Pilot Proficiency

Do you ever look to the skies and wonder what airplanes are flying above you? If you have an iPhone 4S, you can simply ask Siri – the service that not only answers your questions, but actually talks back too. But apparently it’s important to use proper language when you talk to Siri, just like […]

I’m of the school of thought that there is no such thing as too much training. And while you may think underwater emergency egress training may be superfluous if you stay within the confines of our borders, the day you end up upside down in an airplane in one of the Great Lakes, the Gulf […]

Sporty’s and Frasca Sim are teaming up to offer student pilots an enhanced, more cost effective experience, both companies recently announced. With the move, Sporty’s Academy is adding a Frasca Mentor flight simulator to its repertoire of training tools. The sim, designed to mimic the G1000-equipped Cessna 172 cockpit, comes equipped with access to over […]

During our early training days the instructor drilled it into our heads that, absent any visual reference to the outside world, our inner ear would soon fool our minds into believing that the airplane was pointed one way when in truth something entirely different was occurring. In these instances, left could become right and up […]

(February 2012) This story is not only about an aviation experience, but it is also about a man who went out of his way to help a young pilot he didn’t even know. It is also a story about meeting some really great people in this country. It all happened back in 1964 when I […]

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 Tom Bressan, who recently stopped by Havasu Air Center in a Bonanza A36. Here’s what he has to say about the experience. Havasu Air Center (KHII) Lake Havasu […]

Popular belief says the cleaner the leading edge of an airfoil is, the more efficient it becomes. But scientists are now looking into how strategically placed bumps on the main rotors of helicopters may boost performance. Researchers at the German Aerospace Center (DLR) in Göttingen, Germany, claim they got the idea of using the concept […]

Manslaughter charges brought against a New Hampshire private pilot who held only a single-engine land pilot certificate when he crashed his Cessna 310 twin on New Years Day 2011 should serve as a warning to all pilots. The message is this: If you do something dumb in an airplane, not only can people be hurt […]

Whether it’s a rubber chicken, a pig or a red-ribbon streamer, the pitot tube cover is a critical piece of equipment that is sometimes ignored or forgotten by pilots. Designed to prevent debris or bugs from entering the pitot tube while the airplane is parked, this cover takes seconds to put on and remove. Omitting […]

The property damage, destruction and flooding caused by the E-1 tornado and torrential downpour that hit the Sun ‘n Fun grounds on March 31, 2011, will likely be on the minds of many as the 38th Annual Sun ‘n Fun International Fly-in & Expo approaches. Though the odds of a repeat performance happening again at […]