Pilot Proficiency

Aerobatic pilot Fred Cabañas and Mexican television reporter Jorge Lopez Vives died when Cabañas’ airplane crashed on Tuesday afternoon. The crash happened at the Caribbean island of Cozumel while Cabañas and Vives were working on footage for a Mexican TV network program whose title translates as “Extreme Adrenaline,” the Associated Press reported. Cabañas, who had […]

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 Eddie Kirkland, who recently flew into Jack Edwards Airport in a King Air 200. Here’s what he has to say about one of the airport’s FBOs, Ferguson Air […]

The plight of the glider pilot who was arrested for overflying a nuclear powerplant in violation of zero federal or local laws reminds me of another instance in which overzealous police overstepped their bounds after a pilot did exactly what he was supposed to be doing. It happened on New Year’s Eve in 2003. My […]

Recognizing that pilots’ stick-and-rudder skills may be atrophying in an increasingly high-tech world, the FAA has issued a new safety alert for operators (SAFO) reminding crew members to continuously maintain and improve their hand-flying skills by switching off the autopilot every once in awhile. An analysis of flight operations data including several incidents and accidents […]

We all remember the tedious work of the manual flight planning required for the Private Pilot certificate, where we spent hours calculating headwind components, ground speeds and, ultimately, the fuel required for the trip. Advanced avionics have made the task of knowing whether you have enough fuel as complicated as entering the fuel remaining and […]

At first blush, you’d expect the year 2012 to have been a placeholder, a midrecession period where general aviation companies treaded water while waiting for the economy to recover. Nothing could be further from the truth. Indeed, 2012 saw a remarkable level of innovation, from the most unassuming sport airplanes to the fastest and most […]

The performance of any airplane is a function of the physics of the flight situation. Doing a great job flying the airplane will not in any way allow you or any pilot to make that airplane do anything it isn’t inherently capable of doing. Poor pilot performance, on the other hand, can be credited with […]

Dennis Butler has had two careers. The first, based on his degree in physics, was working for a number of companies that were involved with NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. The second was his Cozy III. The aircraft was an “endeavor” that took 20 years to build and kept him fascinated and involved all […]

Airplanes could be seen taxiing down the streets of Scottsdale, Arizona, in the early morning hours as they made the two-mile journey from the Scottsdale airport to the WestWorld special events facility where the annual Barrett-Jackson collector car auction is held from January 13-20. Lancair is one of the manufacturers in attendance with the high-performance […]

With all the innovation and new products that landed on the general aviation scene in 2012, there were more than enough big stories to fill out the year. As AOPA’s list of most clicked-on eBrief stories shows, however, some of the most popular were those that returned to GA’s roots and celebrated the blending of […]