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  • Insidious failures: don’t trust, verify

  • A father and son non-Oshkosh adventure

  • Friday Photo: Sunset over Syracuse

  • A rushed preflight leads to a terrifying discovery

  • Simulators: focus on saving time, not logging time

  • The problem with emergencies is they are difficult to schedule

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I Can’t Believe I Did That

Learn from the mistakes of others

I Was There

Pilot stories from around the world

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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…

Flap lever

Insidious failures: don’t trust, verify

I was there
As we lifted off during the touch-and-go, the aircraft swerved oddly. There wasn’t much crosswind. Mike was flying and commented, “maybe the tire blew.” He’s cool as a cucumber. During the run-up an hour earlier, another pilot in the run-up area announced that our nose wheel looked low. I hopped out and it looked OK to me, but I did not have a pressure gauge (mistake #1).
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May 25, 2022
https://airfactsjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Flaps-down.jpg 624 630 Adrian Nye https://airfactsjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Air-Facts-Logo340.png Adrian Nye2022-05-25 08:39:482022-05-18 14:11:32Insidious failures: don’t trust, verify
Waco

A father and son non-Oshkosh adventure

I was there
I’ve told my son many stories about Oshkosh and he was now old enough to experience it firsthand with me. So it was decided that the next flying trip with me would be to Oshkosh. Unfortunately, Covid-19 hit and the virus had other plans. But then we said, “Just because AirVenture has been canceled, doesn’t mean our father-and-son flying adventure has to be canceled also."
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May 23, 2022
https://airfactsjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/image8.jpeg 480 640 Jim Kahle https://airfactsjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Air-Facts-Logo340.png Jim Kahle2022-05-23 08:49:472022-05-17 18:18:20A father and son non-Oshkosh adventure

Friday Photo: Sunset over Syracuse

Friday Photo
This was taken by my CFII as I was flying. The lake in the picture is Onondaga Lake in Liverpool, NY. We took off from Syracuse Hancock International Airport to log some night flying hours. I love flying over Syracuse during the night because it has spectacular city lights.
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2 Comments
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May 20, 2022
https://airfactsjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Syracuse-sunset.jpg 800 600 David Hale https://airfactsjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Air-Facts-Logo340.png David Hale2022-05-20 08:28:582022-05-10 17:01:30Friday Photo: Sunset over Syracuse
T-38 in flight

A rushed preflight leads to a terrifying discovery

I was there
I directed my student to strap in, told him that we needed to hurry, and I did a very quick walk around once we were refueled. My student taxied onto the runway, held the brakes, and ran up the engines to military power (without burner). The right engine generator failed, crossover relay failed, and the master caution light illuminated. We were whipped.
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9 Comments
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May 18, 2022
https://airfactsjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/T-38_Talon_over_Edwards_AFB.jpg 550 800 Ron Frederiksen https://airfactsjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Air-Facts-Logo340.png Ron Frederiksen2022-05-18 08:49:322022-05-10 17:29:12A rushed preflight leads to a terrifying discovery
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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4 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
AVX

The problem with emergencies is they are difficult to schedule

I was there
Raphael and I departed Long Beach Airport (LGB) in a rented Grumman Traveler after requesting a tower in route to Catalina Airport (AVX). A quick climb to 4000 ft put us "feet wet" as we crossed over the shoreline. The crossing would keep us…
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6 Comments
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May 13, 2022
https://airfactsjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Catalina-runway-22-1.jpg 1019 2037 Skip Stagg https://airfactsjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Air-Facts-Logo340.png Skip Stagg2022-05-13 08:45:422022-05-04 18:04:37The problem with emergencies is they are difficult to schedule
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John’s Blog

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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14 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?

Aviation’s roaring ’20s? A case for GA growth

John's blog
Is the current GA boom just temporary, one that will soon break hearts and bank accounts, or has something fundamentally changed? I think we should seriously consider the possibility that general aviation has some steady tailwinds. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not convinced we'll reach the dizzying heights of the late 1970s, but there are some long term trends that could make light airplanes more attractive.
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18 Comments
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January 31, 2022
https://airfactsjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Bye-Aerospace-eFlyer-4-render-2-1080x675-1.jpg 675 1080 John Zimmerman https://airfactsjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Air-Facts-Logo340.png John Zimmerman2022-01-31 08:29:592022-01-26 12:37:29Aviation’s roaring ’20s? A case for GA growth
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

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.
Read more
4 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
CFI with student

Why you should think like a pilot

Opinion
After many years working as a TV producer and network executive, I turned my hobby (flying small airplanes) into a second career as a flight instructor. While you might not be excited by the prospect of getting behind the controls of an aircraft, every day that I teach new pilots I realize the skills essential to safe flying apply just as well to making you better at whatever you do. From that, a few suggestions.
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16 Comments
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February 28, 2022
https://airfactsjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Student-and-instructor-in-Cessna.jpg 599 1200 Mitch Semel https://airfactsjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Air-Facts-Logo340.png Mitch Semel2022-02-28 08:47:582022-02-23 17:44:22Why you should think like a pilot
Logbook entries

The only flight time that counts

Opinion
Local environments produce interesting flying hours, especially if other pilots are not likely to obtain the “correct” time a local pilot may enjoy. I was informed that I could never obtain true pilot-hood until I had logged the following.
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24 Comments
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December 6, 2021
https://airfactsjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Logbook-first-flight.jpg 409 655 Skip Stagg https://airfactsjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Air-Facts-Logo340.png Skip Stagg2021-12-06 08:31:452021-12-10 09:56:22The only flight time that counts
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  • Insidious failures: don’t trust, verify
  • A father and son non-Oshkosh adventure
  • Friday Photo: Sunset over Syracuse
  • A rushed preflight leads to a terrifying discovery
  • Simulators: focus on saving time, not logging time

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