Pilots

(November 2011) It is a bracing feeling to stand up and deny accepted knowledge. So bracing, in fact, that I try to do it as often as possible. I have argued (countless times) that downwind turns are no different from upwind ones, dismissed as a wives’ tale the common notion that the horizontal tail of […]

If you don’t venture on sullen skies, You never come to sunkissed valleys. If your palms have never been moist, Your heart has never thrilled. If you have never been afraid, You have never been courageous. Gill Robb Wilson, The Airman’s World When my sister Mary and I started flying, we learned to check aviation […]

(November 2011) Opening scene: Inside a B777 cockpit approximately 250 miles off the eastern coastline of Japan. The first officer is massaging the right touch pad of the display unit with his index finger. The cursor arrow hovers in the vicinity of the emergency checklist page now shown on the lower EICAS (engine instrument and […]

In our FBO Spotlight series, we’re highlighting FBOs around the country that have received rave reviews from our readers. This latest Spotlight is brought to you by Thomas O’Donnell, who recently flew into Sonoma County Airport in a Cessna 182. Here’s what he has to say about one of the airport’s FBOs, KaiserAir. KaiserAir (KSTS) […]

In our FBO Spotlight series, we’re highlighting FBOs around the country that have received rave reviews from our readers. This latest Spotlight is brought to you by Carol Bailey, who flew into Hutchinson County Airport earlier this year in a Cessna 182 while on her way to the 2011 Air Race Classic. Here’s what she […]

(November 2011) Just another couple hundred feet should do it; the cloud is much lighter now. There are rips and tears in the fabric of the moisture. If I crane my neck I can see some blue up there; at least I think it is blue. I can feel the sun trying to get through. […]

Flying into the Los Angeles area at night presents the pilot and passengers with an aerial view of millions of homes, cars and billboards lighting up the ground. If you haven’t had an opportunity to experience the flight in person, this video takes you on the Sadde Six Arrival over Thousand Oaks, Malibu, Santa Monica, […]

There’s no question the financial crisis has hammered business aviation in the last 36 months as the economic downturn and an associated undercurrent of negative public scrutiny have combined to plunge the industry into the worst decline in its 65-year history. Still, while it’s tempting to draw colorful conclusions from piles of raw data that […]

(November 2011) Federal aviation regulations have not changed, but the procedures the FAA uses to evaluate and certify pilots with alcohol and drug issues, and those on certain antidepressant medications, have changed substantially in the past three years. Pilots with such issues are unpleasantly surprised when confronted by FAA procedures and probably would have chosen […]

In our FBO Spotlight series, we’re highlighting FBOs around the country that have received rave reviews from our readers. The latest Spotlight is brought to you by Clyde Davis, who recently flew into Abilene Regional Airport in a Piper Comanche PA-24. Here’s his thoughts on why the airport’s FBO, Abilene Aero, is as good as […]