Pilot Proficiency

The NTSB this week issued five GA Safety Alerts aimed at preventing the most common fatal general aviation accidents. The big question centers on whether the Board’s action will have any discernable impact in moving the safety needle. My guess is no, it won’t. Here’s the reason: The vast majority of GA pilots won’t take […]

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 Roy Brewer, who recently flew into Tulsa’s Richard Lloyd Jones Jr. Airport in a Commander 114. Here’s what he had to say about one of the airport’s FBOs, […]

Static wicks are long, thin extensions that are often attached to the outboard trailing edges of wings and horizontal and vertical stabilizers to dissipate the static electricity that can accumulate in flight. Because these protrusions are not easy to see, it’s easy to walk into them, and when you do they’ll often be damaged. But […]

The impact of people’s fascination with, even addiction to, cell phones and texting is becoming more evident every year. Consider the following: • A study found that children using cell phones are 43 percent more likely to be hit by a vehicle while crossing the street than children who are not using cell phones. • […]

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 Bruce Barber, who recently flew into Minnesota’s Worthington Municipal Airport in a Cessna 172. Here’s what he had to say about one of the airport’s FBOs, Integrity Aviation: […]

Six-year-old Lainey Woodson never had an interest in flying, until her first flight on Oct. 5, 2012. The youngest of four, she was always scared of flying, unlike her older siblings. On a clear October day, her family traveled out to York, South Carolina (01SC), to the grass strip for a picnic and an afternoon […]

As you start the roundout on final approach and begin to flare, visual cues become extremely important. Where exactly should you be looking as you bring the control wheel back and prepare to place the wheels just where you want them on the pavement (or the grass, if you’re really lucky)? To give you a […]

The Solar Impulse has arrived from Switzerland at Moffett Field, California — though not under its own solar power. The revolutionary airplane arrived in a crate, and the Solar Impulse team is now working to reassemble it for a planned four-stop flight across the United States this summer. The Solar Impulse has a 205-foot wingspan, […]

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 Laura Lyne, who has flown into DeKalb-Peachtree Airport in Atlanta in a Mooney, Cessna 210, Baron and Aero Commander. Here’s what she had to say about one of […]

You’ve no doubt heard and read a lot about 3-D printing in the last couple of years. Known as “additive manufacturing” in industrial-design circles, the process is used to produce three-dimensional solid objects of virtually any shape from a digital model fed into a special kind of printer. Several teams have already created 3-D printed […]