Pilot Stories

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

February 16, 2017

Plane Facts: Electric Aircraft
Fun facts about electric aircraft

First Electric-powered Flight, Tissandier Dirigible ‘Number 6’: 1883 Flight’s Origin: Auteuil, Paris, France Average Speed: 7 kts Cruising Altitude: 1,600 ft. Duration of Flight: About 1 hr.  Distance Travelled: 6 nm Manufacturer of Dirigible Powerplant: Siemens Horsepower: 1.5 Powerplant Weight, Number 6: 1,552 lbs. Power to Engine Weight Ratio: 1:100 First Manned, Electric, Fixed-wing Flight: October 21, 1973 Aircraft: Militky Brditschka MB-E1 Adapted From: Brditschka HB-3 single-seat more »
February 10, 2017

Accident Briefs: January/February 2017
Reports from the NTSB

Bellanca 7ECA Citabria 1 Uninjured The private pilot reported that, during the attempted takeoff from the turf airstrip, the airplane was not at the expected airspeed three-quarters of the way down the runway, and he decided to abort the takeoff. The airplane became airborne momentarily as the pilot applied brakes and aft control input. Once more »
February 9, 2017

J-3 Cub Vs. F-15 Eagle—At 100 Feet
Low level offers its own rewards, no matter what you fly.

I know. Before you spool up your Mac or activate your Acer, yes, I’m the guy who has recommended repeatedly that everyone fly higher in the interest of better fuel economy. As the writer of a dozen or so stories on how to save fuel and continue to fly in an era of $5/$6 avgas, more »
February 6, 2017

Become A CFI
Whether you’re looking to build hours or enjoy teaching others the joy of flying, working as a CFI can be a fulfilling and profitable career path.

Many see working as a flight instructor as just a low-paying job that a pilot does until they can get enough flight time to take a real job flying an airliner or a business jet. While it may be true that some CFIs see the work as a stepping stone to an airline or a more »
February 2, 2017

Hawker Crash: Chain Of Culpability
NTSB names flight crew, charter company and FAA inspector as falling short of their safety obligations.

When NTSB Chairman Christopher A. Hart addressed other board members and staff at a meeting last October, he offered scathing indictments of those who contributed to the crash of a Hawker jet at Akron, Ohio. The accident took place on November 10, 2015, while the British Aerospace HS 125-700A was on a localizer approach to more »
February 1, 2017

Loop
How airshow pilots turn sport into art.

We stand, shoulder to shoulder, gazing up at the sky. With a hand shielding our eyes from the sun, we watch the smoke trail of an airplane flying up, up and over into a perfect loop. A vertical circle in the sky, a loop is a loop, whether flown by a biplane or a Bearcat. more »
January 26, 2017

Ways & Means
"A moment changes everything." Lyrics by David Gray

Life-changing moments form memories in vivid Technicolor. That’s how I remember the moment that changed my life. The moment that changed my life trajectory happened over 40 years ago at Maryland Airport (2W5) just south of Washington, D.C. I was 25 years old. It was a lazy weekend summer day.  My partner and I were more »
January 26, 2017

Lessons Learned: The World’s Most Reluctant Flight Engineer
Sometimes the biggest risk of all is the challenge we don't take.

Whether we deny, shrug or flat out cringe at the thought, most of us are saddled with a nagging shortcoming or two, a bugaboo we’d gladly overcome if only the prospect didn’t challenge the resistance of our own inertia. As pilots, self-introspection isn’t our strong suit. And often wrapped around our weakness is a nearly more »
January 25, 2017

Plane Facts: Instrument Flying
Fun facts about instrument flying.

First instrument flight: September 24, 1929 Site: Mitchel Field, Long Island, N.Y. Pilot: Lt. James Doolittle Plane: Consolidated N-2 (biplane similar to Stearman) Altitude data: Kollsman Altimeter Altimeter feature: Barometric setting (a first) Attitude data: Sperry Artificial Horizon Directional information: Sperry Directional Gyro Instrument approach equipment: Audible Localizer  Method of simulated IFR: Hood covered entire front-seat position Outside conditions: Clear, visibility unlimited Length of flight: 15 minutes more »
December 30, 2016

Surviving The Cold
Below 40 below, there be dragons

Not surprisingly, Alaska is one of those places where cold weather is a way of life. General aviation is often the only way to get around in much of the 49th state, and sometimes, the tribulations of operating in temperatures well below zero can be a challenge for any pilot, whether he’s a seasoned backwoods more »
December 29, 2016

Accident Briefs: December 2016
Reports from the NTSB

Cessna 182C Skylane 1 Fatal The private pilot was conducting a short flight to his home airport after picking up his airplane following an annual inspection. There were no recorded communications between the pilot and air traffic control services. Radar data first showed the accident airplane about 20 miles east of the departure airport. The more »
December 27, 2016

Lessons Learned: Speak Up!
How you approach crew resource management can be the difference between a good flight and a debacle, whether you’re a new pilot or a junior first officer.

It was April 2003, and I was reeling in the wake of the worst disaster of my young adult life. Chris Smisson, my friend and the leader of our little airshow team, perished in an accident flying his Technoavia SP-95 at the Tyndall Air Force Base show in Panama City. Instead of being in Florida more »
December 23, 2016

A Fundamental Failure Of The FAA
The NTSB found serious deficiencies in the training of controllers
after the accident

When the NTSB finished its investigation of the September 7, 2015, Beech A36 Bonanza crash near Kernersville, North Carolina, in which the pilot and both passengers were killed, it was just six days after the agency had released an alarming Safety Recommendation Report. The subject of the report was “Emergency Training for Air Traffic Controllers.” more »
December 22, 2016

Into Africa
A pilot returns to a place of special meaning for him, only this time he’s in the cockpit

Kenya occupies a special place in the heart of many of us who love aviation. It features some of the world’s most legendary landscapes and wildlife—much of which even today is best appreciated and accessed by airplane. No surprise, then, that it’s also been home to several of history’s most legendary early aviators. Perhaps the more »
December 21, 2016

History And Aerobatics
Connecting with the past forges a more meaningful relationship with flying—and makes us better pilots, too

Airshow pilots have always been a motley and colorful crew of interesting characters. As a rule, they’re resourceful, multitalented and inventive. The people I’ve performed with are from all walks of life. Extroverts and introverts, they range from being airline pilots (lots of them), to dentists, actors and singers, to wealthy land owners and a more »
December 14, 2016

Finding Page
Flying has always been about looking out the window, finding the frontier, then finding home.

Imagine a wonderful day for flying. Clear sky and just enough wind to keep things stable and fun. Harvest time on the Northern Plains. Combines collect corn. The sugar beet harvest is starting. Long plumes of dust rise from tractor-trailers on gravel roads. This is one of the best reasons to go flying, one of more »
December 9, 2016

Plane Facts: Highs And Lows
Fun facts about planes and pilots
plane facts

Best year for GA piston sales ever: 1946, 35,000 planes Estimated number delivered in ’46: Less than 10,000 Planes built five years later: 2,302 (down 93% from ’46) Worst year for GA piston sales: 1994, 495 planes Number delivered five years later: 1,748 Best year for piston sales in modern era: 1979, 16,129 delivered Singles more »
December 2, 2016

Perspectives
Flying never gets old, whether you’re a 100-hour baby bird or a 10,000-hour airline eagle. Here’s one good reason.

Telluride nestles in a pristine mountain valley elevated nearly two miles closer to the sky in southwestern Colorado. The surrounding peaks rear up another 3,500 feet above the valley floor on three sides, steep, forested inclines, challenging and unforgiving to the unknowing. It’s one of the most spectacular alpine venues in the Rockies, ideal for more »

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