Pilot Proficiency

We’ve all noticed it: In the last year or so there has been an exponential increase in the number of pilot-shot videos on YouTube thanks to the popularity of portable HD cameras from companies like GoPro, JVC and Pure Digital Technologies, maker of the Flip. Some pilots are even using suction-cup mounts to affix their […]

It ought not to be true, but it is: In every pilot’s life there comes a moment when he wishes he had a little more fuel. Perhaps the headwind was stronger than forecast; the gauges have dropped below a quarter sooner than you hoped they would; the descent and climb for an en route stop […]

If I don’t practice one day, I know it; two days, the critics know it; three days, the public knows it.” So said Jascha Heifetz, the legendary violinist. Lately, I can relate. Last spring our Cheyenne turboprop sat, lonely and forlorn, in the hangar at Landmark Aviation in Tampa, Florida (our home base), for six […]

Many parts of the country have experienced record heat this summer, and August and September can bring their share of scorching days as well. If you haven’t done so already, you may need to make some adjustments to the way you operate your airplane to keep the engine happy. During your preflight inspection, make sure […]

An expedition team launched last month to search for the wreckage of Amelia Earhart’s aircraft claims it has shot high-definition video that shows man-made debris in the area where organizers theorize Earhart crash-landed her Lockheed Electra 75 years ago. The team behind the search effort is The International Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery (Tighar), a […]

Read Once I Built an Airline (Part I) here. Every summer weekend through most of the ’60s, Midwest Airways flew its original northern Michigan route from Cincinnati to Traverse City and Harbor Springs as well as the weekday Cleveland and Detroit schedule. So on Friday evenings from June through August at least one Lockheed 10 […]

I earned my private pilot certificate in October 2006 at the age of 35. A few months later, in July 2007, a pilot friend of the family heard I was a new pilot and invited me along to EAA AirVenture ­Oshkosh. Even though I had just met Steve, I thought it was an awesome opportunity, […]

It just so happened that my good friend Roger Tonry had both his BFR and annual inspection for his Grumman Tiger due at the end of July. Since I’m a flight instructor and have done some owner assisted annual inspections before myself, I decided I would help him out with both. Roger has owned his […]

Here’s a tip that goes for any airplane you might be fortunate enough to fly: learning why certain items are on the checklist can help you remember to perform required actions in the correct sequence and will give you a better understanding of how the airplane really works. In other words, don’t perform a certain […]

The wild nature of heavy metal music and the structured environment of the cockpit appear to be such polar opposites that they would be nearly impossible to combine. Yet Iron Maiden’s singer Bruce Dickinson has done just that. An accomplished pilot, Dickinson has personally flown the English band and its equipment around the world on […]