Pilot Proficiency

As aviation legend Bob Hoover announced the customary command for the Unlimited pilots, “Gentlemen, start your engines,” the final Gold Heat at the National Championship Air Races in Reno, Nevada, was on. First to take off was the T-33 pace plane flown by Steve Hinton, a legend in his own right as a long time […]

Illustrations by Barry Ross| Climbing through 15,000 feet, I breathe a sigh of relief, slide my seat back and take a look around. Orange County, California, has one of the busier departure procedures in the country, and it’s a bit of a workout even when you’re familiar with it. But now that we’re high above […]

A few months back I wrote about flying a Citation Mustang, comparing its attributes to those of the 777. After the initial flight, thanks to my friend and Mustang owner Tom Torti, I became more familiar with the airplane, via a smattering of other trips. On those trips, informal instruction and a few doses of […]

You may recall at the start of the summer flying season FAA Administrator Michael Huerta implored general aviation pilots to fly safely in June, July and August. In an open letter to the GA community delivered just before the Memorial Day weekend, Huerta begged us, “Make sure you’re ready – really ready – to fly.” […]

AOPA has announced the surprising decision to suspend its annual Aviation Summits and instead hold a number of smaller grassroots events at general aviation airports, reaching members “where they fly.” Incoming AOPA president and CEO Mark Baker announced the change, saying it no longer makes sense for the association to invest in one large event. […]

A Schweizer SGS 2-33A sailplane came up a bit short of the intended runway on Sunday. The unidentified teenage pilot, a member of the Royal Canadian Air Cadets and an experienced glider pilot with a private pilot’s license, landed on the roof of a convenience store a half mile short of his intended runway at […]

It’s a video that makes pilots cringe and prompts airline passengers to question the wisdom of flying coach. A Swiss BAe 146/Avro RJ four-engine jet made a rough landing at London City Airport, slamming onto the runway under what appear to be extreme crosswind conditions. The 48-second video then shows the regional jet skidding and […]

The competition in the Unlimited Class at the National Championship Air Races taking place in Reno, Nevada, this week is off to an exciting start. On Tuesday, during the second day of qualifications for the Unlimited Class, part of the canopy on Strega, the airplane that won the class during the past few years at […]

“Let’s face it , some of the items on the checklist are written in blood,” our sim instructor says. It is day three of recurrent training. My training partner and I sit up straight. These words compel us to think carefully about why we are there and what we are doing. It means that accidents, […]

It’s never a good idea to use a taxiway as a runway (though it’s happened plenty of times). But as you probably know controllers will frequently instruct pilots to do just the opposite — that is, use a runway as a taxiway. We normally accept these special taxi clearances without giving much thought to the […]