Pilot Proficiency

A team of researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology is examining nanotechnology that could lead to inexpensive head-up displays (HUDs) for general aviation aircraft. The project is supported by the National Science Foundation and the U.S. Army Research Office. A proof of concept prototype of the system was recently shown publicly. Using nanotechnology, the […]

Dramatic security video from five infrared cameras at Aspen-Pitkin County Airport in Colorado captured the January 5 crash of a Challenger 601 that killed a pilot and critically injured two others. The video, posted online by Aspen Journalism, a local non-profit media outlet, shows the airplane on its second landing attempt after aborting the first […]

You’ve probably noticed that test pilots, law enforcement and emergency response pilots, and pilots flying military airplanes generally wear flight suits. You are also likely aware that these pilots don’t wear these garments just to fit into some kind of fraternity or to look cool. Flight suits serve a purpose. While you may not want […]

A few years back, a Cessna 172 pilot had trouble starting his airplane and decided to hand-prop it near the Typhoon restaurant at the Santa Monica airport. No one was inside the Skyhawk. The engine spun up, and the airplane made a solo trip across runway 21. In the process, it made a business jet […]

It was an old story. A relatively inexperienced pilot practicing landings got too slow on final approach, stalled and crashed. The pilot, 56, was flying a club Cherokee 180, a type in which he had logged 13 of his 130 hours. He was making a short round-robin cross-country flight, ostensibly for practice, with landings at […]

There I was: fat, dumb and happy. My friend Tim and I had taken my 1977 Mooney 201 from Camden, South Carolina, to Myrtle Beach to get the oxygen cylinder filled. We filed IFR on the outbound leg at 7,000 feet msl and had to fly the ILS at Myrtle Beach to get through some […]

The lobby of the Hilton Hotel across from the John Wayne Airport in Orange County, California, is packed with conventioneers. They are making a joyous noise. I am looking for Phil Smith among the throng; we will be joined at the hip for the better part of a month as we progress through “Indoc” at […]

Aluminum lasts a long time. It’s why airplanes are not subject to the same planned obsolescence that allows the automotive industry to continually generate repeat customers. Though the last combat mission over Vietnam was flown almost four decades ago, the remnants of the air war are still visible in the Southeast Asian country. Blogger David […]

A U.S. Navy F/A-18E crashed about 45 miles off the coast of Virginia Beach on Wednesday during a routine training mission. The pilot ejected before the Super Hornet went down and is in critical condition after being rescued by a fishing vessel, according to a statement by the Navy. He had deployed his life raft […]

The animal world continues to inspire aircraft designers. A couple of years ago we published a story about how the fins of humpback whales are helping scientists develop new main rotor blade designs. Now a story is emerging about how a team of scientists from New York University used the motion of swimming jellyfish to […]