Pilot Proficiency

To the cliché that there are pilots who have landed gear up and those who will, one might add a third category: those who have, and will again. I made my first and, so far, only gear-up landing in a Fournier RF-4 motor glider, N7723, on Jan. 23, 1969, at Yucca Valley, California. The RF-4 […]

****There are a number of different products on the market that can help pilots of all skill levels refine and maintain their skills. Here are a few of the best options out there. Redbird TD If your goal is to maintain instrument proficiency, you can legally do so at home with Redbird’s TD desktop simulator, […]

With the economic downturn and unemployment and underemployment that ensued, many Americans are enjoying less disposable income. As a result, your flying budget may not be what it was a few years ago. And meanwhile, the cost of flying has risen. We all know that staying proficient is equivalent to reducing the risks associated with […]

In our FBO Spotlight series, we’re highlighting FBOs around the country that have received rave reviews. This latest Spotlight is brought to you by Peter B. Nichol, who frequently flies out of Tweed-New Haven Airport in a P28R-200. Here’s what he has to say about the airport’s FBO, Robinson Aviation. Robinson Aviation (KHVN) New Haven, […]

As we continue to ponder what we’ll fill our gas tanks with in the future – Diesel? Biofuel? Maybe even plastic, as one intrepid Cessna 182 pilot hopes to do soon – it’s pretty interesting to look back through aviation history and realize that even early pioneers sought out alternatives to the gasoline internal combustion […]

I think it was the summer of 1983 when a nasty line of thunderstorms moved across DuPage Airport west of Chicago, upending a number of airplanes and damaging even more. I was not having a good time as a novice FAA operations safety inspector in the DuPage FSDO. Taking any initiative — doing something — […]

After seeing Martha Lunkin‘s recent Mnemono-Maniacal Moments column, longtime Flying reader David Karnes thought our readers might benefit from his dad’s approach to mnemonics, which takes the form of a poem. The poem makes sense. Kenneth Karnes recently bought a Cessna 210 and needed a way to remember the new procedures associated with his high-performance […]

The 2012 Reno Air Races are set to kick off on Wednesday, continuing a nearly 50-year-long tradition that has worked to overcome a number of challenges since the tragic events of last year’s competition. Qualifying rounds are currently underway, with the first official seven race heats slated to begin Wednesday afternoon. A number of familiar […]

I was talking with a flight instructor the other day who related a funny story that provides a lesson for all of us. During a flight review with a private pilot, the instructor created a simulated emergency by saying: “Okay, you’re flying along and suddenly you realize the engine is on fire. What are you […]

In our FBO Spotlight series, we’re highlighting FBOs around the country that have received rave reviews. This latest Spotlight is brought to you by Gregg McAnelly, who recently flew into San Marcos Municipal Airport in a Cessna 182B. Here’s what he has to say about one of the airport’s FBOs, Redbird Skyport. Redbird Skyport (KHYI) […]