Pilot Proficiency

“Did you do something to my nav radios?” John was clearly confused, and I didn’t know why. But John had just realized that steady needles didn’t necessarily mean he was flying well. The flag for the glideslope confirmed his suspicion. We were flying an ILS approach in our old Comanche 250, in the clouds with […]

One of the best things about flying general aviation airplanes is the freedom it provides. You can go and check out almost any place you want, as long as you stay above regulated altitude limits and away from major tourist attractions, such as the Grand Canyon. Aside from being able to see new places from […]

A U.S. Air Force pilot assigned to bomb ISIS targets in the Middle East was killed when his F-16 fighter crashed on Sunday, military officials said. The Fighting Falcon reportedly suffered a mechanical malfunction shortly after takeoff. The pilot attempted to return to an airstrip in Jordan but crashed short of the runway, according to […]

The National Transportation Safety Board’s final report on the June 2012 inflight breakup of a Pilatus PC-12 over Central Florida highlights the risks of flying a high-performance airplane in IMC with minimum training and experience. Weeks after the accident the NTSB issued a safety alert to pilots warning about the inherent latency of in-cockpit Nexrad […]

OK, here’s an admission: I rarely look at other aviation publications unless there’s an article about somebody who intrigues me, like Bill Lear Jr. or “Fish” Salmon, or something in the “I think I’m supposed to know this but I don’t” category, like the difference between Fowler, Krueger, Gouge, Fairey-Youngman and Gurney flaps. But I […]

Through the darkness across the Hudson River, New York City’s dazzling all-night light show served as the backdrop for the Beech Baron’s descent into Teterboro Airport. For the relatively inexperienced pilot in the left seat, this was a golden opportunity to sit beside the company’s high-time training captain and soak up knowledge from the veteran […]

If it’s been a while since you’ve had the chance to enjoy some backcountry flying, come along for the ride as this bush pilot makes an approach into Simonds, a 900-foot Idaho airstrip at an elevation of 5,243 feet. Beware, though. The location and rugged nature of this remote strip have caused the Forest Service […]

Talk about sticking the landing. Flying reader Mike Reardon sent us this YouTube video of his misfortunate gear-up landing recently in his Beech Bonanza — which could have been a lot worse if not for the excellent pilot technique he exhibited. Reardon opted to perform an emergency landing in Hyannis, Massachusetts, after his nose gear […]

In the wake of a “cluster” of recent GA accidents, AOPA’s Air Safety Institute is urging pilots to take a pre-holiday “safety pause” to consider the risks of upcoming travel between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day. Noting that the pressure of completing holiday travel plans can increase the risk of a given flight, AOPA is […]

The U.K.’s air traffic control entity, NATS, has released the third in a series of computer-animated videos showing air traffic over Europe, and this is possibly the coolest one yet. Focusing on 24 hours of air traffic over the United Kingdom, the video shows the usual influx of morning traffic over the North Atlantic tracks […]