Pilot Proficiency

On Saturday August 24 the National Transportation Safety Board will hold a seminar on “lessons learned” from accidents involving experimental amateur-built (E-AB) aircraft. Though some 33,000 E-ABs constitute a bit less than 10 percent of the U.S. GA fleet, the category accounts for 15 percent of accidents and more than 20 percent of fatal accidents, […]

Highlighting the growing frustration aviation officials face in their quest to improve general aviation safety, accident statistics released this week remained virtually unchanged from 2011 to 2012, according to the National Transportation Safety Board. There were 1,471 GA accidents in 2012 versus 1,470 in 2011, according to the latest statistics compiled by the NTSB. Fatalities, […]

San Diego-based King Schools has launched a new app to help pilots make studying easier on the go. The new King Schools Companion app allows students access to their King Schools courses on an iPad or iPhone. Students simply need to download the Companion app from the App Store. Then they can log in using […]

A whole new airshow concept made its debut this weekend with the inaugural Gathering of Warbirds and Legends in Topeka, Kansas. Sixty-one airplanes of various types and sizes were on display and flew over Forbes Field. But none of these flights included what airshow attendees have become accustomed to: aerobatics, inverted flight or wingwalkers. “This […]

“Recognize that conversation is a powerful distracter.” As I quoted those words from the NASA study of crew error accidents in January’s article, a flood of accident case studies flowed through my head. Some I had discussed earlier in that same article — the Teterboro controller who was engaged in a discussion on the phone […]

The Society of Aviation and Flight Educators’ (SAFE) Pilot Proficiency Project, which the organization has offered at AirVenture in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, and Sun ‘n Fun in Lakeland, Florida, for the past few years, has become such a success that SAFE has decided to offer the training at other locations around the country. SAFE President Doug […]

Marking the sixth major software update of the year, ForeFlight has introduced some great new features to the latest version of its Mobile flight app that received rave reviews from pilots at AirVenture last week — before the update was even available. The newest version, ForeFlight Mobile 5.3, can now overlay approach plates and airport […]

AirVenture 2013 wrapped up on Sunday after a week that was remarkably successful despite a number of challenges leading up to the show. Before AirVenture, EAA was in negotiations with the FAA over the agency’s plan to charge the association $650,000 to staff the controllers at the event, a fee that the EAA was able […]

It’s been just over a decade since the FAA commissioned WAAS for general aviation use. So these days I am so used to having WAAS that I don’t think twice about it, particularly when flying behind a Garmin G1000 panel. But if you are purchasing or renting an airplane that is a few years old, […]

When Flight debuted, I shook my head, like most of my airline colleagues. A Super 80 rolled upside down? Really? That being said, the preposterous nature of the event was still intriguing. I was tempted to see the movie for that reason alone. But I would ruin date night with my wife, being compelled to […]