Pilot Proficiency

In our March issue, a short article about the Vulcanair V1.0 — an Italian four-seater strongly resembling a Cessna 172 — mentioned that it uses “a steel-frame and aluminum structure, which was the standard for decades.” I beg to differ. It’s true that the Vulcanair has a steel frame under its aluminum skin — I […]

Butte, Montana, and its Bert Mooney Airport (BTM) are nestled snuggly between the Yellowstone and Glacier national parks in the southwestern portion of the state, where copper mining was once the primary economic driver. The Butte VOR-A approach to Mooney Airport seems pretty straightforward, but remember, of course, that any approach without a runway number […]

Year after year, the National Transportation Safety Board and FAA nag pilots about accidents caused by “loss of control – in flight,” which usually means a stall. The topic is well covered in training too. Dozens of questions on the subject appear on the knowledge test, and stalls are performed on the practical test and […]

About an hour away from JFK I pressed my truck’s radio button and listened to the XM traffic and weather station. No major traffic issues. Good news. A snowfall was predicted for the return home, but only a couple of inches. Again, good news. Via internet notification I had been unceremoniously assigned the early evening three-day […]

“Hey, can you hand me a ballpoint pen?” “You’ll like this one,” says Cathy, my wife. Sure enough, she’s right. The pen says “Kaiser Air,” complete with phone number and Arinc frequency. I just love these pens, worth little in terms of construction cost, but worth a lot to me. This one is white with […]

Nestled between the Pacific Ocean and the rolling, oak-clad hills of central California lie the fertile farmlands of Salinas, the largest community of Monterey County, with a population of about 160,000. Aptly referred to as the “Salad Bowl of the World” due to the intensity of local agriculture, Salinas is home to many low-income immigrant […]

AWOS: Automated weather observing system. A suite of weather sensors of many different configurations either procured by the FAA or purchased by individuals, groups or airports that are required to meet FAA standards. AWSS — automatic weather sensor system — is functionally the same as ASOS. A state or airport can purchase an AWOS with […]

For a supposed airline pilot and aviation writer, I’ve spent a scandalous amount of time at sea level over the past year. In late October, my wife, Dawn, and I cast off the lines from our summer dock in the Chesapeake and pointed our 42-foot sailboat, Windbird, southward to the Caribbean. From the eye-popping waterscapes of […]

A Navion crash in November 2016 could have been avoided by breaking an old habit.

Pilot pride comes with the certificates and ratings achieved through successful checkrides. But like flying itself, maintaining one’s pilot pride properly is a never-ending effort. Human nature is an ever-present foe. Complacency replaces striving to be better on every flight, and boastful delusions take the place of yesterday’s abilities. Proper pilot pride abhors such delusions, […]