Pilot Proficiency

To say that electrical systems are not my strong point is something of an understatement. The reality is I don’t actually believe in electricity, and although I’ve spent a lifetime regurgitating answers to questions on oral and written tests about amps and volts and ohms and AC and DC current and inverters and buses and […]

Spoiler alert: The following story reveals one of the top ten airplanes in our Top 100 Airplanes: Platinum Edition list. As the kids sing on Sesame Street, “One of these things is not like the others,” a number of readers have been taken aback by the inclusion of an odd bird in Flying Magazine’s Top […]

As 40 million Americans prepare to visit relatives and friends this Thanksgiving week, Mother Nature has decided to add a twist with a massive winter storm that is delaying airline flights and grounding many GA pilots. To help travelers keep tabs on airline flight delays, FlightAware.com has created the Misery Map, a real-time weather and […]

My first year of membership in DiamondShare is almost over. And as the end of my one-year lease approaches, I have an important choice to make: stick with the shared-lease program or find some other way to fly. My introduction to the DiamondShare experience was somewhat unusual in that I was handed the keys to […]

The aftermath of the tragic accident during the 2011 Reno Air Races, when 11 people died as a result of a P-51 Mustang crashing into the box-seat area in front of the grandstands, is still having negative effects for organizers of the half-century old event. The accident has skyrocketed insurance costs for the competition, and, […]

When planning a flight, pilots are trained to prepare for contingencies; minor problems and emergencies will arise at some point throughout every one of our flying careers. We taxi slow enough in case we experience a brake failure. In a single-engine airplane we choose a route of flight from point A to B that will […]

The FAA puts great emphasis on the use of checklists, so much so that failing to use them during a checkride will result in a pink slip. While you should always have a checklist within reach to back you up, there is another easy way to make sure you are not missing any critical items […]

Now that the world knows the story of the Boeing 747 Dreamlifter that landed at the wrong Wichita-area airport on Wednesday night, everybody is asking the same question: how could it have happened? That is, how could a professional crew of a large cargo airliner get it so wrong? The answer is, it’s all too […]

A medevac Learjet bound for Mexico crashed in the ocean about a mile offshore minutes after departing Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport on Tuesday night. Officials said two people on board have been confirmed killed and a Coast Guard search continues for two others. An airport spokesman told media outlets that the Learjet 35 was returning […]

The odd case of a Boeing 747 Dreamlifter mistakenly landing at Wichita’s Jabara Airport instead of its intended destination, McConnell Air Force Base about 7 miles to the south, wasn’t the first time the crew of a mammoth jet made such a colossal positional error. You might remember our story last year about a C-17 […]