Should I fly into Oshkosh? This is a question that many aviators ask themselves. Airventure Oshkosh is an amazing experience that should be on every pilot’s bucket list and for thousands it is the one event every year they WILL NOT miss. But for some there is a risk versus reward question. Sometimes the answer…
Checklist Discipline (Update) Fellow pilot and friend Mike Wojcik contributed to this piece. See his work below regarding a checklist he developed for the Tecnam. Ever thought about your checklist? I mean really thought about it? It is much more than a faded and tattered occupier of precious cockpit real estate. It is one of…
First Flight: Flight Testing your Experimental Aircraft Flight testing your homebuilt aircraft for the first time is statistically proven to be a riskier proposition than normal flight operations. Of course this makes sense; the first time a bundle of parts are assembled into an airplane and take flight there are going to be opportunities for…
Handling an Aircraft Emergency Few of us really know how we’ll react in a true emergency. Thankfully, they are extremely rare in our modern GA airplanes. But will you be prepared when that day comes? The day that something goes terribly wrong and it’s completely up to you to save yourself and your passengers. Having…
If you don’t already know about the FAA’s free publication that comes out 6 times a year, you owe it to yourself to check it out. FAA Safety Briefing is a very well done full-color glossy periodical that covers a wide variety of topics. The Nov/Dec edition’s theme is on Small Airplane, Big World, so the…
Flying with Finesse I love it when we refer to flying as art. It distills away all the sorid technical details and leaves us with the one thing that keeps us coming back, our physical connection with the flying machine. This connection should be a major concern for us as pilots. Our handling of the…
How To Fly a Taildragger: 101 I have taught dozens of pilots how to fly taildraggers and in this article, I summarize how it’s done. Note: This information should not be used in lieu of actual flight instruction. Also the terms taildraggers, tail wheel and conventional gear are all synonymous. Pontification: Everyone should learn to…
Complacency: The Silent Killer Let’s face facts, flying can be risky. In spite of statistics that say flying is safer than driving – which are arguable, there are elements of flying that are swiftly unforgiving. We have done well in recent decades to enhance accident rates in general aviation, but one theme remains; people are…
Misadventures of a C-172 Flight As a starving flight instructor working my tail off to make ends meet, I did some ‘interesting’ flying. (Editors note: no specific dates, locations, or names are used in this story to protect me from any bad-guys that were on the receiving end of this operation)
You might wonder how a big aviation university is doing during the recession. After all, airline flying is not the glamorous, big money career it used to be. What’s a college to do? At Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Florida, change is the order of the day.