Pilot Proficiency

The sole pilot aboard an S-2T died on Tuesday when the air tanker crashed during a firefighting mission at Yosemite National Park. The pilot has been identified as 62-year-old Geoffrey “Craig” Hunt. The FAA said the airplane went down “under unknown circumstances,” but a California Highway Patrol officer who witnessed the crash says the airplane […]

Imagine blasting past the pylons over Reno at 440 mph in your highly modified Rolls-Royce Griffon-powered P-51 Mustang race plane when suddenly — engine failure! You immediately pitch up, trading airspeed for altitude as you scan for the runway. There it is! Feather the prop, bank hard left and head for the ribbon of black […]

In March 2011 a pilot flying a Beechcraft B35 Bonanza near Whidbey Island, Washington, heard strange noises that he described as thumps coming from his airplane as he maneuvered to avoid a restricted area. The pilot reported that his airspeed was 165 knots, which is in the yellow arc of the airspeed indicator. Once on […]

If you haven’t heard the news yet, Flying is set to host its first fly-in and trade show in the magazine’s 87-year history. The Flying Aviation Expo is shaping up to be a can’t-miss event for pilots in Southern California and beyond, transforming the Palm Springs Convention Center into a general aviation mecca for three […]

Steve Lagergren of Litchfield, Minnesota, got the surprise of his life this week. While flying his experimental Van’s RV-7 he took delivery of a brand new airplane — a fully restored 1963 Beechcraft Debonair that was a gift from the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association. AOPA’s president Mark Baker and AOPA Pilot editor at large […]

They say you never forget your first love, and for those of us who fly, there’s usually that one special airplane that first grabbed hold of us and seared itself into our memory like no other. With the countless different types of airplanes that have emerged since the dawn of flight, those first favorites can […]

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, […]