Pilot Proficiency

It’s almost two years since US Airways Flight 1549 achieved its ‘miracle’ water landing in the Hudson River. In the time since, pilots Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger and Jeff Skiles have spoken before innumerable people to recount their experience. But last June, Skiles addressed a group that not only knows a lot about the bird strike […]

There are a lot of unnecessary fears in flying, or at least fears that are overblown. How many aircraft owners resist adding a multi-engine rating, or shy away from buying a twin, based on the fear of loss of control when an engine fails on takeoff? It is certainly a valid concern, and dealing with […]

Last Saturday, I headed out mid-morning to stop in at two aviation events. Little did I know how awesome the day would turn out. The first stop was at a monthly BBQ at Orlando-Apopka (X04) hosted by First Landings Aviation, the flight school where I’m taking sport pilot lessons. The idea behind the BBQ is […]

When photos and details of the iPad first appeared in the general press, pilots immediately started talking about how great the device would be for viewing approach charts. The sentiment wasn’t lost on developers. Within weeks the first iPad applications were showing up with government AeroNav (formerly NACO) terminal charts. It didn’t take long for […]

Minimums,” says Bob Owsley. The view isn’t encouraging. We can see the ground, or more accurately the water, but that’s about it. There is no sparkle to the gray surface of Lake Winnebago; it is a mirror of the dark clouds just 100 feet over our heads. Still, this is the most spectacular way to […]

The event happened in the middle of March, when the weather consists of winter storms and unsettled conditions. Weather, the nemesis for all pilots, almost became the leading contributor to what should have been the last day of my life. I lived in Salt Lake City at the time, and I was just about to […]

One of the most difficult parts of learning to fly has always been learning to talk on the radio. I know it was for me when I was a teenager negotiating with controllers at my first few towered airports. With no experience in the system, simulated or otherwise, I had to scramble to figure out […]

The guy on the phone was a little vague about the availability of a crew car. “We got some T-6s coming in” was the only explanation forthcoming. Undeterred, we set off; there wasn’t much to lose. We were in a Cessna 210 and we were in Texas. By we I mean friends Rob and Kathy […]

It’s always a bit iffy planning an IFR trip that will last more than 48 hours or so. You can make educated guesses on what the weather will be in four or five days (I check the forecasts on Yahoo), but anything beyond the NOAA’s ADDS prog charts (click here) is getting into increasingly uncertain […]

“Taming the tailwheel” was the catchy title for an all-day seminar I attended recently. The program, a FAAST (FAA Safety Team) sanctioned event, was sponsored by EAA Chapter 146 at the Kline Kill Airport (NY1) in Ghent, New York. There were perhaps 40 of us in attendance, and almost all flew conventionally configured airplanes with […]