Pilot Talk
Article: From The Editor: Cross-Country Sophistication
Whether you fly the coastal route or choose California's Central Valley, the flight from Los Angeles to San Francisco is a spectacular one—and it's even more spectacular if you happen to be in a new 2012 Cirrus SR22.
Article: Light-Sport Chronicles: To Dream, To Live
Jan Hercek got his flying start the way a lot of us did back then: in an old Rogallo-style hang glider.
Article: Mechanical Addiction
I'm not sure if it's a good or a bad thing, but a couple of months ago, I hit 5,000 hours of Pitts dual-given (most of it in the pattern). ...
Article: Flying The World’s Biggest Single-Engine Biplane
One of the most common questions I get has to do with the most unusual aircraft I've flown.
Article: Light-Sport Chronicles: Sebring Impressions
I thought those of you who have never been to an air show, specifically the Sebring U.S. Sport Aviation Expo, might enjoy a world's-eye view of what it's like to make the pilgrimage every January.
Article: On Getting Short
Getting short" is a familiar old military term: You're coming to the end of your deployment or enlistment, and you don't have much time left before your life will be drastically altered.
Article: From The Editor: Traffic, Gray Whale. 12 O’Clock, Low.
On a recent sunny Saturday, contributor Marc Lee and I decided to fly from the Los Angeles area to Santa Barbara for lunch.
Article: Murphy’s Laws Of Aviation
I'm constantly amazed that the constants of aviation usually aren't.
Article: When Procedures Fail
Pilots are a conscientious group. We do preflights, use checklists, and respect our physical and technical limitations.
Article: May I See Your Driver’s License?
Others believe the resources the FAA devotes to medical certification could be put to better use elsewhere.
Article: Light-Sport Chronicles: Heart Like A Wing
It's that time of year! Spring be sprung, or nearly so; if a blanket of frosty white lurks beyond your window, have faith—the end is near.
Article: Unplanned Obsolescence
Every so often, something will happen that reaches out and raps you in the noggin, and makes you realize how fast time is ripping past. And how quickly something that's familiar and simply secondhand to you becomes exotic and antique to a new...
Article: From The Editor: What’s In A Name?
I first heard about Amelia Earhart three years ago on Facebook. The new Amelia Earhart, that is.
Article: Autopilots Equal Safety
One of the most common questions I get about flying the oceans is, "How do you stay awake on a 10- to 15-hour leg?" My standard answer is, "Consider the alternative."
Article: Light-Sport Chronicles: Profiles In Vision: Ivo Boscarol
Welcome to Slovenia, and let's raise our glasses to setting your goals too high.
Article: Air Race Accidents
The death toll quickly rose to 11, including the pilot with about 70 injured.
Article: Of Knowledge, Experience And Regulations
At the time this was being written, word was circulating within the aviation community that as the result of the Colgan airline crash in 2009, the FAA is probably going to place new experience requirements on airline copilot new hires.
Article: From The Editor: Something For Everyone
"I fly for food," was Dick Rutan's good-humored and modest response when I thanked him for flying the photo flight.
Article: The Nature Of Clouds
In my part of the sky—at least, the part I watch most often—we don't see many clouds.
Article: Instructing The Instructor
When you're a flight instructor, you're a combination shrink, drill sergeant, mother confessor and cheerleader; and, if you're a good instructor, you quickly realize that the act of instructing is teaching you more than you're teaching the student....
Article: Light-Sport Chronicles: Snowmobile Engine...NOT!
Naw, it's got a snowmobile engine, I'm not flying one of those!" Odds are, if you've hung out a bit with experienced GA pilots, especially those who have plied the skies on personal wings for a while, you've heard that about the Rotax aircraft engine....
Article: Fire In Front
According to a search of NTSB data, in 2010, there were only four general aviation fixed-wing accidents investigated that involved in-flight engine compartment fires. ...
Article: Coast-To-Coast Javelin
Pressurization is something like power windows. Once you've lived with it for a while, you wonder how you ever got along without it.
Article: From The Editor: It’s Better In The Bahamas
With 700 islands, turquoise waters, postcard-perfect beaches, and 55 general aviation airports, The Bahamas is undoubtedly a pilot's paradise. Recently, Plane & Pilot joined the Bahamas Ministry of Tourism and Aviation on a flying trip to three...
Article: Flying Fifi
My most memorable flying experience was on September 20th, 2011, when I got my copilot checkout in Fifi, the only flying Boeing B-29.
Article: Light-Sport Chronicles: Where Everybody Knows Your Name, Part II
Last month, you met Chris Dillis, who took the "friendly clubhouse" atmosphere common to European VLA (very light aircraft) flying and brought it to his own LSA startup in Denver.
Article: A Personal Journey
The green fields, most looking as if you could land a 747 on them, stretched off into the distance, where they became low, gently rolling hills. ...
Article: From The Editor: Maverick Has the Ball
To commemorate the centennial of naval aviation, Plane & Pilot Publisher Mike McMann and I journeyed to Naval Air Station Lemoore. We spent our day with strike-fighter squadron VFA-122, at the controls of an F/A-18 simulator, on a hangar...
Article: The Thrill Of Solo
I'd like to say I remember my first solo experience as if it happened only yesterday, but in truth, yesterday was a long time ago, and the memory isn't that vivid. ...
Article: Safe Turnarounds
Over the years, I've made frequent mention of a controversial number: "safe turnaround altitude."
