Pilot Proficiency

(December 2011) Three and a half years ago I wrote about the Mitsubishi MU-2 controversy (“Dangerous Airplanes or Dangerous Pilots?” — May 2008). For much of its life, the MU-2 had the unenviable status of having one of the worst turboprop accident rates and fatal accident rates. People wrote articles questioning the sanity of anyone […]

When I read about the lack of progress at the Northern Island redevelopment near downtown Chicago in political columnist Greg Hinz’s blog last week, I felt a familiar sense of nausea. It was the feeling I got when I first saw a picture of the large Xs carved into one of the most incredible aviation […]

Limit Slips and Slides Most of the incidents and a few of the accidents every winter result from trying to taxi, land or take off in conditions not suitable for such operations. Winter weather can make ground ops treacherous in a number of ways. Icy runways can cause loss-of-control accidents on landing, which can be […]

When it comes to winter flying, don’t let the weather catch you off guard. Check the following preflight items off your list to ensure a safe and trouble-free flight. • Before your launch date, watch the weather, focusing on fronts, forecasts, icing and winds aloft. • Preheat that engine, a must in my book if […]

(December 2011) If you live in a snowy climate, chances are good your logbook looks a little thin during the winter months. It’s happened to me. I started flying for transportation shortly after I moved to Connecticut in the mid-1990s direct from sunny southern California. Even after I had my instrument rating, the winter played […]

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 Richard Rofé, who recently flew into Kissimmee Gateway Airport in a SeaMax M-22 Light Sport Amphibian. Here’s what he has to say about one of the airport’s FBOs, […]

The cause of the deadly Turbo Commander crash in Arizona’s Superstition Mountains last Wednesday night won’t be known for some time, but that doesn’t mean it’s too early to glean some lessons from this tragedy. As any pilot who has flown in the airspace near Phoenix (or any city surrounded by mountains) knows, seeing the […]

(November 2011) Remember when the examiner handed you your temporary pilot’s certificate and said something on the order of “this is just a license to learn”? Most of us begin, after pocketing our hard-won certificate and no longer under the aegis of our instructor, a period of self-taught learning as we experience the nuts and […]

Part of my Thanksgiving weekend was spent renewing my CFI certificate. While it is a bit of a hassle to go through this hoop every couple of years, it is an important task for me regardless of the fact that I don’t do much instructing anymore. I have met several pilots who have let their […]

(November 2011) It is a bracing feeling to stand up and deny accepted knowledge. So bracing, in fact, that I try to do it as often as possible. I have argued (countless times) that downwind turns are no different from upwind ones, dismissed as a wives’ tale the common notion that the horizontal tail of […]