Top 10s
10 Affordable Classics
 Affordable classics might seem an oxymoron, a contradiction in terms, but in fact, there are more of them available than you might imagine. Before we could home in on the top 10, however, we had to define exactly what we meant by “affordable” and “c |
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10 Cheapest Birds In The Sky
 As much as those of us in the industry might wish it otherwise, flying is definitely one of the more expensive pastimes. Unfortunately, some pilots simply accept the realities of expensive flying costs without investigating the alternatives. Despite what you may think, there are ways to fly without busting the family budget. True, you won't be aviating at 170 knots in a shiny new A36 Bonanza or Columbia 400, but you can stay in the air for considerably less than the national debt of Peru.
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10 Easy-To-Own Airplanes
 It’s one of the most common myths among nonpilots and new pilots alike: “Owning an airplane is ridiculously expensive, certainly not within the financial province of a typical, upper-middle-class American.”
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10 Fast Fixes For Lousy Landings
 People place too much emphasis on landings. Non-pilots often base their entire evaluation of a pilot’s ability on nothing more than the smoothness of the touchdown at the conclusion of the flight. Never mind that the pilot in command may have made a clu |
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10 Most Undervalued Airplanes
 Many of them are airplanes you don’t see on every ramp, but pilots in the know almost universally regard them as “sleepers,” flying machines with more than their share of talent. In some cases, t
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10 New Planes Under $100K
 Until recently, buying a new aircraft meant shelling out $200,000 or more—even if all you wanted to do was get into the air for some fun flying, either solo or with a passenger. Of course, you could opt for an older aircraft, but airworthiness directives and maintenance costs quickly boost the actual costs. Or you could build your own airplane for much less—provided you took a year off from work. Fortunately, the many new light-sport aircraft (LSA) coming to market offer you cost-effective options.
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10 Sexiest Airplanes
 Okay, we freely admit it: What started as a simple exercise, to select the 10 sexiest airplanes in the world, has turned out to be one of the most difficult and divisive projects in which we’ve ever been involved. Part of that was to be expected. After |
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10 Undervalued Classics
 Given the way that prices on just about everything keep going up, it’s hard to believe there really is such a thing as an “undervalued” airplane. But such a thing does exist, especially when you look back at the older classics.
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25 Bargain Birds For 2005
 Compiling any list of the 25 best bargain buys in general aviation is almost guaranteed to ruffle some feathers. Our choices aren’t always going to agree with everyone else’s. No matter how much we try to be fair and impartial, our selections have to
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Faces Behind The Microphone
 Pilots and air traffic controllers share a unique relationship, a mutual trust and understanding that supports the modern system of flight. Virtually every time a pilot climbs into the cockpit of an airplane, he or she engages in some sort of verbal excha |
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Flying for Peanuts
 I have a good friend in the music business who has always shown an interest in flying. He seems to have plenty of time, drives a two-year-old Volvo wagon, owns a home in Long Beach, Calif., and has inquired several times about the cost of learning to fly.
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The 10 Commandments Of Aviation Safety
 Safety has always been a tough sell. Ask Bruce Landsburg of the AOPA Air Safety Foundation. Landsburg has been in the safety business for 25 years, having worked for FlightSafety in Wichita, Kan., befo |
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Top 10 Faux Fighters
 Maverick, Goose, Iceman, Tomcat, Sabre, Mustang, hero, testosterone, girls, speed, aerobatics, G-force. What do all these words have in common? Actually, they have two things in common: fighters and daydreams, although they could probably all be bundled i
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