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Flying Skills

Article: IFR Communications: Serious Business

I listened carefully to the clearance on the first go-around, shook my head in exasperation, and wondered if the controller had been a trumpet player in a previous life. ...

Also labeled: Accident Statistics, ATC, Decision Making, Features, Learning Center, Pilot Guide, Pilot Safety, Pilot Skills

Article: Fear Of Dunking

From two miles up, big water looks pretty much the same all over the world.

Also labeled: Features, Learn To Fly, Learning Center, Pilot Guide, Pilot Safety, Pilot Skills, Proficiency

Article: Making Sense Of The Back-Course Approach

Yes, I know. There aren't many of those procedures in use, and even when they're available, controllers are more likely to issue a circle-to-land clearance on the standard localizer/ILS.

Also labeled: Features, Learn To Fly, Learning Center, Pilot Guide, Pilot Safety, Pilot Skills

Article: Piper Cub Heaven

On an overcast, humid June day, I top a high dike built to prevent the Susquehanna River from flooding William T. Piper Memorial airport.

Also labeled: Air Shows, Aviation History, Aviation Personalities, Decision Making, Features, People and Places, Pilot Talk, Shows and Fly-Ins

Article: Save On Avgas

It barely matters what you fly these days— avgas is starting to comprise a greater percentage of an airplane's total operating cost.

Also labeled: Aviation Resources, Bargains, Budget Flying, Features, Pilot Guide, Pilot Resources

Article: Pilot Training: Finish What You Started

More people give up on their flight training than complete it.

Also labeled: Careers, Flight Schools, Getting Your License, Learn To Fly, Pilot Resources, Staying Current

Article: Muscle Memory

One of the basic clichés in life is that learning anything is quite often a matter of doing it over and over until you get it right. ...

Also labeled: Features, Learn To Fly, Learning Center, Pilot Guide, Pilot Safety, Pilot Skills, Proficiency

Article: Mysteries Of Landing

We've all read our share of stories on how to land an airplane, many of them written by pilots with "CFI" after their name.

Also labeled: Decision Making, Emergency Situations, Flight Training, Learn To Fly, Pilot Safety, Pilot Skills

Article: Challenge Yourself!

One of the never-ending conversations in aviation starts with, "How does a person become a better pilot?"

Also labeled: Accident Statistics, Decision Making, Emergency Situations, Features, Flight Planning, Flight Training, Pilot Safety

Article: Takeoff Mistakes: The Critical Minute

Tom Willett was regarded as a natural. A former USAF navigator, Willett had become one of Globe Aero’s most reliable international ferry pilots.

Also labeled: Accident Statistics, Decision Making, Emergency Situations, Features, Flight Planning, Flight Training, Pilot Safety

Article: Greasing It On: 20 Tips To Get ’Er Done

We all know "those" kinds of pilots: They never bounce, are always down in the first few hundred feet, and put it on slicker’n a squashed gopher (I dare you). ...

Also labeled: Decision Making, Features, Flight Training, Pilot Guide, Pilot Resources, Proficiency

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, Flight Hazards, 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, Flight Hazards, Learn To Fly, Pilot Safety

Article: Advanced-Degree Autopilot

We familiarly call them “George” or “Otto.” But Avidyne’s DFC90 autopilot makes a strong case for being called “Doctor” George or “Professor” Otto.

Also labeled: Avionics, Features, Learning Center, Pilot Gear, Pilot Safety, Pilot Skills, Pilot Supplies

Article: Mustang Mystique

As I lower myself into the rear cockpit, I pinch myself. No, I’m not dreaming. I really am in a WWII P-51D Mustang, about to ride with the Horsemen, the world’s only P-51 aerobatic team, known for their hyperprecise formation aerobatics.

Also labeled: Flight Training, Adventure Flying, Aerobatics, Air Shows, Aviation Personalities, Features, People and Places, Pilot Skills, Shows and Fly-Ins, Warbirds

Article: Water, Wind & Floats

Be prepared to have fun,” Frances Brown told me. That was one of those phrases I had heard before with little payoff.

Also labeled: Learn To Fly, Learning Center, People and Places, Proficiency

Article: Stretching Your Wings

One of the most popular phrases in general aviation is “license to learn.”

Also labeled: Features, Flight Training, Pilot Skills

Article: The Myth (Almost) Of Tailwinds

It was late March 1994, and I was waiting for wind—again. Mooney Aircraft had loaned me a new TLS in January so I could set several world records flying between Los Angeles and Jacksonville, Fla.

Also labeled: Features, Learning Center, Pilot Skills

Article: Cowboys & Angels

As we approach from the north, over the deep lapis Caribbean Sea that surrounds a crescent shore, Haiti suddenly appears. At 4:53 p.m.

Also labeled: Features, Journeys, Learning Center, People and Places, Pilot Skills

Article: Dream Makers: Everyday Pilots Reaching For The Sky

Dreams of flight are special. They beckon you from your earliest memories, and they’re insistent—always calling you to look up at the sky when an airplane passes overhead, or crane your neck at the nearest airport.

Also labeled: Advanced Ratings, Aviation Careers, Features, Flight Training, Getting Your License, Jobs and Schools, Learn To Fly, Learning Center, People and Places, Pilot Safety, Pilot Skills, Proficiency

Article: Nonflying Aerospace Careers

In past years, we’ve called this section “Nonflying Aviation Careers,” recognizing that not everyone interested in aviation wants to be a pilot. ...

Also labeled: Aviation Careers, Features, Jobs and Schools, Learn To Fly, Learning Center, People and Places, Pilot Skills

Article: 24 Hours: Death Valley

Humans need adventure, stories and new experiences. I don’t know how many times I’ve heard friends talk about the millionth approach to the same old runway, but I still listen because I love to fly.

Also labeled: Features, Journeys, Learning Center, People and Places, Pilot Skills

Article: Ticket To Ride III

Right after soloing in 860LS, the lovely Flight Design CTLS, I feel light as a cloud. In our

Also labeled: Flight Schools, Getting Your License, Journeys, Learn To Fly, People and Places, Pilot Skills

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, Flight Hazards, Journeys, Learning Center, People and Places, Pilot Skills, Proficiency, Safety

Article: WAAS

The benefits of...

Also labeled: FAA Regulations, Aviation News, Decision Making, Learn To Fly, Navigation, Pilot Skills, Safety, Takeoffs and Landings

Article: A New License To Learn

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

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

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

Article: Looking For 200 Knots

Also labeled: Learning Center, Pilot Skills

Article: The Country Pilot

Also labeled: Features, Journeys, Learning Center, People and Places, Pilot Skills, Safety, Tailwheels

Article: TransPac Aviation Academy

Also labeled: Aviation Careers, Getting Your License, Jobs and Schools, Learn To Fly, Learning Center, Pilot Skills