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Air Facts was first published in 1938 by Leighton Collins, dedicated to “the development of private air transportation.” It’s a different world now, and it’s a different Air Facts. Relaunched in 2011 as an online journal, Air Facts still champions, educates, informs and entertains pilots worldwide with real-world flying experiences. More…

Pilot in airplane

How to improve your aviation decisions

John's blog
At some point in a pilot’s flying career, usually around 250 hours, the primary challenge shifts from a physical one to a mental one. When you finally master crosswind landings and learn how to use all the avionics in your airplane, what’s left is the never-ending task of making good decisions. How can we improve this skill?
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0 Comments
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July 5, 2022
https://airfactsjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/BretCitationVegasApproachClouds1000.jpg 750 1000 John Zimmerman https://airfactsjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Air-Facts-Logo340.png John Zimmerman2022-07-05 08:03:232022-07-04 07:48:37How to improve your aviation decisions
Cessna 206

Friday Photo: Cessna 206 ready to fly

Friday Photo
SVCS is a general aviation airport located a dozen miles south of Caracas, Venezuela, and separated from the city by a low mountain range. That makes the perfect backdrop for Francisco Salas's beautiful Friday Photo, which also includes some picturesque clouds framing the stout Cessna 206.
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1 Comment
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July 1, 2022
https://airfactsjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/206-on-ground-clouds.jpg 450 600 Francisco Salas https://airfactsjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Air-Facts-Logo340.png Francisco Salas2022-07-01 08:44:592022-06-21 16:59:17Friday Photo: Cessna 206 ready to fly
Autonomous ucar

Who is in charge of your safety?

Opinion
I have a GPS that will provide me navigation support and let me access almost anything I need to know to continue on a safe flight. All these things are nice and helpful, and I would not enjoy flying as much if I did not have them. But there are two essential elements I can’t do without, and if they are not working, I’m not flying: SA and ADM.
Read more
2 Comments
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June 29, 2022
https://airfactsjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/iStock-829197466-1024x683-1.jpg 683 1024 John Rousch https://airfactsjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Air-Facts-Logo340.png John Rousch2022-06-29 08:35:032022-06-21 17:20:32Who is in charge of your safety?
TWA DC-9 on ramp

Flying the “little” DC-9

I was there
The first DC-9s to come off the production line were the dash ten series, around 1965. TWA's were officially DC-9-15s. The "little 9" was a real performer, with a max weight of only a little over 90,000 pounds and two Pratt & Whitney JT8D-7s pushing it with a combined thrust of 28,000 pounds. Talking with a Mexicana pilot one day who also flew them, he said that they called it el raton super loco; loosely translated as “crazy mighty mouse.” And it really was.
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17 Comments
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June 27, 2022
https://airfactsjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/McDonnell_Douglas_DC-9-15_Trans_World_Airlines_TWA_JP6431828-2.jpg 700 1023 Jeff Hill https://airfactsjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Air-Facts-Logo340.png Jeff Hill2022-06-27 09:04:452022-06-24 11:46:20Flying the “little” DC-9
MacDill

SOF in the hot seat

I was there
I had my back to him, but spun around to see what caused this outburst and saw a large plume of dirt being spewed onto our only runway. The source of the plume was an F-16 off the side of the runway with a collapsed nose gear. Meanwhile, the engine was sucking up dirt and rocks and flinging debris all over the runway. Instead of repeating what the sergeant had said, I asked, “What happened?”
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4 Comments
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June 24, 2022
https://airfactsjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/605-MacDill.jpg 575 863 Dale Hill https://airfactsjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Air-Facts-Logo340.png Dale Hill2022-06-24 08:07:552022-06-13 17:24:53SOF in the hot seat
Cirrus

Home from the game

I was there
The last game ran late. We didn’t get out of the event center till 2130. The ride to the airport took about 20 minutes, so it was pitch dark when we walked out to the plane at LHM in Lincoln, California. My stepdaughter was very tired and was soon asleep as I taxied out to the runway. I love flying at night so I was comfortable. It was clear and calm—great night flying weather.
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21 Comments
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June 22, 2022
https://airfactsjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/cid_29A461A3-7407-4B1A-83EE-164BC05B80CB.jpg 480 640 Mark Colin https://airfactsjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Air-Facts-Logo340.png Mark Colin2022-06-22 08:39:422022-06-13 16:59:42Home from the game
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John’s Blog

Pilot in airplane

How to improve your aviation decisions

John's blog
At some point in a pilot’s flying career, usually around 250 hours, the primary challenge shifts from a physical one to a mental one. When you finally master crosswind landings and learn how to use all the avionics in your airplane, what’s left is the never-ending task of making good decisions. How can we improve this skill?
Read more
0 Comments
/
July 5, 2022
https://airfactsjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/BretCitationVegasApproachClouds1000.jpg 750 1000 John Zimmerman https://airfactsjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Air-Facts-Logo340.png John Zimmerman2022-07-05 08:03:232022-07-04 07:48:37How to improve your aviation decisions
Trevor Jacob jump

YouTube, Top Gun, and aviation culture

John's blog
Is YouTube good or bad for general aviation? That seems to be a popular hangar flying debate these days, especially since a number of high profile pilots have found themselves in hot water with the FAA over the last month. The answer may be more important for the future of GA than you think.
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22 Comments
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May 9, 2022
https://airfactsjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/f6920-16506029019652-1920.jpg 1080 1920 John Zimmerman https://airfactsjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Air-Facts-Logo340.png John Zimmerman2022-05-09 09:57:172022-05-09 09:21:34YouTube, Top Gun, and aviation culture
Pilatus PC-12

What’s wrong with Pilatus PC-12 pilots?

John's blog
A key reason for the PC-12’s popularity has been its stellar safety record, one of the best in all of general aviation. So any effort to answer the question, “what’s wrong with Pilatus PC-12 pilots?” has to begin with: not much. But accidents do happen, including a recent one off the coast of North Carolina. That means it’s worth our time to examine the safety record of a specific airplane type, even if you don’t fly that model.
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15 Comments
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March 30, 2022
https://airfactsjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Pilatus-PC-12-landing.jpg 1192 1800 John Zimmerman https://airfactsjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Air-Facts-Logo340.png John Zimmerman2022-03-30 08:41:022022-03-29 17:49:56What’s wrong with Pilatus PC-12 pilots?
View John’s Blog

I Can’t Believe I Did That

Thermometer at 100 degrees

Low, hot, and humid

I Can't Believe I Did That
The subsequent takeoff began normally enough—I didn’t necessarily notice if we became airborne a little farther down the runway than normal or not. But once airborne, I slowly became aware that things weren’t going as expected. After liftoff, the climb rate of the 172 was downright anemic to say the least. It was clawing the air trying to climb, but without much success.
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6 Comments
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March 16, 2022
https://airfactsjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/thermometer.jpg 360 640 Craig Bixby https://airfactsjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Air-Facts-Logo340.png Craig Bixby2022-03-16 08:39:562022-03-08 16:08:06Low, hot, and humid
Savannah

Who’s pilot in command? A faulty assumption leads to an accident

I Can't Believe I Did That
There was much joking and laughing about operating the Savannah, a small aircraft, from an 8,000-ft runway that had been built for nuclear bombers. The weather was perfect, we were in high spirits, but there was no discussion about our respective licences and experience or check procedures. We were just a couple of pilot mates going for a fly—what could go wrong?
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4 Comments
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February 14, 2022
https://airfactsjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/SavannahS.jpg 536 800 David Johns https://airfactsjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Air-Facts-Logo340.png David Johns2022-02-14 08:14:572022-02-11 15:49:17Who’s pilot in command? A faulty assumption leads to an accident
Scud from Cessna

A severe, multi-day case of “get-there-itis”

I Can't Believe I Did That
I took off before noon, as planned, and headed south. Soon the sky grew dimmer, and clouds started turning from cumulus to a thick carpet around 3000 ft AGL. Rain patches started to appear and two hours into my 3.5 hour planned trip I had to dodge them. Then about one hour from my destination a solid wall of rain appeared in front of me.
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12 Comments
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February 7, 2022
https://airfactsjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/kopec-v-hmle.jpg 1070 1600 Pavol Varga https://airfactsjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Air-Facts-Logo340.png Pavol Varga2022-02-07 09:08:412022-02-02 14:09:41A severe, multi-day case of “get-there-itis”
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Opinion

Autonomous ucar

Who is in charge of your safety?

Opinion
I have a GPS that will provide me navigation support and let me access almost anything I need to know to continue on a safe flight. All these things are nice and helpful, and I would not enjoy flying as much if I did not have them. But there are two essential elements I can’t do without, and if they are not working, I’m not flying: SA and ADM.
Read more
2 Comments
/
June 29, 2022
https://airfactsjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/iStock-829197466-1024x683-1.jpg 683 1024 John Rousch https://airfactsjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Air-Facts-Logo340.png John Rousch2022-06-29 08:35:032022-06-21 17:20:32Who is in charge of your safety?
Facebook group

How the web and social media have encouraged aviators

Opinion
Ever since the earliest days of the internet, when Usenet newsgroups were the main source of shared information, aviation has had a presence. With the advent of the World Wide Web in the 1990s, it wasn't long before aviators and aviation enthusiasts built their first websites. When social media arrived in the 2000s, aviation once again established a firm foothold and has used the medium to its full extent.
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4 Comments
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June 10, 2022
https://airfactsjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/FB-screenshot.jpg 1270 1200 Ben Lovegrove https://airfactsjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Air-Facts-Logo340.png Ben Lovegrove2022-06-10 09:04:282022-06-02 17:53:07How the web and social media have encouraged aviators
Home simulator

Simulators: focus on saving time, not logging time

Opinion
In the context of flight training, the discussion around simulator time that can be logged versus not logged is an important one. There is a general argument that if the FARs do not allow the time to be logged, then why spend more time in a simulator? Let's examine why that reasoning is flawed.
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5 Comments
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May 16, 2022
https://airfactsjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/b1908_scene_nick_web-2.jpg 1200 1200 CP Jois https://airfactsjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Air-Facts-Logo340.png CP Jois2022-05-16 08:34:122022-05-22 23:38:59Simulators: focus on saving time, not logging time
View Opinion

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I Can’t Believe I Did That

Learn from the mistakes of others

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  • Friday Photo: Cessna 206 ready to fly
  • Who is in charge of your safety?
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  • SOF in the hot seat

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