Pilot Proficiency

Let’s say you’ve just transitioned into a new airplane, one that’s faster, more complex and with newer avionics than the airplanes you’ve been used to flying. You’ll obviously want to fly with a flight instructor who’s familiar with the make, model and equipment aboard your new airplane. If it’s a really complex airplane like a […]

The final harrowing moments of a deadly midair collision were captured on video on Sunday after a Cessna 185 floatplane collided with a Cessna 172 in Alberta, Canada. The pilot of the stricken 185 made an emergency landing at the airport in Fort McMurray, flipping over after touching down in the damaged plane. Two occupants […]

In the 1960s, Ohio Gov. Jim Rhodes committed to putting a 4,000-foot paved runway in every county — an idea promoted by his friend Norman Crabtree. Both men were from rural southeastern Ohio and proud Bobcats — graduates of Ohio University at Athens. Norm, director of the Ohio Aviation Division, flew the governor around in […]

Many of you will remember the 2013 viral video of six-year-old Lainey Woodson experiencing the unbridled joy of flight for the first time in her father’s Piper Cub. Now an even more heart-warming video has surfaced of four-year-old Lea Langumier giggling in the skies over Quebec as her dad Raphael performs aerobatics in his Citabria. […]

Summer is upon us and so is the best flying season for most. While flying to a nice resort with all the creature comforts you could dream of is by all means a terrific experience, flying into a remote area will get you far away from the hustle and bustle. If you want to get […]

During the takeoff the engine is pushed to the max right near the ground, making it one of the most critical phases of flight. Should the engine fail, there is not much time to investigate or think through the best course of action before the airplane hits terra firma. It is therefore a great idea […]

It’s one thing to tell a pilot “Avoid loss of control!” of his or her airplane in flight, but providing additional tutelage on exactly how to prevent such a dangerous situation from developing in the first place is a completely different matter. That’s because there are so many ways to lose control that you probably […]

With the weather turning nice in many parts of the country, the FAA and GA industry have partnered to launch the “Fly Safe” summer safety campaign, highlighting the dangers of aircraft loss of control and encouraging general aviation pilots to install and use angle-of-attack indicators. Loss of control, notes the FAA, is the number-one cause […]

For the past five years the members of the Victoria Flying Club in Victoria, B.C., Canada, have been using a Redbird FMX full motion flight simulator for their landplane training needs. The club recently added an option that chief pilot Graham Palmer says is the first of its kind in the world: a full motion […]

Five survivors were plucked from the waters off Nassau, the capital of the Bahamas, late last night after ditching in a Cessna 172 and clambering into a life raft as the sun was going down. The group floated in the water for three hours about nine miles southeast of Nassau before finally being located at […]