Pilot Proficiency

Embry-Riddle flight students will continue training in Cessna 172s for years to come after the university signed a long-term purchase agreement for 57 Skyhawks as part of a multi-year agreement. Cessna said 29 aircraft will be delivered to ERAU this year and the remaining 28 next year. The fleet will replace the Cessna 172s currently […]

Flying‘s senior editor Stephen Pope paid a visit on Thursday morning to David Clark’s booth in Hangar C at the Sun ‘n Fun campus to present the Editors’ Choice Award. David Clark’s winning product was the DC Pro-X active noise reduction headset. Weighing in at only 7.5 ounces, the DC Pro-X weighs about half as […]

Some of the booths drawing attention at the Sun ‘n Fun International Fly-In and Expo this week are those with piston-powered helicopter trainer simulators. We checked out a couple of affordable simulator versions, the Elite TH22 and X-copter flight simulators, both of which feature models from the largest helicopter manufacturer in the world — Torrance, […]

Redbird Flight Simulations unveiled a full-motion helicopter skills trainer at Sun ‘n Fun called the Redbird VTO that is designed to help new students learn the art of hovering and autorotation before transitioning to the real thing. The idea behind the simulator is to provide the visual and motion cues necessary for improving helicopter-specific skills, […]

Sun ‘n Fun president John “Lites” Leenhouts started the 2014 edition of Sun ‘n Fun with a shocking announcement. Because Sun ‘n Fun had been unable to reach an agreement with the FAA for air traffic control services, all air operations were suspended. He quickly followed up with, “April Fools’.” In all seriousness, the 40th […]

Flying magazine and Redbird Flight Simulations have teamed up to create the Flying Challenge Cup, a stick-and-rudder skills competition that pits contenders from across the country against each other in a virtual fly-off in Redbird’s full-motion flight simulators. The competition officially starts today at Sun ‘n Fun and wraps up this summer at EAA AirVenture […]

There are many visual illusions that can present themselves during flight. One scenario that can mess with the normal cues during the approach and landing phases is a runway that is located on a hilltop. I recently flew into Catalina airport on Catalina Island to enjoy one of their fantastic buffalo burgers. While the airport […]

My friend Justin is a superb flight instructor with considerable experience in real-world flying and is charmingly full of himself. He amuses me by constantly working deals that involve flying really nice airplanes to major league games, rock concerts, ski resorts, airshows, Mardi Gras festivals, NASCAR races and weekends at somebody’s oceanfront condo. Last week, […]

Since 2009, 42 Air Force MC-12Ws have been deployed to war zones in the Middle East. The MC-12W is a modified Beech King Air 350, externally similar except for a plethora of antennas and several unsightly bulges, including a huge belly pack. Communications and surveillance equipment and stations for two technicians replace the usual executive […]

When I turned 15 and started taking flying lessons, my dad gave me a copy of one of the true bibles of piloting technique: “Aerodynamics for Naval Aviators.” First published in 1960, it remains the definitive text on applied aerodynamics for pilots — and at 15, I could barely understand a word of it. It […]