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Article: Stop Squeezing Them In

Remember the circus act in which a dozen clowns get out of the smallest car you’ve ever seen drive into the center ring?

Also labeled: Accident Statistics, Columns, FAA Regulations, Features, NTSB Reports, Pilot Safety, Pilot Skills, Pilot Talk, Safety

Article: Hazards Of Extreme Flying

Ensuring that there’s a safety margin in everything we do is fundamental to aviation accident avoidance.

Also labeled: Accident Statistics, Columns, FAA Regulations, Features, NTSB Reports, People and Places, Pilot Safety, Pilot Skills, Pilot Talk

Article: Buyer Beware

You might think that FAA airworthiness, inspection and record-keeping requirements virtually guarantee that any airplane you buy is going to be in superb condition. ...

Also labeled: Accident Statistics, Columns, FAA Regulations, Features, NTSB Reports, People and Places, Pilot Safety, Pilot Skills, Pilot Talk

Article: The Light-Sport Safety Record

While the NTSB’s preliminary statistics show that the number of general aviation accidents dropped again last year, as did the number of people killed, the estimated number of hours flown also dropped, resulting in a slight increase in both the o...

Also labeled: Accident Statistics, Columns, FAA Regulations, Features, NTSB Reports, People and Places, Pilot Safety, Pilot Skills, Pilot Talk

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, Learning Center, People and Places

Article: Recognizing You’re In Trouble

One of the most important skills for pilots to possess is the ability to recognize when they’re falling behind in an unfolding scenario. Frequently, pilots who fall too far behind experience accidents and are immortalized in NTSB accident reports.

Also labeled: Accident Statistics, Columns, FAA Regulations, Features, Flight Hazards, In-Flight Emergencies, NTSB Reports, People and Places, Pilot Talk, Safety, Weather Flying, Weather 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, Flying Skills, Getting Your License, Jobs and Schools, Learn To Fly, Learning Center, People and Places, Pilot Safety, Pilot Skills

Article: Safety’s Ideal World

In an ideal world, once the probable cause of an accident is identified, there never will be an accident like it again.

Also labeled: Accident Statistics, Columns, FAA Regulations, Features, Flight Hazards, In-Flight Emergencies, NTSB Reports, People and Places, Pilot Talk, Safety, Weather Flying, Weather Skills

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, Learning Center, People and Places, Pilot Safety, Pilot Skills, Warbirds

Article: Getting Ready For NextGen

Recently, NTSB Chairman Deborah A. P. Hersman issued a warning that those in the government and aviation industry who are enamored of the planned Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen) should get their heads out of the clouds and realize...

Also labeled: Accident Statistics, Columns, FAA Regulations, Flight Hazards, In-Flight Emergencies, NTSB Reports, People and Places, Pilot Talk, Safety, Weather Flying, Weather Skills

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, Learning Center, People and Places, Pilot Skills, Warbirds, Pilot Safety

Article: Muffler Inspection

If you were to make a list of the most fun and glamorous aspects of flying, I’d bet that inspecting an aircraft’s muffler wouldn’t be on it. ...

Also labeled: Accident Statistics, Columns, FAA Regulations, Features, Flight Hazards, In-Flight Emergencies, NTSB Reports, People and Places, Pilot Talk, Safety, Weather Flying, Weather Skills

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, Learning Center, People and Places, 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, Learn To Fly, Learning Center, People and Places

Article: Sweet Dreams

If the NTSB had its way, the FAA would be gauging whether or not you’re having sweet dreams and sleeping through the night cuddled up with your teddy bear. ...

Also labeled: Accident Statistics, Columns, FAA Regulations, Features, Flight Hazards, In-Flight Emergencies, NTSB Reports, People and Places, Pilot Talk, Safety, Weather Flying, Weather Skills

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, Learning Center, People and Places, Pilot Skills

Article: The Steve Fossett Accident

The NTSB says the probable cause of the 2007 crash of adventurer Steve Fossett was an inadvertent encounter with downdrafts above mountainous terrain that exceeded the climb capability of the Bellanca Super Decathlon he was flying. Downdrafts,...

Also labeled: Accident Statistics, Columns, Features, In-Flight Emergencies, NTSB Reports, People and Places, Weather Flying, Weather 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, Flying Skills, Journeys, Learning Center, People and Places, Pilot Skills, Safety

Article: The Go/No-Go Decision In Winter

It had been a long day. It...

Also labeled: Decision Making, Flight Hazards, Flying Skills, Maintenance, Navigation, Pilot Skills, Weather Skills, Winter Weather

Article: Flight Planning In The Real World

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