October 24, 2017

Piston Priorities

If you fly piston singles most of the time, you need to understand and appreciate their amazing reliability

Regular readers may recall that I’ve logged my share of hours over various bodies of water, mostly the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, the Gulf of Mexico, the Persian Gulf, the Red Sea and several others you may never have heard of. I often hadn’t heard of them, either, until someone hired me to fly across more »

October 23, 2017

The Zen Of The Fuel Vent

Blocked vents can lead to all kinds of problems

I sat on the ramp in my Extra 260 in Tehachapi, holding short of Runway 08, when my fuel tank imploded. While taxiing out, I decided to transfer fuel from my rear auxiliary fuel tank to my main aux tank. I might need the fuel and couldn’t burn right from the rear aux tank; it more »

October 18, 2017

Accident Briefs: October 2017

Reports from the NTSB

ICON A5 2 Fatal Lake Berryessa, California The commercial pilot departed in the light sport, amphibious airplane during daytime visual meteorological conditions to perform a new employee familiarization flight with the passenger, who the company had recently hired. A witness, who was in a boat on a lake, reported seeing the accident airplane flying about more »

October 16, 2017

IMC To VMC?

Transitioning to visual conditions shouldn’t be a problem, but sometimes it is

Much ink has been, and continues to be, expended on the subject of transitioning from visual meteorological conditions (VMC) to instrument meteorological conditions (IMC), and, without question, for good reason. Loss of aircraft control while in instrument conditions usually results in loss of life. Except for those articles concerning flying approaches to minimums, there are more »

October 12, 2017

Back To The Airport, Stat

An inflight medical emergency leaves no time to waste and no room to rush

Whether your ground school was a set of video lessons or an instructor with a chalkboard, certainly at some point in every pilot’s training, the “Aviate, Navigate, Communicate” adage reared its head. I can still hear the old instructors drumming the message home. “Fly the plane and make sure that you’re not about to hit more »

October 11, 2017

Were These Two Pilots Really Incapacitated?

Previous medical conditions suggest possible explanations but solid proof is hard to come by

The reports prepared by the NTSB on light sport and experimental category accidents usually don’t consume a significant amount of the agency’s resources. The airplanes are too light and carry too little fuel to cause mass destruction and, when there are fatalities, the number of deceased almost invariably is limited to one or two. It’s more »

October 5, 2017

Lessons Learned: Sharing The Dream

Chance meetings and a mutual love of aviation pass along the passion and joy of flying

We’ve all seen that “annoying” ramp kid who wants to do nothing but talk about your airplane. Even if you’re trying to make a quick turn for an important client, this kid just wants to ask about your plane. Well, that annoying kid working the ramp was me. If I’d just gotten done putting gas more »

October 4, 2017

Above The Clouds

The organization aims to help bring children facing serious adversity above the darkness in their lives

One sunny January morning, arriving for a Ninety-Nines meeting at the Norwood Memorial Airport (KOWD), I was greeted by a sea of cheering, smiling people, ringing cow bells and waving WELCOME signs. Suddenly warmed on a chilly day, I knew I had just come across something special. That, or an exceptionally friendly airport! Figuring this more »

October 2, 2017

Plane Facts: Very Light Jets

Fascinating facts about VLJs

Year that the term VLJ became widely used: Around 2000 Widely accepted definition of VLJ: Sub-10,000 pounds, single-pilot First VLJ, kind of: Fouga Magister, twin-engine, 7,055 lbs, 385 knots, FL300 Introduced: 1956 for military training Number built: Just under 1,000 Number flying today: Unknown, but still a popular civilian plane Companies today that have rejected more »

September 26, 2017

Then And Now: Spiral Instability

Technology and training have changed in the last 50 years, thank goodness

Like many of you, I took my initial flight training in extremely basic airplanes—read, “cheap.” The first was a re-engined, 85 hp Piper J-3 Cub on skis, but the second was even more basic, if that’s possible. It was, in fact, several steps below a Cessna 150. That airplane was a Champion Tri-Traveler, one of more »

September 21, 2017

Fear Of Flying

How to get reluctant friends and family up in the air (and enjoying it, too)

When I landed at Valparaiso, Indiana, KVPZ, my traditional fuel stop en route to Oshkosh (the FBO gives fuel discounts to #OSH-bound airplanes, too), I started chatting with a friendly elderly man. I mentioned something about his wife, and he said, “No! I’ve never gotten married because I didn’t want to lose my freedom to more »

September 18, 2017

Accident Briefs: September 2017

Reports from the NTSB

Cessna 182 Skylane 2 Minor, 1 Uninjured Blue Earth, Minnesota The pilot reported that, while approaching the destination airport in night, marginal visual meteorological conditions, he turned on the pilot-controlled runway lights. He added that he began a descent to the runway without observing the runway lights or airport and encountered “ground fog” about 200 more »

September 15, 2017

The Rise Of The Drone Killers

For years, there have been concerns that drones create hazards to civilian aircraft. Now, new technologies are being invented to turn the tables on them

Let’s start with a qualifier before we start yelling at those drone kids to get off our aviation lawn: The FAA has never verified a collision between an airplane and an unmanned aircraft system (UAS), or drone. It hasn’t happened, ever. To date, pilots have claimed a few drone strikes, but the incidents are like more »

September 14, 2017

A Different Shade Of Blue Skies

It was a chilly, spring morning in Barcelona. There had been some light rain the night before, and although the sun had broken out, the air was still humid when 4 crew members and 146 passengers—among them 16 exchange students, two of their teachers, two opera stars, reporters, and three generations of the same family, boarded more »

September 13, 2017

Expecting Immediate Failure

Planning a departure alternate before leaving the ground can make all the difference in an emergency

I’m paranoid about emergencies on IFR departures. Maybe it’s because I’ve had four attitude indicator (AI) failures in flight, twice in IMC. One of those was even a certified primary flight display (PFD) from a major manufacturer, so don’t assume glass panels are immune. Indulge me in the retelling of one of those to illustrate more »

September 8, 2017

Views From The Cockpit

It’s a bright spring morning, fine and clear, the kind of day that planes (and pilots) were made for. With a larger-than-usual smile on my face, I take my seat on the flight deck of a 747 at Kennedy Airport. I carefully lower my generously-sized coffee into that signature Boeing cup holder and start to more »

September 6, 2017

Observation Dreams

11:50 a.m. Wind nearly straight down the runway, from 150 at 25, gusting to 31. Visibility, 10 miles. Eight vehicles, a mix of sedans and pickup trucks each driven by a man alone, park scattered along the observation area at Hector International Field, the airport in Fargo, North Dakota. Most are pulled up close to more »