Pilot Proficiency

The National Transportation Safety Board’s decision to add “loss of control” to its 10 Most Wanted list of safety improvements in 2015 served as another clarion call for help to stem what has become the top killer in airplanes of all shapes and sizes. While pilots losing control of their aircraft is not a new […]

Peter Edenhoffer doesn’t remember which teams were playing in last year’s Super Bowl. A year later, Sunday, February 5, 2017, is still pretty much a blur, because that Super Bowl Sunday was the night Edenhoffer was flying his Cessna Cardinal alone back to his home airport, Cox Field near Paris Texas (PRX) from San Antonio […]

As a requirement for our upcoming flying safari trip in New Zealand, I had to produce evidence of a “type rating” in a Cessna 172. The type rating was part of the qualifications necessary to obtain the equivalent of a Private Pilot license. Although I have flown a C-172 periodically throughout my flying lifetime, I […]

For pilots expecting never again to face a non-precision approach tied to a land-based navaid, we can confirm that rumors of the demise of the VOR have been greatly exaggerated. In 2016, the FAA began eliminating many of the GPS overlay approaches tied to older VOR procedures ahead of plans to also eliminate a significant […]

Pilots who want the most out of their Garmin avionics can attend a number of new, expanded pilot training classes this year. The instructor-led classes are available for the GTN 650/750 touchscreen navigators, the G500/G600 glass flight display systems, and all Garmin integrated flight decks, including the new G1000 NXi platform. Garmin says supplemental eLearning […]

An aviator known as Rachelle is breaking new ground on fundraising techniques to raise money for a scholarship that aims to bring more women to the field of aviation. On January 21, the funds from Jeanne King’s class at Pilates of Pasadena, in Pasadena, California, will go toward Rachelle’s I Hart Flying campaign. The class […]

For his first video of 2018, Flight Chops (AKA Steve Thorne) is conducting a sort of victory lap for what he says is probably his best accomplishment of 2017. The feat? “Actually starting and finishing something.” We all know how good that can feel. More specifically, he earned his multi engine rating, and now his […]

Since the introduction of the internal combustion engine, engineers and entrepreneurs alike have searched for ways to squeeze more horsepower from each gallon of fuel. Despite those efforts, the traditional two-magneto system that provides the spark for combustion in an aircraft piston engine has remained essentially unchanged since World War II. In pairs, magnetos have proved […]

Private and recreational pilots can now access the new online Mayo Clinic BasicMed Course, a free education program for pilots pursuing medical qualification through FAA BasicMed that is an alternative to completing the course on AOPA’s website. “We’re pleased to be able to provide this new option for pilots,” said Clayton Cowl, director of the […]

When I was a child there was an apple tree in our front yard. It was a joy. In the summertime you could walk up to that tree, shake it and feast on those delicious loose apples that were just about ready to fall to the ground on their own but hadn’t yet. Sometimes, if […]