Pilot Proficiency

“You need more right rudder,” Bill Martin scolded as I sloppily put the Cessna 172 into a climbing right turn. My recollection of P-factor and torque effect, it seemed, had gone the way of the dodo bird. “I guess I’m used to yaw dampers in the jets,” I mumbled. “It’s been 10 years since I’ve […]

A pilot recently posted a video on YouTube and suggested his fellow aviators have a look. He was showing off his new GoPro camera setup in a Cessna 172. As the video starts, the first thing the viewer sees is the pilot taxiing toward the departure runway while simultaneously texting on his smartphone. The airplane […]

For more than 50 years of jet airliner operation, the APU has been an integral part of airplane independence. The APU is a small jet engine located within the structure of the fuselage. With today’s airliners, the unit is operable both on the ground and in flight. In flight, the APU provides both a backup […]

The creators of the popular animated Disney movie Cars are about to release a new animated feature called Planes. Set to open in the theatres on August 9, Planes follows Dusty the crop duster as he tackles his fear of heights to achieve his dream of becoming an air racer. A wide variety of animated […]

The FAA this week sent out a general aviation safety “fact sheet” identifying several technologies the agency says can help significantly curb the fatal accident rate. While the list includes several of the typical technologies we think of as promoting safety such as Nexrad weather receivers, traffic and terrain awareness systems and ballistic parachutes, the […]

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 Scott Sedam, who recently flew into Sawyer International Airport in Marquette, Michigan, in a Commander 114. Here’s what he had to say about the airport’s FBO, Boreal Aviation: […]

Ensuring that you are carrying enough fuel to complete your planned flight is not the only fuel-related concern that you should keep in mind as you fly. While a fuel imbalance may not cause you to make an emergency landing, it could mean the difference between having a nice smooth touchdown and potentially causing some […]

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 Phil Rutherford, who recently flew into Front Range Airport in Denver in a Cessna 140. Here’s what he had to say about the airport’s FBO: “[Front Range provides] […]

The 30-year-old pilot of a Robinson R22 said she was surprised when the engine quit at 3,000 feet above a crowded section of Honolulu. But her training took over and she executed a successful autorotation onto Fort Street, lined with apartments and located near a college campus. Pilot Julia Link told reporters, “First I thought […]

The FAA’s handling of a variety of prickly issues from the planned closures of scores of contract control towers to the hotly anticipated Part 23 rewrite to the up-in-the-air fate of leaded aviation gasoline will affect general aviation in important ways for years to come. Get the Part 23 rewrite right, and we could witness […]