Pilots

My name is Jack — I am 82 years old. My friend Gary is 83 years old, and my 1947 Aeronca Super Chief (N3900E) is 65 years old. In 1960, I went to work for Alaska Airlines for 25 years. Before and during that time, I worked on a lot of different airplanes, and for […]

In the latest “record” attempt involving very young pilots, a five-year-old boy from China has become the youngest person to fly an aircraft, according to reports from Chinese media this week. Many hundreds of parents of three-year-olds who have briefly let their child take the controls might differ on this point, though. He Yide, who […]

A British Airways poll conducted last month shows that at least British kids still aspire to fly. The independent research involved 650 U.K. youngsters from ages six to 12. Most boys chose careers as football (soccer) players, followed by pilots and then “superheroes.” (Nice to know pilots came out ahead of caped crusaders.) Girls favored […]

Talk about a deal that’s too good to miss. For the month of October, Redbird Skyport in San Marcos, Texas, will be selling avgas for the bargain price of $1 per gallon. There are no strings attached as long as you fly in and fill up at the FBO, which currently charges around $6 a […]

The Experimental Aircraft Association has added three new members to its board of directors, members who add a broad base of experience to the organization. “Each of these three EAA members has a diverse aviation background and, more importantly, a longtime connection with our organization in multiple areas,” said EAA’s chairman of the board, Jack […]

The FAA’s insistence on charging airshows for ATC services has caused the organizers at the Copperstate Fly-In, set to take place October 24-26 in Casa Grande, Arizona, to make a tough decision. The airplanes flying in for the show will have to fend for themselves. With approximately 500 aircraft attending the three-day show, this could […]

It is not often that I am able to accept an invitation from a reader, but when 27-year-old First Officer Will Romualdo offered me a jumpseat view with Avianca Brazil, I could not refuse. For the last two months, I had been flying the daytime trip to São Paulo. The layover would afford me the […]

One of the great heroes of general aviation, Paul Poberezny, died today at the age of 91. Poberezny inspired thousands of people to build and fly their own airplanes by sharing his own experience as a homebuilder. He founded the Experimental Aircraft Association in 1953, where he served as president until 1989 when his son, […]

Our recently launched gallery Flying Magazine’s “51 Heroes of Aviation” has been a runaway success, but it has not been without controversy. A number of readers have weighed in that we had left off their choice of most inspirational aviation figure — we can’t name names for fear of spoiling the gallery for those of […]

It’s been nearly three decades since William Suitor, aka Rocketman, wowed about 2.5 billion viewers around the world when he took off with his rocket belt over the opening ceremonies of the 1984 Olympic games in Los Angeles. And it was around the same time that inventor Glenn Martin, the founder of Martin Aircraft Company […]