Pilot Stories

Enjoy pilot stories? Our Pilot Talk section is full of informative and entertaining flying tales from accomplished pilot authors.

April 6, 2018

Why Flying’s Rewards are Worth the Pain of Training
Sometimes the things in life that give us joy take work. Bring it on.

Subscribe today to Plane & Pilot magazine for industry news, reviews and much more! Like most pilots, my first few lessons in pursuit of a Private Pilot Certificate were memorable. I wish I could report that this was because of the exhilaration of sailing into the wild blue yonder or cavorting among the clouds. With apologies more »
April 5, 2018

When Asking for a Higher Altitude Can Bite You Hard
The challenge to pilots of airplanes that fly the mid-teens and low-twenties is to know when climbing high is avoiding risk and when it’s just making it worse.

Subscribe today to Plane & Pilot magazine for industry news, reviews and much more! “I’ll just climb over the weather,” a friend of mine tells me when planning a departure in his Piper Navajo. “But what if the weather is higher than you can climb?” I answer. It seems to be a valid question to me. more »
March 30, 2018

New Or Used?
In a time of record-high prices for factory-fresh airplanes, the new vs. used discussion is more pertinent than ever

Subscribe today to Plane & Pilot magazine for industry news, reviews and much more!  As a semi-long-term senior editor of this magazine, I’m often asked about the benefits of buying a new aircraft over purchasing a used machine and versa vici. I’m well aware that a majority of readers might automatically vote for the less-costly option. After more »
March 30, 2018

The Insidious Killer
A terrifying look at hypoxia in progress

Sign up for our newsletter, featuring the latest news for aviation enthusiasts and pilots!   A recurring theme from the NTSB and others over the years has been that pilots should never hesitate to declare an emergency, seek all available help and take positive corrective action. The Safety Board, in a departure from its habit of more »
March 30, 2018

Accident Briefs: March 2018
Reports from the NTSB

Cessna 172 Skyhawk 2 Uninjured Ravenna, Ohio The flight instructor reported that, during an instructional flight, while on short final, he told the student pilot to “pitch down” to maintain airspeed. He added that the student did not respond and that he again instructed the student to “pitch down now” while simultaneously pressing forward on more »
March 27, 2018

Mysteries Of Flight: On The Step
Is there such a thing as “The Step?” And if so, what the heck is it?

The Question Is “The Step” just a myth? Or is there really something to it? The Backstory The subject of aerodynamics is a slippery one, with any one effect having many plausible-sounding explanations. One of the most vexing aerodynamic theories is the one that claims that certain airplanes can achieve faster cruise speeds when they more »
March 26, 2018

Plane Facts: Smallest
Check out these cool facts about the smallest things in aviation!

FAA minimum pilot height requirement: None Air Force pilot minimum height: 64 inches standing (5’4”) Shortest fixed-wing takeoff/landing: Bobby Breeden, 44 ft total Smallest multi-engine plane: Colomban Cri-Cri, 13 ft long, 16-ft wingspan Smallest single: Stits DS-1 Baby Bird, 6-ft wingspan, length 11 ft Smallest successful single (biplane): Stits SA-2A Baby Bird, 10 ft long, more »
March 21, 2018

Flying A Taildragger
A transition to tailwheel joy later in life

Since getting hooked on flying in 1948 during my first airplane ride (in an Aeronca Champ), I have heard over and over again that you’re not a “real pilot” until you have flown a tailwheel airplane. Hearing this and similar statements, mostly coming from old-timer taildragger pilots, and understanding the truth that getting your tailwheel more »
March 20, 2018

Being A CFI: Part II
Beyond the Instructor Rating: Communication

Every two years, Certified Flight and Instrument Instructors have to renew their rating in one of three ways—by taking an online refresher course, attending a weekend ground school or taking a check ride with their favorite Designated Pilot Examiner (DPE). I’ve always kept my CFI up to date, but when I started making aerobatics my more »
March 15, 2018

To The Rear, March
Getting a commercial flight turned around isn’t an easy task

As a young Civil Air Patrol cadet, I struggled with the timing of calling drill commands while marching. Calling, “To the rear, march,” on the wrong foot, as I often did, resulted in a bunch of heavy sighs and some sharp criticism from cadets with more stripes on their lapels than the two on mine. more »
March 9, 2018

Unlearning Decisiveness
We pilots pride ourselves in sticking to our guns. Perhaps to a fault.

Birds do it, bees do it, even educated fleas and wily pilots do it. We do it in the daytime and at nighttime, but the problem is, most of us resent doing it. We start out intending to go one place, and find ourselves faced with the decision to divert. The DC-8 was on approach more »
March 7, 2018

Colliding With Hard Truths
Maybe none of your outside issues or life complications are your fault. You know what? That doesn’t stop them from being your problem. Here’s why you’ve got to just deal with it.

Flying is challenging. When I was younger and just starting out as a pilot, I wasn’t a very confident person and was an even less confident pilot. Today, even after I’ve gotten a few new ratings and logged a lot more time, I still face many uncertainties as a pilot. (Don’t we all? If you more »
February 28, 2018

When Being Meticulous Isn’t Enough
The crash of a 206 shows the importance of knowing your engine...and your emergency checklists

If you fly behind one or two turbocharged engines, you’ll be especially interested in what happened to a Cessna T206H that was taking off from Essex County Airport (KCDW) in Caldwell, New Jersey, on August 15, 2015. And, yes, there’s value here for those who count on having normal performance from normally aspirated engines, too. more »
February 27, 2018

Looking For The Lights
Approach lights don’t get enough respect

Instrument pilots have a thing for regulatory minutia. An information morsel you’ll often hear repeated is “being able to descend to 100 feet AGL when you can see only the approach lights.” That’s too bad, because it belittles a beautiful piece of information design by turning it into a gouge for aviation trivia night. It’s more »
February 26, 2018

Thirty Years Of GPS
Some things you probably knew, and perhaps some you didn’t, about the development and implementation of GPS

I was just over 1,000 miles south of Honolulu on the second leg of a four-leg ferry flight from Santa Barbara to Subic Bay, Philippines, when all three GPSs failed. The Cessna 421’s panel mount system and both of my portables stopped working at the same time. My lat/long position froze in place, and nothing was more »
February 21, 2018

Mysteries Of Flight: Amelia Earhart
Can we ever hope to solve the mystery of what happened to Amelia Earhart and her navigator, Fred Noonan?

The Mystery What was the real fate of pioneering pilot Amelia Earhart and her navigator, Fred Noonan, who disappeared on July 2, 1937, before reaching their Pacific Island destination on an attempted circumnavigation of the earth? The Backstory The mystery of what happened to Amelia Earhart and Fred Noonan when their flight disappeared over the more »
February 20, 2018

Plane Facts: Biggest
Check out these cool facts about the biggest things in aviation!

Tallest height allowable for USAF pilots: 6’7” Heaviest powered paraglider pilot: 440 pounds Highest max takeoff weight: Antonov AN-225, 1.3 million pounds Greatest payload: AN-225, approximately 560,000 pounds Max takeoff weight, Boeing 787: about 502,000 pounds (no, it won’t fit inside the AN-225) Largest piston engine: Lycoming XR-7755, 36 cylinders, 7,750 cubic inches, dry weight, more »
February 16, 2018

Saddled Up On A Stallion
Sometimes the bucket list items get checked off early on

Lockheed Burbank had the Skunk Works, a shop known for the rather secretive production of spectacular flying machines. West Georgia Regional Airport was home to The Possum Works, a hangar held by a couple of old-timers who were always playing with the fun stuff. Between the three of them, they owned a Stinson Gullwing, a more »

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