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Article: Aspen Glow

The last of the AeroShell Aerobatic Team T-6s lets out a sonorous belch as its propeller spins to a stop, and I walk up to its hefty wing to meet Gene McNeely, slot pilot for the team.

Also labeled: Avionics, Best Buys, Buyer's Guide, Gadgets, Gear, Glass Cockpits, New Products, Pilot Supplies

Article: Best LSA

The light-sport aircraft industry hangs in there, although sales numbers, as with general aviation, still struggle to gain safe altitude in the stormy economic skies ...

Also labeled: Aircraft Bargains, Aircraft Ownership, Best Buys, Buyer's Guide, Buying A Plane, Decision Making, Features, Finance

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: Flying Skills, Learn To Fly, People and Places, Proficiency

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, Flying Skills, Pilot Skills

Article: 10 Top Products

Year in, year out, up economy or down economy, enterprising aviation entrepreneurs always find new and exciting ways to get our juices flowing and our checking accounts draining.

Also labeled: Air Races, Air Shows, Best Buys, Buyer's Guide, Features, Gadgets, Gear, Gifts, New Products, Pilot Supplies

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, Flying Skills, Journeys, People and Places, Pilot Skills

Article: Top 12 Tech

So much has changed in aviation in the last 15 years. Never mind the fact that LSA and the sport pilot category have instigated innovation rivaled only by the “golden age” of aviation in the ’40s.

Also labeled: Best Buys, Buyer's Guide, Gadgets, Gear, Gifts, New Products, Pilot Supplies

Article: The Most Affordable Singles

While our last buyer’s guide [“Buyer’s Mini-Guide To Four-Seat Singles,” P&P April 2010] included a smorgasbord of new airplanes, this one deals with used aircraft and draws from an even wider field.

Also labeled: Aircraft Bargains, Best Buys, Buyer's Guide, Buying A Plane, Features, Finance, Ownership, Piston Singles

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, Flying Skills, Getting Your License, Jobs and Schools, Learn To Fly, 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, Flying Skills, Jobs and Schools, Learn To Fly, 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, Flying Skills, Journeys, People and Places, Pilot Skills

Article: Top 20 Tips For Buying An Airplane

There’s no feeling that matches that of buying an airplane.

Also labeled: Aircraft Bargains, Best Buys, Buyer's Guide, Buying A Plane, Features, Finance, Ownership, Piston Singles

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.

Also labeled: Buyer's Guide, Pilot Gear, Pilot Supplies

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, Learn To Fly, People and Places, Pilot Safety, Pilot Skills, Proficiency, Warbirds

Article: Now And Future LSA

Remember those grade-school history-book pictures of Conestoga wagons with “California or bust” painted on their sides? R...

Also labeled: Aircraft Bargains, Best Buys, Buyer's Guide, Buying A Plane, Features, LSAs, Ownership, Piston Singles, Sport Pilots

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.

Also labeled: Aircraft Bargains, Best Buys, Buyer's Guide, Buying A Plane, Features, Ownership, Piston Singles

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.

Also labeled: Aircraft Maintenance, Aircraft Upgrades, Modifications, Aircraft Engines, Engines

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, Learn To Fly, People and Places, Pilot Skills, Warbirds, Proficiency, Pilot Safety

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.

Also labeled: Backcountry Flying, Bush Planes, Columns, Features, Guest Speaker, Journeys, People and Places, Pilot Talk, Safety, Travel, Adventure Flying

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, Learn To Fly

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, Learn To Fly, People and Places, Proficiency, Safety

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.

Also labeled: Columns, Features, Guest Speaker, Journeys, People and Places, Pilot Talk, Safety, Travel, Fighter Jets

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, Learn To Fly, People and Places, Proficiency

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, Learn To Fly, People and Places, Pilot Skills, Proficiency

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.

Also labeled: Columns, Features, Guest Speaker, Journeys, People and Places, Pilot Talk, Safety, Travel

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. ...

Also labeled: Buyer's Guide, Cockpit Gadgets, Pilot Gear, Pilot Supplies, Avionics, LSAs, New Products

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...

Also labeled: Columns, Features, Guest Speaker, Journeys, People and Places, Safety, Travel

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, Flight Hazards, Navigation, Accident Statistics, Decision Making, Flight Training, Safety

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.

Also labeled: Aircraft Maintenance, Buyer's Guide, Engine Modifications

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.

Also labeled: Avionics, Best Buys, Buyer's Guide, Cockpit Gadgets, Gear, Handheld Gadgets, New Products, Pilot Gear