Veteran Pilot Warns About Recognizing the Hidden Danger

86-year-old recounts near-disastrous experience with weight and balance.

Wednesday, April 29, 2026 at 08:00 AM ET

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The author says that had he entered a stall spin, the water would have been gone during a postcrash inspection. [Image: Joel Kimmel]

Key Takeaways:

A critical "I Learned About Flying" incident involved an unnoticed accumulation of water in a Cessna 205's tail cone, which caused an unsafe aft center of gravity and nearly led to an unrecoverable stall spin, underscoring the vital importance of meticulous pre-flight inspections and weight and balance calculations.
The author's progression through various aircraft highlighted the necessity of continuous learning from diverse experiences, including adapting to varied aircraft performance, mastering landing techniques, and understanding environmental hazards like mesa downdrafts.
Extensive instrument training proved life-saving when an artificial horizon failed mid-flight, demonstrating the critical need for instrument proficiency and the ability to trust alternate instruments in disorienting situations.
The article collectively stresses that flying safely requires constant vigilance, thorough knowledge of the aircraft and environment, and the wisdom to avoid flying when conditions (aircraft, weather, or pilot) are not optimal.

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I obtained my private pilot certificate in 1970 in a Cessna 150. We all remember our first solo. During mine, a United Airlines flight came in and I needed to extend downwind. A little frightening.

My wife followed with her own solo a few years later, for safety for our little family of two children. Rules were different back then, and our first family flight was in that Cessna 150, with no seat belts for our 4-year-old son and 3-year-old daughter.