Pilot Proficiency

The FAA and NTSB are investigating a crash in San Luis Obispo, California, on Monday afternoon in which the pilot, whose name has not been released, was killed. Local news outlets reported that the airplane was a twin-engine Cessna 337 Skymaster. The pilot reportedly made a mayday call to the tower controllers just after taking […]

A vintage Stearman crashed and exploded into flames on Saturday at an Ohio airshow, killing pilot Charlie Schwenker and wingwalker Jane Wicker. The pair were killed instantly while performing at around 12:45 p.m. at the Vectren Air Show at the Dayton International Airport as thousands of spectators watched. Amateur video of the crash shows Wicker […]

The following article is from the January 2013 print issue. Way back in the early ’70s, an old friend of my husband’s, Harry Combs, invited us to join him and his wife at the National Aviation Hall of Fame enshrinement ceremony and dinner in Dayton, Ohio. Serving as master of ceremonies that year, Combs was […]

In our FBO Spotlight series, we’re highlighting FBOs around the country that have received rave reviews from our readers. This latest Spotlight is brought to you by Mitch Wohl, who recently flew into Centennial Airport in Denver in a Cessna 170. Here’s what he had to say about one of the airport’s FBOs, Denver Jet […]

Normally if I heard about a documentary that purported to uncover “new” evidence about the TWA Flight 800 disaster, I would roll my eyes. But I’m actually quite interested to see the film and am approaching it with an open mind. Here’s why. The crash of Flight 800 into the Atlantic Ocean off the coast […]

The opportunity for me to touch and feel the inner workings of the machinery providing the thrust that keeps me airborne had always seemed an interesting proposition. With Pratt & Whitney (P&W) practically in my backyard, that possibility became a reality. On the aviation-is-a-small-world front, I was fortunate to have established a relationship with a […]

As you might guess, Martha and I are interested in the balance between aviation liberty and national law enforcement, and we would like to pass on some thoughts. It appears that government agencies are using their ability to monitor general aviation flights to select aircraft to intercept on landing based on what they consider to […]

When the weather’s truly awful the decision to stay on the ground rather than fly is easy. But you’ve budgeted this time for flying anyway so why not get some use out of it? You might instead decide to “chair fly,” where you sit down and mentally go through various checklist items. If you have […]

The Reno Air Racing Association’s Pylon Racing Seminar took place last week with some surprising announcements. Matt Jackson, vice president of the Unlimited Division, announced that the Unlimited Division board of directors decided to pull out of the race “due to the inability of the Unlimited Class to reach a satisfactory resolution with the FAA […]

The most talked-about airplane rental concept to come along in recent memory is officially open for business with the launch of OpenAirplane, a network of FBOs and flight schools that lets pilots receive one annual checkout and then rent airplanes at locations across the country. Because the service is so new, OpenAirplane is limited to […]