Pilot Proficiency

(August 2011) You don’t have to look very long or very deeply into aviation’s troubles to see that there’s room for improvement pretty much across the board, from student retention to the cost of fuel, from primary flight training ineffectiveness to the accident rate. In fact, identifying the problems isn’t the hard part; figuring out […]

(Advertorial) There’s a right way to learn to fly and a wrong way, and Jon Gerhart has tried them both. After a less-than-fulfilling experience with his first instructor, Jon quit flying before he even soloed. Ilya Khakham, President of DCT Aviation in Waterford, Michigan (KPTK), has heard this story before. He thinks one of the […]

Flying at night requires an understanding of how darkness affects a pilot’s vision and what you can do to make sure you make the most of your night-limited vision. The most important aspect of night flying with respect to vision acuity is to realize that it takes 30 to 45 minutes for your eyes to […]

The 2011 edition of AirVenture Oshkosh was one for the ages. The weather was beautiful, the airplanes, and there were a lot of them, were spectacular, and the politics were, well, intriguing. The show got off on a very strange note when AirVenture Chairman Tom Poberezny called it quits by retiring at high noon by […]

Until recently, Electronic Flight Bags (EFBs) were typically thought of as large computer devices mounted in the cockpits of high-end jets and airliners. They usually relied on a permanent mounting fixture, and needed to be hard-wired into the aircraft’s electrical system. Once installed, these EFBs provided electronic charts, moving map displays and weather in the […]

As a flight instructor, I find it particularly difficult to read about airplane accidents – fatal or not – that could have been prevented by better choices and, in some cases, better training. Flight instructors need to focus less on teaching their students to pass the FAA test and more on becoming good pilots that […]

(August 2011) As I rolled through the security gate at the GA side of the Key West Airport, I glanced toward the ramp area reserved for corporate jets and larger equipment. I caught a glimpse of the tail and upper fuselage of a hulking airplane as it taxied to a parking spot. Even with my […]

Have you ever wondered why the departure procedures from Oshkosh and its surrounding airports are so brief compared to the complex arrival procedures that govern airplanes heading into the show. It’s an easy explanation. Think of airplanes as being water flowing to Oshkosh and of Oshkosh as being a big puddle of airplanes located directly […]

Despite great uncertainty within the FAA, Administrator Randy Babbitt took some time to show support for the general aviation community today by stopping by EAA AirVenture. With 4,000 FAA employees still furloughed and 70,000 construction workers commissioned for aviation-related projects out of a job, Babbitt gave little indication of an expected end to the shutdown. […]

Even if you’re not a particular fan of the bureaucracy that is the Federal Aviation Administration, you have to feel for Randy Babbitt. Since taking over as FAA Administrator a little over two years ago, bringing with him fresh ideas about ways for improving aviation’s safety record and transitioning to the satellite-based NextGen operating environment, […]