Learn To Fly

Article: Uphill/Downhill Landings

What are the best conditions for landing uphill/downwind or downhill/upwind? It may seem dangerous to land into the wind but downslope on a snowy runway; yet landing upslope with a tailwind seems equally precarious.

Also labeled: Advanced Ratings, Flight Training, Getting Your License, Learning Center, People and Places, Pilot Safety, Pilot Skills, Proficiency, Warbirds

Article: From Tailwheel To Turbine

Bill Stewart, until recently a lapsed pilot, sounds like something between a fighter jock and a kid in a candy store as he recounts his latest aerial exploits on the ramp at Chicago’s Aurora Municipal Airport (ARR).

Also labeled: Advanced Ratings, Flight Training, Getting Your License, Learning Center, People and Places, Pilot Skills, Warbirds, Proficiency, Pilot Safety

Article: Learning To Fly 2.0: Cooler, Safer And More Fun Than Ever

Imagine it: You’re training for night cross-country flying. The evening is moonless VFR. Your weather briefing says your route is clear. The synthetic vision feature of your glass instrument panel displays everything—including the runway centerline—as if...

Also labeled: Aviation Careers, Features, Getting Your License, Jobs and Schools, Learning Center

Article: Upgrade Your Plane! Part III

When purchasing an aircraft, the selection criteria usually relate to mission capabilities such as seating capacity, speed, range, weather capabilities, etc. Consequently, the first engine-related decision that most aircraft owners make comes at TBO...

Also labeled: Aircraft Maintenance, Aircraft Upgrades, Modifications, People and Places

Article: Upgrade Your Plane! Part II

While having a modern, state-of-the-art panel may be a dream, this is no dream article. Given today’s economy, we’re taking a practical look at the best real-world solutions for getting maximum functionality without having to sell a kidney for fin...

Also labeled: Aircraft Maintenance, Aircraft Upgrades, Maintenance, Modifications, People and Places

Article: Be A Great Pilot!

The sheer enormity of the subject is a little intimidating. You probably could name several thousand characteristics of a “good pilot.” The she...

Also labeled: Advanced Ratings, FAA Regulations, Flight Training, Getting Your License, Learning Center, People and Places, Proficiency, Safety

Article: Kings Of The Sky

"So what are they like in person?” is the first question my pilot friends ask when I tell them I’ve spent a day with John and Martha King, the well-known founders of King Schools.

Also labeled: Advanced Ratings, Features, Flight Training, Learning Center, People and Places, Proficiency

Article: Upgrade Your Plane! Part I

From time to time, Plane & Pilot embarks on a proverbial aircraft-upgrade project and chronicles the progress for the enjoyment and edification of readers.

Also labeled: Aircraft Maintenance, Maintenance, Modifications, Aircraft Upgrades, People and Places

Article: The Checkride Chronicles

Who’s the judge beside you in the cockpit, deciding whether you’re worthy of receiving aviation’s highest honor (a license to learn)? Hopefully, it’s someone who’ll make your entry into the world of aviation less than turbulent.

Also labeled: Advanced Ratings, FAA Regulations, Flight Training, Getting Your License, Learning Center, People and Places, Pilot Skills, Proficiency

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, Flying Skills, Getting Your License, Journeys, People and Places, Pilot Skills

Article: Sporty’s Foundation: The Future Of Aviation

If we don’t get more young people interested in every aspect of general aviation, it will simply disappear as we know it,” Hal Shevers, the founder and chairman of Sporty’s Pilot Shop, tells me as he punctuates his sentence with a long pause and his...

Also labeled: Getting Your License, Journeys, Learning Center, People and Places

Article: WAAS

The benefits of...

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

Article: The Last 50 ft.

When...

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

Article: Personal Aviation At A Crossroads

Five years ago, the first special light-sport aircraft (S-LSA) received its airworthiness certificate, opening up a new chapter in the regulation of simple personal flight. More than 1,000 of these factory-built aircraft and more than 8,000 former...

Also labeled: Aviation Careers, Columns, Features, Getting Your License, Guest Speaker, Learning Center, People and Places, Pilot Talk

Article: Controlling Control Pressure

Also labeled: Decision Making, Flight Hazards, Flying Skills, Learning Center, Navigation, Pilot Skills, Safety

Article: Sport Pilot Daze

Also labeled: Features, Flying Skills, Getting Your License, Jobs and Schools, Journeys, Learning Center, LSAs, People and Places, Pilot Skills, Sport Pilots

Article: Going The Distance

As pilots,...

Also labeled: Decision Making, Flight Hazards, Flying Skills, Learning Center, Navigation, Pilot Skills, Safety

Article: Learn To Fly: Fun Things You Can Do With Your Certificate

Also labeled: Aviation Careers, Features, Getting Your License, Jobs and Schools, Learning Center, Navigation

Article: Instructors: Finding The Right One

The 26-hour student pilot...

Also labeled: Flight Schools, Getting Your License, Learning Center

Article: A Trainer With Attitude

As of two years...

Also labeled: Piston Singles, Trainers

Article: The Flying Siegfrieds

Every child remembers the...

Also labeled: Aviation Personalities, Features, Journeys, Learning Center, People and Places, Taildraggers

Article: Pilot Career: From Dream To Reality

For the first time in...

Also labeled: Careers, Flight Schools, Getting Your License, Jobs and Schools, Learning Center

Article: Ab Initio Training With A Touch Of Glass

If you were to drive across the country, you could point your car in the right direction and eventually you’d get to your destination, though perhaps not by a straight-line route. Before leaving, you’d need to consult a map to ensure that you’re headi...

Also labeled: Avionics, Careers, Columns, Features, Jobs and Schools, Journeys, People and Places, Safety

Article: Pilot Careers 2008

Opportunities for professional pilots are...

Also labeled: Aviation Careers, Learning Center, People and Places

Article: Fathers, Sons And Flying

For me, it all began a few thousand feet over some Michigan farmland about 40 years ago. We were somewhere between Detroit and Alpena when my father gave me a heading, told me to keep it straight and level, and then let me grab the yoke. I’ll never...

Also labeled: Columns, Getting Your License, Learning Center, People and Places

Article: Passion Breeds Success

Yesterday, as we were taxiing back for yet...