Learning Center
Article: Buyer’s Guide To Hangars, Doors And More
UV damage, bird proliferation, easy warm ups, cleanliness, weatherproof loading, privacy and security—these are on the long list of reasons why you might decide to store your airplane indoors and out of the weather.
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.
Article: Now And Future LSA
Remember those grade-school history-book pictures of Conestoga wagons with “California or bust” painted on their sides? R...
Article: Buyer’s Mini-Guide To Four-Seat Singles
Traditional wisdom has it that most light airplane buyers purchase two seats more than they need.
Article: FADEC Comes Of Age
Face it. Computers are taking over the world. Like it or not, more and more of those functions we used to perform manually are being accomplished faster and more efficiently with electronic assistance.
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).
Article: The Common Thread
You may not think that “learning to fly” and “mountain flying” fit well in the same sentence, but I urge you to reconsider.
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...
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...
Article: Speed Is Life
As a former SR-71 pilot, and a professional keynote speaker, the question I’m most often asked is “How fast would that SR-71 fly?” I can be assured of hearing that question several times at any event I attend.
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.
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.
Article: Air Shows As GA Rallying Point
As much of the aviation industry suffered through the effects of the historic economic downturn during the last year, the air show industry experienced double-digit growth and, in some markets, record attendance.
Article: The LSA Glass Menagerie
Once upon a time, intrepid pilots rapped with their oil-stained, gloved knuckles on balky steam gauges; needles quivered unstuck, and all was right across the skies. ...
Article: My Secret
I have a secret that I’m going to let fly with the aviation community. I have a secret that I’m going to let fly with the...
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.
Article: Power Trip
With heavy in- and outbound Philadelphia and New York traffic passing overhead, it’s a challenge getting cleared to climb directly to FL280 from Queen City Municipal Airport (KXLL) in Allentown, Pa.
Article: Best Handheld Products!
Like many pilots, I carry a little insurance against the possibility of an alternator failure. I have a portable GPS on my Skylane’s yoke, a handheld VHF NAV/COM in a seat-back pocket and a cell phone where I can reach it.
Article: Reflections On Inner & Outer Flight
Why are we so fascinated by flight? What draws us to it? What makes flight so special? Why are we so...
Article: Gear Up With BrightLine Bags
If you took one look at my airport car, you’d probably conclude that I’m not the most organized person in the world. If you...
Article: Beyerdynamic HS 600 DANR Headset
There still are a few older pilots who fly without headsets—and most have hearing damage as a direct result.
Article: Days Of Celebration, Days Of Dreams
We may well mark 2009 as a dramatic evocation of past and future, a time when the traditional veneration of past achievements and the bright and amazing promise of future technology both occupied center stage.
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...
Article: Qref Books & Checklists
For most general aviation pilots today, a GPS is standard equipment, whether it’s in the panel, on a yoke mount or in a flight bag as a backup device. For m...
Article: Headset Guide: Technology Still Rules
When I came back to aviation after a 20-year absence, one of the biggest changes was headsets.
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...
Article: 2009 National CFI of the Year
Recently, a VFR pilot flying a Cessna 172 departed after dark in VMC and flew into IMC. Shortly after takeoff, the pilot reported an electrical failure to ATC, but continued into a thickening blanket of fog.
Article: A New License To Learn
Article: First 500 Feet, Part I: Engine Failure!
Article: Smoke On!
It’s hot in this race plane…even at 1,000 feet…or is it just me? My mouth is dry and my heart is racing as I watch the competitor before me twisting his way through the track. ...
