Pilot Proficiency

If you’ve been flying for a while, you probably know of at least one person in your circle of friends who has made a very expensive mistake — starting up the engine with the towbar attached. It is a simple error but one that could cost you a new propeller and an engine overhaul. There […]

Wheels Up, the membership-based private aviation firm formed nearly two years ago by former NetJets vice chairman Kenny Dichter, is aiming to expand the private aviation customer base in the United States by millions of travelers with introduction of the industry’s first bizplane ride-sharing app. Dichter says the app will let Wheels Up members share […]

What’s the secret to making the world’s best paper airplane? Who better to ask than paper airplane world record holder John Collins, who in 2012 designed a paper airplane that flew a whopping 226 feet 10 inches. Our friends at PopSci recently caught up with Collins at the Bay Area Maker Faire, where he revealed […]

We tend to think of a sudden feeling of unease or apprehension as a bad thing, a foreboding sign that something is amiss. But as pilots, not only should we heed these uneasy feelings, we should consciously decide to welcome them as a way of eliminating risk and breaking potential links in the accident chain. […]

“I’m going to ask for 380 and another shortcut,” says Greg, sitting to my right and pointing to the CJ3’s MFD, which shows an arrival time of 16:19 Zulu. We are about three-quarters of the way down the East Coast en route from White Plains, New York, to Boca Raton, Florida, and we have a […]

The VE-Day Arsenal of Democracy celebration over Washington, D.C., may have appeared to go off without a hitch. But what most people didn’t realize is that one pilot experienced what he thought was an inflight fire during the stellar flyover. Smoke in the cockpit appeared as the TBM Avenger pilot was flying in formation with […]

Once in a while we hear of pilots making a mistake that has devastating consequences, such as forgetting to remove the control wheel lock prior to takeoff or landing with the landing gear retracted. It is easy to make a mistake and that’s why we use checklists. But in addition to using a printed or […]

Most pilots haven’t given much thought to the requirements that the examiner must meet in order to qualify as a Designated Pilot Examiner (DPE). However, recent changes to the PIC requirements for examiners may have a direct impact on pilots trying to schedule a check ride. Historically, experience requirements for PIC qualifications for examiners were […]

When the idea to create a full-motion helicopter sim in which to train EMS personnel came to Joe Brown, CEO of Hartzell Propeller, he immediately thought of Jerry Gregoire, founder of Redbird Flight Simulations. Within a matter of months, the concept turned into a product, designed not to make money but to save lives. As […]

Lockheed Martin and Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC) have both won contract bids to provide DUATS for a year, the FAA recently announced, meaning Data Transformation Corporation (DTC) will no longer provide service as it has for the past 25 years since DUATS first became available in 1989. The new contracts, which can be renewed each […]