Pilot Proficiency

The traffic pattern around an airport keeps the flight paths of airplanes in the vicinity predictable. By following the same track, it is easier for pilots to see other airplanes approaching to land. But the safety and efficiency of the traffic flow is dependent on the pilots in the pattern. It can become quite frustrating […]

If there’s anything that the FAA’s latest aviation industry forecast proves, it’s that you can make the numbers paint just about any picture you want them to, especially when you’re guessing using assumptions about what might happen 20 years from now. For instance, what if I told you that the number of student pilots in […]

Jim Lauerman, former president of Avemco Insurance Company, shares his top list of “aviation insurance myths” – those long-held beliefs about aircraft policies that are misunderstood by pilots, whether they own the airplane they fly, rent the airplane they fly or fly a friend’s airplane. These myths are specific to Avemco® in many cases, so […]

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 Greg Thomas, who frequently visits Texas Jet in his Cirrus SR22. Here’s what he has to say about the experience. Texas Jet Fort Worth, Texas “Every time I […]

The Red Bull capsule created to carry Austrian daredevil Felix Baumgartner to an altitude of 120,000 feet for his upcoming freefall mission is ready, developers behind the project said Tuesday. The 2,900-pound sealed capsule has been under development at Sage Cheshire Aerospace in Lancaster, California, for the past five years and comes complete with a […]

How can you tell if you’re on a collision course with another airplane? Your biggest clue will be that there will be no relative motion between your airplane and the other aircraft. If you can maneuver in such a way to make the other aircraft appear as though it’s moving relative to your location in […]

Last week, P-51-pilot Chuck Gardner had trouble getting his landing gear down in preparation for landing at the Mobile Downtown Airport. After attempting the recommended emergency gear operations procedures, Gardner asked for help. And did he ever receive! No one other than aviation legend Bob Hoover advised Gardner to perform some high G maneuvers to […]

Lloyd’s of London wrote the first-ever aviation insurance policy in 1911. By 1912, the company stopped writing aviation policies due to steep losses suffered from crashes by several of its policy-holders. Today, general aviation pilots face a similar situation: There were once a great many companies providing aviation insurance, but that number has dwindled in […]

(March 2012) A couple of years ago, I started flying a Piper Cub, and I have accumulated a good number of tailwheel hours in various types of antique taildraggers. As my time built, I had the opportunity to get some time in some pretty unusual aircraft, which is neat for a 23-year-old kid who is […]

(March 2012) It is understood among pilots that laminar flow is something good. But exactly what laminar flow looks and feels like eludes us, because air is invisible and so we never see the difference or the transition between laminar and turbulent. One common example of laminar flow in everyday experience is smoke rising from […]