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Flight Hazards

Article: Weather Avoidance Techniques

Today, a wide range of tools are available to help avoid those dangers, but each has limitations that must be understood in order to use them safely. ...

Also labeled: Weather, Weather Flying, Features, Flying Skills, Proficiency, Safety

Article: Over Water, Under Canopy!

Cylinder-head temp gauges are creeping noticeably toward the red lines. Not good. No, this isn't looking good at all.

Also labeled: Decision Making, Emergency Situations, Features, Flying Skills, Learn To Fly, Pilot Safety, Pilot Skills

Article: The Joys Of Summer

It was late summer, and I nursed the old Bellanca Cruisemaster higher as we passed over Blue Mesa Reservoir near Gunnison, Colo.

Also labeled: Decision Making, Emergency Situations, Features, Flying Skills, Learn To Fly, Pilot Safety, Pilot Skills, Proficiency

Article: The Ultimate Choice

It was a particular flight in December of 2011 that really stands out in my mind.

Also labeled: Decision Making, Emergency Situations, Features, Flying Skills, Learn To Fly, Pilot Safety, Pilot Skills, Proficiency

Article: 20 Things You May Not Know About Night Flying

To that end, I studied with one of Hollywood's hardest-working studio lead trumpet players, Bud Brisbois.

Also labeled: Features, Flight Planning, Flying Skills, Navigation, Pilot Safety, Pilot Skills

Article: Winter Flying Tips

Winter is as inevitable as aging, and for pilots who live in or fly to the northern latitudes, every winter will present significant challenges.

Also labeled: Adventure Flying, Features, Emergency Situations, Flight Planning, Flying Skills, Journeys, Pilot Guide, Pilot Resources, Pilot Safety, Proficiency, Safety, Situational Awareness, Weather, Weather Flying, Weather Skills, Winter Weather

Article: Making History

Sixty miles northeast of Los Angeles, restricted airspaces R-2508 and R-2515 cover Rosamond Dry Lake, home of Edwards Air Force Base.

Also labeled: Aviation History, Aviation News, Decision Making, Features, Flying Skills, Journeys, Learn To Fly, Pilot Safety

Article: Beware The Downburst

Contrary to the advice that aviation usually allows you to make most mistakes only once, I’ve been fortunate in 50 years of flying to make virtually all the bad mistakes, in some cases more than once.

Also labeled: Decision Making, Features, Flying Skills, Learn To Fly, Pilot Safety

Article: Challenging Runways

What makes some runways more challenging than others? The length? The wind? What you had for breakfast that morning? What?

Also labeled: Decision Making, Features, Learn To Fly, Pilot Safety

Article: Hearing Loss: Could It Happen to You?

A 2008 study by hearing expert Sergei Kochkin found that 35 million Americans have permanent hearing impairment. A 2008 study by...

Also labeled: Headsets, New Products, Pilot Safety, Pilot Supplies

Article: Managing Risk: VFR Versus VMC

It has been a long day on a long cross-country flight. The weather forecasts have not been very accurate—you’re reminded of a quote from an anonymous wag: "Weather forecasts are horoscopes with numbers."

Also labeled: Decision Making, Emergency Situations, People and Places, Pilot Safety, Pilot Skills

Article: Demystifying ATC

It seems we all have a story, some event in our lives that brought us into the aviation trade.

Also labeled: ATC, Emergency Situations, People and Places, Pilot Safety, Pilot Skills

Article: Rookies of Reno

The Reno Air Races are unlike any other contest in the world.

Also labeled: Air Races, Air Shows, Aviation Careers, Aviation Personalities, Careers, Pilot Safety, Pilot Skills

Article: Beyond Today’s Transponder

Autonomous Dependant Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) has to be one of the most misunderstood technologies of the 21st century.

Also labeled: Pilot Safety, Pilot Skills

Article: Is Glass Safer?

Earlier this year, the NTSB released the findings of a special study that they conducted comparing glass-cockpit aircraft and similar conventional, or “round dial,”-equipped aircraft.

Also labeled: In-Flight Emergencies, Pilot Safety, Pilot Skills

Article: Dealing With Convective Weather

Shortly after returning from a recent Grand Caravan delivery from Long Beach, Calif., to Seoul, Korea, I spoke at a LoPresti First Saturday event in Sebastian, Fla. ...

Also labeled: In-Flight Emergencies, Pilot Safety, Pilot Skills, Weather Flying, Weather Skills

Article: Analyzing Pilot Performance

NTSB investigators were able to assemble plenty of data to reconstruct what happened on board the Colgan Air Bombardier DHC-8-400 that crashed at Clarence Center, N.Y., on February 12, 2009.

Also labeled: Accident Statistics, Columns, FAA Regulations, Features, In-Flight Emergencies, NTSB Reports, People and Places, Safety, Weather Flying, Weather Skills

Article: Recognizing You’re In Trouble

One of the most important skills for pilots to possess is the ability to recognize when they’re falling behind in an unfolding scenario. Frequently, pilots who fall too far behind experience accidents and are immortalized in NTSB accident reports.

Also labeled: Accident Statistics, Columns, FAA Regulations, Features, In-Flight Emergencies, NTSB Reports, People and Places, Pilot Talk, Proficiency, Safety, Weather Flying, Weather Skills

Article: Safety’s Ideal World

In an ideal world, once the probable cause of an accident is identified, there never will be an accident like it again.

Also labeled: Accident Statistics, Columns, FAA Regulations, Features, In-Flight Emergencies, NTSB Reports, People and Places, Pilot Talk, Proficiency, Safety, Weather Flying, Weather Skills

Article: Getting Ready For NextGen

Recently, NTSB Chairman Deborah A. P. Hersman issued a warning that those in the government and aviation industry who are enamored of the planned Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen) should get their heads out of the clouds and realize...

Also labeled: Accident Statistics, Columns, FAA Regulations, In-Flight Emergencies, NTSB Reports, People and Places, Pilot Talk, Proficiency, Safety, Weather Flying, Weather Skills

Article: Muffler Inspection

If you were to make a list of the most fun and glamorous aspects of flying, I’d bet that inspecting an aircraft’s muffler wouldn’t be on it. ...

Also labeled: Accident Statistics, Columns, FAA Regulations, Features, In-Flight Emergencies, NTSB Reports, People and Places, Pilot Talk, Proficiency, Safety, Weather Flying, Weather Skills

Article: Sweet Dreams

If the NTSB had its way, the FAA would be gauging whether or not you’re having sweet dreams and sleeping through the night cuddled up with your teddy bear. ...

Also labeled: Accident Statistics, Columns, FAA Regulations, Features, In-Flight Emergencies, NTSB Reports, People and Places, Pilot Talk, Proficiency, Safety, Weather Flying, Weather Skills

Article: Flying The Corridors

V­FR corridors have served an important function in U.S. airspace since the creation of the old TCAs (Terminal Control Areas) and TRSAs (Terminal Radar Service Areas), now less telegraphically renamed Class B and Class C airspace, respectively.

Also labeled: ATC, FAA Regulations, Learning Center, Navigation, Accident Statistics, Decision Making, Flight Training, Safety

Article: Blocked Pitot Tubes

The crash of Air France Flight 447, an Airbus A330, in the Atlantic Ocean on June 1, 2009, during a flight from Brazil to Paris focused attention on pitot tubes, although many people had never heard of them before.

Also labeled: Accident Statistics, Columns, FAA Regulations, Features, In-Flight Emergencies, Pilot Talk, Winter Weather, Aircraft Maintenance, Emergency Situations, In-Flight Failures, Maintenance, Safety

Article: Formation Flying! Part II

Formation flying is a dangerous and, for me, compellingly beautiful and engaging experience. Formation flying is a dangerous and, for...

Also labeled: Aerobatics, Air Shows, Decision Making, Features, Flying Skills, Journeys, Learning Center, People and Places, Pilot Skills, Proficiency, Safety

Article: Knowing When To Cancel

The other evening, I got a call from a friend who operates a Piper Navajo for his business. He filled me in on what had happened with a flight from his home airport in the Northeast to Miami, Fla.

Also labeled: Accident Statistics, Columns, FAA Regulations, Features, In-Flight Emergencies, NTSB Reports, Pilot Talk, Weather Skills, Winter Weather

Article: The Pilot Decides

Each year, the National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA), the union representing FAA controllers, honors members who’ve helped save pilots from dangerous situations that might have resulted in accidents.

Also labeled: Columns, FAA Regulations, Features, In-Flight Emergencies, Pilot Talk, Safety, Weather Flying, Weather Skills, Winter Weather

Article: A New License To Learn

Also labeled: Advanced Ratings, Decision Making, Flying Skills, Learn To Fly, Learning Center, Pilot Skills, Safety, Takeoffs and Landings

Article: Should You Reset A Circuit Breaker?

Also labeled: Accident Statistics, Columns, FAA Regulations, Features, In-Flight Emergencies, NTSB Reports, People and Places, Pilot Talk, Safety, Weather Flying, Weather Skills, Winter Weather

Article: First 500 Feet, Part I: Engine Failure!

Also labeled: Decision Making, Flying Skills, Learn To Fly, Learning Center, Navigation, Pilot Skills, Safety, Takeoffs and Landings