Pilot Proficiency

(November 2011) I remember from my college classes about slippery slope arguments, the idea being that they unfairly presume that one undesirable outcome of a new policy invariably would lead to another even more undesirable outcome, which would then lead to even worse ones until the momentum was unstoppable and all hell would break loose. […]

Oxygen use is one of many factors in aviation where it’s a good idea to set your own limits, which should also be much lower than those required by the FAA. Legal requirements for oxygen aren’t applicable until you fly above 12,500 feet, but in some cases you may want to start inhaling supplemental oxygen […]

Laser pointers are fun, aren’t they? We’ve all held or at least seen these pen-sized gadgets. They’re useful for highlighting particularly interesting parts of PowerPoint slides or mounting to rifles and pistols for improved long-distance targeting. I personally am guilty of making cats do burnouts across the kitchen floor with a red laser pen. When […]

(October 2011) Air France 447 went down in the mid-Atlantic in 2009 because all three of its pitot tubes iced up. Well, not exactly. It wasn’t the loss of functioning pitot tubes that doomed the airplane; it was what the A330’s autopilot, and human pilots, did next. The autopilot — but it would be more […]

(October 2011) We are all familiar with the adage “To err is human.” This means that if you are human, you should accept the fact that from time to time you will make errors. Left unabated, many of these errors will be trivial and the outcomes insignificant. But in the operation of an aircraft, the […]

In our FBO Spotlight series, we’re highlighting FBOs around the country that have received rave reviews from our readers. The latest Spotlight is brought to you by Don C. Van Cura, Sr., who has nothing but good things to say about the folks at Wisconsin Aviation in the Southeastern region of the state. Wisconsin Aviation […]

In an effort to combat the growing problem of lasers being pointed at aircraft, where they can affect the pilots’ vision, the FAA has created a new website to make it easier for aviators and the public to report laser incidents. The website includes links for reporting laser incidents as well as a database of […]

(October 2011) Signature Engines president Bill Schmidt and the company’s chief security officer, Boo Radley, strolled across the ramp to my hangar last week as I was debugging the 180. Boo is actually a spoiled but lovable mutt rescued by Bill and named for the lonely character in To Kill a Mockingbird. Summer flying in […]

(October 2011) The concept of staying current always seemed an intellectual one to me. While I still had my Cessna Cardinal, I tried to fly it every week or so to keep its fluids — and mine — flowing. As a result, I was able to routinely check off most of the currency boxes without […]

One of the few advantages of aging (or becoming “seasoned,” as my wife calls it) is gaining better perspective of our lives and careers. For me, a constant over the past 40 years has been watching the tragic consistency of the rate and reasons for General Aviation aircraft accidents. On a personal level, I‘ve lost […]