Pilots

At EAA’s annual Gathering of Eagles gala on Thursday night, EAA Chairman Jack Pelton announced the new Young Eagles Chairman, aerobatics star Sean D. Tucker. In a hilarious and energetic acceptance speech (Pelton later said he was pretty sure that Tucker actually accepted), Tucker wowed the crowd with his infectious enthusiasm for the role. “Yeah, […]

In a series of Oshkosh firsts, Terrafugia’s Transition flying car took to the skies to open AirVenture yesterday afternoon, followed by flights by an actual carmaker — Honda — which flew not one but two HondaJets in formation over Wittman Airport. But those performances were mere warm-up acts for the main attraction at Oshkosh this […]

Not all of the display aircraft at EAA AirVenture are pristine examples. A Grumman FM-2 Wildcat fighter used to train World War II Naval aviators is on display, its remains lashed to the back of a flatbed truck. The barnacle-encrusted single-seat fighter crashed on takeoff from a training aircraft carrier on Lake Michigan in December […]

Rich Gibson’s airshow work is impossible to ignore. His company, Rich’s Incredible Pyro, is responsible for the gigantic walls of flame that accompany simulated aerial attacks during EAA AirVenture and other airshows around the world. This year will be Rich’s swan song at Oshkosh, but he has left indelible memories for anyone who’s seen his […]

EAA Chairman and de facto president Jack Pelton addressed reporters at a regularly scheduled press conference and discussed a variety of topics. Included was the FAA’s charging for services for air traffic controllers, which EAA is fighting in court and on Capitol Hill. Pelton explained that for the week of AirVenture, the FAA essentially owns […]

We’ve seen Super Cubs land in some pretty interesting places, but none quite as tight as this. Instead of a runway, the pilot chooses to set down on a logging road somewhere in the wilds of Maine. That would be challenging enough, but this particular road is flanked by some fairly tall trees not to […]

The Westman Islands, locally known as Vestmannaeyjar, are a group of islands off the southern coast of Iceland. Like their better known neighboring island, the Westman Islands are distinguished by rugged terrain that makes flying there particularly challenging. See for yourself how a pilot of former Islandsflug closely skirts the rough mountainsides and ridges to […]

If you’ve always dreamed of becoming a pilot flying with a formation team at the biggest airshow in the world, here is your chance to give it a try. If you plan to attend AirVenture in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, next week you can get behind the controls of a Yak-52, to fly with the Aerostars aerobatic […]

Soon we launch Flying Magazine’s “51 Heroes of Aviation,” a salute to the greatest, most inspirational and impactful figures in aviation history. “51 Heroes” is the follow on to last year’s hugely popular “Top 100 Airplanes” and this year’s “Top 50 Navigation Innovations”** **— in “Heroes” we recognize not the greatest pilots of all time […]

An excerpt from “One of the Trusted” by Gill Robb Wilson: _You look down at your _ hands on the wheel. They are veined and hard and brown. Tonight you notice they look a little old. _And, by George, they are old. _ But how can this be? _Only yesterday you _ were in flying […]