Pilot Proficiency

_Enola Gay. FIFI. The Great Artiste. Kee Bird. The Big Stink. _ It was an airplane dubbed “Superfortress.” Yet many of the most famous Boeing B-29 bombers that plied the skies during the latter days of World War II carried strangely meek-sounding individual names. Perhaps that’s of benefit to our collective psyche since the airplanes […]

(January 2012) The question that was being debated around the halls of NBAA 2011 the other week was about as technical and geeky as it gets: When flying a very low approach, lower even than a decision height of 200 feet, where is the proper place for your “head,” that is, your eyes and your […]

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 Jim Sankey, who has nothing but good things to say about Avflight at Harrisburg International Airport. Avflight (KMDT) Harrisburg, Pennsylvania “I fly for business. Avflight always treats me […]

(January 2012) Last month I reported the exciting news that the training required by the FAA SFAR issued in 2006 succeeded in turning the MU-2, an airplane that had been at the bottom of the accident statistics, into one of the safest turboprops in the air and, beyond that, into one of the safest airplanes […]

(January 2012) It has been a long first day as a first officer. We’re in Asheville (KAVL), North Carolina, about to airline back to Tampa, Florida, via Charlotte, North Carolina. My captain at Elite Air, Mike Bronisz, is on the phone with dispatch. I watch as the corners of his mouth turn up and his […]

Pilots longing to indulge their inner filmmaker must love the shorthand before-takeoff checklist “Lights – Camera – Action.” If you aren’t familiar with this handy mnemonic, it’s intended to be recited immediately after receiving takeoff clearance and rolling past the hold-short line onto the active runway (or making the call on the common traffic advisory […]

We asked, and you weighed in, on the best Flying cover of 2011. The winner? Our October 2011 cover, featuring FIFI, the only remaining Boeing B-29 Superfortress still flying today. FIFI graced our issue in celebration of this year’s AirVenture, at which she was undoubtedly the star of the show. Check out all of our […]

For those of you who’ve never stepped foot behind the controls of one of the big boys, ever wonder what it’d feel like to land one in some heavy crosswinds? Then check out this video, which captures a close-up shot of a Lufthansa Airbus A340-300 landing in Calgary, Alberta, last month in Chinook winds reportedly […]

The recently implemented FAA rules on pilot fatigue for airline pilots made me ponder the importance of being alert when flying. If you’re not on your game it’s easy to nod off, particularly if you’re flying with an autopilot, and the consequences can be devastating. It’s worth taking an extra step in the prefight process […]

(January 2012) After I had introduced myself to Eric, the number one flight attendant for our Miami turnaround from JFK, he reluctantly conveyed some of the more annoying events from the same trip a day earlier. I told Eric that the copilot and I were commuters and that our primary purpose was to end the […]