Pilot Proficiency

The ready availability of small, light video cameras has produced an outburst of visual autobiography. Hardly anyone seems to be able to resist the temptation to strap a camera to his head and do something that he, or someone else, may later find exciting or impressive. Skiers, skateboarders and sky divers are particularly enamored of […]

Search and rescue teams from the Air Force and Coast Guard have found the remains of the pilot who was flying an F-16 that crashed in the Gulf of Mexico yesterday morning about 57 miles off the coast of Panama City, Florida. It is not known whether the pilot attempted to eject from the airplane […]

Through the magic of the Internet, I learned an important lesson recently about a flight that I piloted 40 years ago this month. I was a lucky kid who grew up around small airplanes. My father, a physician, had a 90 hp Cub on floats that he kept on the St. Lawrence River in front […]

One of many dangerous situations that can arise in the cockpit is when there is confusion about who is flying the airplane. Whether you are transferring control to an autopilot, a copilot or a student, it is critical that you verify that the transfer is complete and that the other source knows that it, he […]

The inaugural Flying Aviation Expo is in the books and I’ve got to tell you, I’m a little bummed. It’s that same post-show letdown I get after each Sun ‘n Fun and Oshkosh. I’m completely worn out from the frenzy of it all, and still, I didn’t want the party to end. In the case […]

The test pilot who was killed in last Friday’s crash of** Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo** prematurely unlocked the craft’s feathering tail structure, most likely leading to a catastrophic inflight breakup high over the Mojave Desert, according to the National Transportation Safety Board. Acting NTSB Chairman Christopher Hart said the error was made by 39-year-old copilot Michael […]

The IFR Proficiency Center at the Flying Aviation Expo was abuzz this weekend with fliers putting their stick and rudder prowess to the test with Redbird Flight Simulator scenarios designed to mimic real-life flight situations. The Proficiency Center, located in the center of the exhibit hall and manned by the National Association of Flight Instructors, […]

The inaugural Flying Aviation Expo in Palm Springs, California, is off to a respectable start, drawing thousands to the Palm Springs Convention Center, the site of scores of well-attended seminars and panel discussions, a busy show floor and static displays of airplanes under bright blue skies outside. “Flying Aviation Expo will be the event of […]

Air Fare America, a new aviation-themed reality TV show coming to a cable network near you, is at the Flying Aviation Expo asking showgoers the all-important question, “Where do you fly for food and fun?” This weekend, clearly, the answer is Palm Springs, California, the site of the inaugural Flying Aviation Expo, where thousands of […]

Fly This Sim (FTS) has added new capabilities to its home- and flight school-based TouchTrainer simulator systems, the company announced at Flying Aviation Expo. The touch screen enabled simulators can now add what the company calls VisX, which provides nearly a 180-degree view of the flight environment. The VisX visuals are displayed on three screens […]