation training center, which killed four people including the pilot. The lawsuit, filed in Dallas County District Court, alleges that MRO firm Dallas Airmotive improperly repaired the […]

The National Transportation Safety Board has issued two safety recommendations aimed at preventing wrong-airport landings like those in Wichita, Kansas, and Branson, Missouri, that attracted substantial media attention. The Safety Board recommended to the FAA that controllers withhold landing clearance until the aircraft has passed all other airports that might be confused with the destination […]

Divers searching the wreckage area of a sunken I-400 World War II Japanese submarine off the coast of O’ahu recently came upon an interesting find: the massive submarine’s missing aircraft hangar. The hangar and other key features of the mega-submarine were separated from the main wreckage, discovered by University of Hawaii and U.S. National Oceanic […]

Landing on a beach or on a beautiful remote backcountry airstrip in an airplane equipped with fat tires. Flying in formation with some of the top airshow performers in the world doing loops and rolls in a sleek single-engine jet or a roaring round-engine T-6. Testing out the capabilities of some of the coolest new […]

An accident in Austin, Texas, this week served as a tragic reminder of how rescue crews at times risk their own lives to save others. A medevac nurse working for STAR Flight, an aerial emergency response service in Austin, fell to her death while attempting to rescue a hiker who had fallen in the Barton […]

When taxiing or idling on the ground for long periods of time, it’s possible to experience spark plug fouling, even with modern, fuel-injected aircraft engines running low lead fuel. The way to prevent fouling during taxi is to aggressively lean your engine while on the ground by following the specific procedure in your POH or, […]

The National Transportation Safety Board has closed the case on the crash of a Piper Turbo Arrow in Colorado in January, saying the pilot committed suicide. Investigators said the 41-year-old pilot who was killed in the crash on January 11 in Brighton, Colorado, intentionally flew his airplane into the ground after his wife told him […]

At Sun ‘n Fun Textron Aviation and an impressive list of university partners launched the Top Hawk program to pair up universities with quality flight training programs with new Skyhawks. Under Top Hawk, Textron will team with Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Kansas State University, Liberty University and the University of North Dakota. Through the end of […]

If you are looking for a new aviation challenge and are considering an add-on rating, you can start out by watching one of Sporty’s new video programs to learn more about the transition process before spending a stack of Benjamin Franklins on actual flight training. The company’s online pilot shop has added four new video […]