Things are a bit messed up right now, so if you do get the chance to go somewhere,…
With things the way they are, a lot of pilots will either choose to (or be otherwise 'convinced'…
This is not amateur-hour: Making sure you stay out of the wrong airspace can take some fancy footwork,…
ATC is trying to keep things as orderly as possible and when they ask a pilot to fly…
Your throttle linkage just broke. You're stuck in climb (or cruise) power. What are your options?
Beyond the loss of life Beyond the jumble of sorrow and outrage Beyond the courage of people helping…
Today, Air Traffic Controllers use what they call 'flow control' in an attempt to prevent in-flight holding patterns.
Have you ever flown with a pilot that set your teeth on edge?
Getting vectored onto an IAP close to the final approach fix definitely saves time, and it makes efficient…
Winds were calm, the Saturday morning skies hazy with scud, and I was in the right seat of…
At major airports, you will often see varied types of approach lights. Most burn steadily, some flash...
'Baron 600 Romeo Victor, you’re cleared from the Hardwick Airport to the Hardwick NDB, then hold as published...'
If you're about to land and it's VFR weather, just how long do you have to wait before…
The most important back-up plan you may ever have involves the IFR Alternate airport.
The title gives this one away, but it is still worth explaining how it happened, so you can…
Question: When a controller asks you to 'maintain runway heading', what does he REALLY mean?
The yellow and orange Aeronca Champ reflected off the bright morning lake as the pilot drew his craft…
Think about your training and experience as a pilot -- you covered stalls, turns, takeoffs, and of course,…
When we fly, talking mostly with Air Traffic Control (ATC), we're on a kind of party line --…
Anything that is not specifically prohibited by the Federal Aviation Regulations is therefore allowed.
If your airport happens to be one of those where the ol' fuel truck comes over to your…
It seems that receiving, copying, and reading back an IFR clearance is one of the most anxious experiences…
It never ceases to amaze me how many people are involved in plane wrecks every year...
There exists an extremely high level of instrument competence that requires precision flying, but also the ability to…
On a bumpy flight from Pueblo, Colorado to Centennial Airport in Denver, a strong wind gust hit us…
No, we aren’t talking about your choice of shoes -- the sound of your aircraft's wingtip hitting something…
Anger can be an unruly marauder that displaces good judgment with ruinously immature impulses, but it's also an…
How 'flat' IS the earth?
About what percent of violations of P-56 (the prohibited area over the White House, Capitol, Lincoln Memorial, etc.,…
Landing gear on aircraft can have some problems, and early Cessna 170 landing gear have a real doozy!
“Come to work for me. Here’s what I’ll pay you. And oh yeah, here’s your Baron.”
Tired of flipping through the “green books” looking for the preferred routes you’re probably going to get when…
After the IFR flight plan has been filed and approved, it becomes a clearance. How a new clearance…
The Cessna line is not the only plane with a built-in weakness in the landing gear.
About half of all general aviation accidents happen in the landing phase.
How old is the block of special use airspace in downtown Washington DC which is known affectionately as…
There’s a maneuver -- it's both easy to enter and easy to recover from -- that, when left…
Let's toss the esoterica for the moment. A few months ago, I offered some winter flying tips...
The primary privilege of holding a pilot's certificate is the ability to act as Pilot in Command of…
The placards and instructions in the POH of our aircraft are there for our protection... usually.
How many prohibited areas are there in the US?
They used to call it “prop wash”: A turbulent wake that is present behind any aircraft in flight.
Most of the time, “silent flight” means hitting the intercom’s “pilot isolation” switch to keep the passengers’ conversation…
Do the skills required to earn the Instrument Rating make for safer Private Pilots, or does the rating…
Since about 1980, aircraft have enjoyed certain changes that allow pilots to fly more safely.
It was a cloudless, hazy morning when the Cessna Skylane pilot preflighted for a hundred-mile business trip.
Accident records show that airports with short runways -- less than 2500 feet -- can present some real…
Who’s the wisest pilot -- the one who flies below the clouds, the one who flies above them,…