Pilot Proficiency

Pilots and industry leaders are anticipating the Flying Aviation Expo, a one-of-a-kind fly-in that kicks off Oct. 31 in beautiful Palm Springs, California. The premiere event will bring together aviation enthusiasts from around the world for a weekend filled with airplanes galore, the latest in aviation tech, nonstop educational events and much more. The expo […]

On a Thursday in March 2013, the 500-hour pilot of a Mooney M20E arrived at Angel Fire, a ski resort east of Taos in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains of New Mexico. With him were his girlfriend, his sister and his sister’s 13-year-old daughter. They came from San Antonio, stayed with a cousin of the […]

The passengers were all sound asleep in the back. It would be a shame to awaken them to prepare for the landing. I let them sleep until the very last moment. There had been none of the usual complaints, like “we’re too hot” or “we’re too cold.” They had no inkling of what lay ahead […]

As seasoned recreational pilots we sometimes forget just how little about general aviation our passengers really know and understand. Many of our right-seaters probably think flying in a light airplane is little different from what they experience on the airlines. From their time flying United or Delta, they know the drill is to sit down, […]

What started as a fun-filled Young Eagles event on Saturday at the Buffalo-Lancaster Airport in Lancaster, New York, with philanthropic pilots giving rides to young potential aviators, ended in tragedy as a Cessna 172 and an experimental Searey collided. The pilot of the Cessna and his 14-year-old passenger died in the crash that resulted from […]

We bought ice and Styrofoam chests at a Family Dollar store after leaving the Bourgeois Meat Market in Thibodaux, Louisiana, and packed them with crawfish boudin (sausage), headcheese and beef jerky. The boudin and headcheese (sounds gross but this stuff is a scrumptious pâté kind of thing) would be OK for a long time but […]

“Don’t do that. Don’t ever do that,” my instructor said. I was confused. I wasn’t even sure I understood what his complaint was. But when I did, I realized the issue lay at the very heart of the debate about how to deal with cockpit automation. I said, “Let’s talk about it on the ground.” […]

North Atlantic crossings to London have become such a frequent part of my repertoire that the ocean is now marked with a magenta line dotted with large directional arrows that say, “Les, this way!” Regardless of the routine, each trip has its own unique challenges. A trip this past January was no exception. It was […]

Sporty’s has partnered with ABX Airlines in Wilmington, Ohio, to offer a program that complies with the recently implemented training requirements for the FAA airline transport pilot knowledge exam. Under the new rules, which were implemented August 1 (despite a stellar track record of safety for ATP-rated pilots) ATP candidates must complete an FAA-approved ATP-Certification […]

A highly critical report released yesterday by the Department of Transportation’s Inspector General outlining serious shortcomings with the FAA’s progress on ADS-B is embarrassing for the agency, coming as it does on the heels of pronouncements that the $6.5 billion program is progressing just fine and the 2020 ADS-B mandate is a sure-fire, locked-and-loaded firm […]