Pilot Proficiency

When we landed after our first trip from New Jersey to visit family in Kentucky, the first thing my wife, Leslie, did was hitch a ride to the local dollar store. She spent close to $50 on an arsenal of airplane-friendly toys to ensure our then-four-year-old twin boys would be well occupied on the trip […]

Most life insurance agents are not familiar with pilots and exactly how much added risk might be involved in the type of flying they do. And the “aviation form” you filled out from the carrier might also be out of date and not ask all the right questions. That could leave you paying more for […]

It has been said that weather forecasting is part science, part intuition and a large part memory. That’s why computer forecasting is such a boon to pilots. Even the best forecasters from pre-cyber days had only human memories to rely on. Today, computer databases recall all the nuances of temperature, dew point and winds aloft […]

Some things never change, and the danger of flying into the wrong thunderstorm is one of those things. In Bob Buck’s superb 2002 memoir, North Star Over My Shoulder, the veteran pilot recalled flying a B-17 Flying Fortress all over the globe seeking out convective activity and performing research for the military on thunderstorms and […]

Safety in flying is all about having alternatives. Each trip may offer several different possible routes and a variety of alternates. The departure time and sometimes even the date of departure can be changed if necessary. Once en route, the present and forecast conditions must be analyzed to determine which of various alternatives offer the […]

The best part of flying small airplanes is being able to use so many more airports than the airlines do. But if you need to visit an airport that has a mix of big jet and piston/turboprop traffic, it’s best to scope out your plan well in advance. Even non-airline airports that have intense heavy-iron […]

In the history of aviation there have been a number of aircraft that were considered dangerous, including the Learjet 20 series, the Aerostar and the Twin Comanche. More recently the airplane some people seem to love to hate is the Mitsubishi MU-2. There are numerous websites that detail what the authors consider to be the […]

First-time passengers in light airplanes can be a skittish breed. You never really know how they’ll react. Hero types sometimes dissolve into ashen-faced putty. Shrinking violets sometimes prove to be the most adventurous, pressing you for steeper and steeper turns. Sometimes it can be hard to recognize when someone is less than enthusiastic about going […]

If you fly in or near congested airspace, you might have wondered at the rhyme or reason to some of your IFR routings, or the vectors you were issued when receiving VFR flight following. A good way to remove some of the mystery is to visit an air traffic control center. Though your training provides […]

As a human being, you have no doubt evolved your own individual habits when it comes to organizing your inflight record-keeping chores. Whether you own your own airplane or rent, you probably keep your pen in the same place every flight, consult your checklists at the same time and any number of other procedures that […]