You do not have to be an Instrument Flight Instructor (CFII) to give instrument flight instruction? No, the…
In some ways VFR flying can be more challenging than flying under instrument flight rules. Apart from the…
To the nearest 100 feet, estimate the takeoff distance into a 13 knot headwind for an airplane with…
Galileo notwithstanding, with raindrops, the bigger they are, the faster they fall. (For objects of that size, the…
My first instructor told me prior to our first night lesson that the airplane does not know that…
Which aircraft was the first to have variable-sweep wings?
We all remember being told what it means if we're flying along and we see an airplane, and…
When was the first practical "black box" required aboard airliners?
Pilots are trained to think, talk, and trust numbers -- specifically, performance numbers. But somewhat like the good…
What fighter airplane had an "F" type designator, but yet carries no guns?
To any student pilot the practice area is like the minor leagues is to a baseball player. In…
A chandelle is more than a climbing 180-degree turn with a fanciful French name that flows trippingly off…
In the flurry of messages that came in the wake of the story on fuel tank explosions during…
I was giving a stage check to a pilot who had just soloed the day before and I…
When did our primary airspeed indications (that is, those used by general aviation) go from reading in miles…
Gust locks are our friends... really... but they don't like to be ignored. They keep our controls locked…
We all know that filing a flight plan is good insurance, priceless in fact: it (still) doesn't cost…
I was in the right, front seat of a new Beech Baron. My student, owner of the factory-fresh…
The greatest number of engines used on any production airplane was...
The following is an airspeed maneuver example of how the real-world element can be a part of everyday…
We trim our airplanes multiple times each time we fly. Trim is set based on what is needed…
The first regular in-flight motion pictures made their appearance in...
Every flight you will ever take consists of a series of decisions -- it's the quality of those…
There is a certain cultural component to the province of piloting that actually becomes self-defining. From habits in…
Pop Quiz: Is it against the Federal Aviation Regulations to take off with ice and snow on the…
The lowest barometric pressure ever recorded in the United States was 26.35 inches. In which state was it…
Your hands freeze on the controls as your instructor barks out "No! Don't do that! Why on earth…
As flight students and instructors we work very hard to improve our skills and maintain our status as…
The first airplane to land aboard an aircraft carrier under jet power was...
Not to editorialize or anything, but just what good are all those hoops that we all have to…
Most pilots agree that crosswind landings are the most common challenging landings they have to make. This should…
There was an aircraft that, while it may not have had the noise output of the Valkyrie supersonic…
The "pop-up": an on-the-spot IFR clearance from ATC, possibly without either an IFR briefing or having filed a…
There's a saying among pilots of retractable gear airplanes, "there are those who have, and those who will"…
Why is there a difference between the magnetic variation for an airport, and the VOR located at that…
What actually is experience and what does it give you? The dictionary defines experience as "gaining knowledge through…
The first airplane to take off on wheels was...
For a given amount of engine power, the higher you fly, the faster your true airspeed. If your…
The driest place on Earth!
As the project continued -- and the General Aviation pilots continued to have problems -- I became interested…
What was the world's first rocket-powered airplane?
So just how fast would Santa have to go?
After the volunteers had flown the first LOFT scenario and attended the workshop/seminars, they were scheduled back into…
We have supersonic jet fighters, but are they (or any other type of aircraft capable of supersonic flight)…
Approximately how many patents for flying machines were filed with the US Patent Office before that of the…
The debate about where the middle wheel belongs isn’t quite as stormy as the disputes over where the…
After all the pilot volunteers had flown the flight simulator for the first time, I invited them back…
The greatest distance ever covered (either "straight line" or free) by a powered airplane (or for that matter,…