Pilot Proficiency

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 […]

Aviation biofuels hold many promises, perhaps the most important being their ability to yield reductions in greenhouse gases emitted by aircraft in flight. Still, airlines will be willing to transition to sustainable fuels only if there is a financial case to do so. Fuel costs are a significant portion of an airline’s overall operating costs […]

In the late 1950s, Pat Bryson dared to do what no other female in her small southern Missouri town of West Plains had ever done. She dreamed of learning to fly. When she was 15, she begged her father to allow her to take a ride in an airplane, a Cessna 170 that a man […]

We’ve all heard the term, but what is bonus depreciation and how does it work? Normally, when a business purchases a piece of durable capital equipment such as a printing press, a backhoe or a corporate jet, that business is allowed to deduct the cost of the equipment from its taxable income, thereby reducing its […]