[sc:Top-of-Post ] Author Jon Vitt had done an extraordinary thing. He has written a book that literally takes you through every step of his journey to becoming a Private Pilot. You might read a lot of very clinic explanations of how you learn to fly, but this account takes you inside the process in a…

[sc:Top-of-Post ] by Alan Carr Every pilot knows that more weight means added time, and that charts, maps, and manuals add a significant number of minutes to your flight. Thankfully, the iPad Mini weighs less than a pound and can contain pounds of information in just a few apps. Here are some of my favorite…

[sc:Top-of-Post ] As a pilot I have an irresistible tendency to look up when I see an airplane over head. For some reason I don’t think this instinct exists in the non-aviation oriented population. This has been demonstrated to me dozens of times when I’m in public. I reflexively strain my neck to place my…

[sc:Top-of-Post ] September marked the one year anniversary of the blog and I have to say it’s been an adventure; 100,000+ page views; 650 subscribers; 267 posts; and one free ebook later, I feel like the blog has been a decent success.   There were also a few podcast interviews, guest articles (for GA News and Air Facts Journal), and…

[sc:Top-of-Post ] This is my humble contribution to the blogging in formation series. For this month’s #blogformation post, Cap ‘n Aux astutely chose “my most instructional moment” as the theme.  I had to think about this one for a few minutes. As a former instructor I feel like I could choose between either side of the…

[sc:Top-of-Post ] If you are lucky enough to have a spouse that is in love with aviation then you can skip this post entirely. Unfortunately, not all of us enjoy such pleasantries of life. Some of us may find ourselves wedded to someone who would rather stick pins in their eyes than go to the…

[sc:Top-of-Post ] I have taken a break from my monthly series of picking out an airplane based on a specific criteria of mission-capability and price. In fact one of the last airplanes I selected was actually in the same category as the one I’m discussing here, but older and less expensive (see my Bonanza article…

[sc:Top-of-Post ] Ok we say we want to grow the industry, but do we really? I feel like there are plenty among us who could care less. Maybe if you stopped and asked them directly they wouldn’t be so callous, but their actions elucidate their mentality. If you are the ones among us that are…

[sc:Top-of-Post ] The question of what we can do personally to be better at our craft is something that I don’t feel we ask often enough. For me, it usually takes a couple of well placed screw-ups to rattle my cage and make me think introspectively about my flying. These weren’t metal-bending events, but rather…

[sc:Top-of-Post ] This is my humble contribution to the blogging in formation series. If you had one wish for aviation what would it be? Make it: safer, more mainstream, less expensive, more accessible, increasingly social, more desirable, etc.?   In a nutshell, my one wish would be to make it less expensive, of course many of…