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Articles by John Zimmerman

Articles by John Zimmerman

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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…

2025 Richard Collins Writing Prize Winner: Cruising Through the Soaring Blues

My landings were respectable, and my decision-making occasionally less respectable. Even after flying at cross-country camps, learning soaring theory, having the best possible mentor and breaking the proverbial apron strings at home, flying in my first competition that week was the hardest thing I’ve done yet as a pilot, but also the most satisfying.

powered parachute

Friday Photo: Fusion Over Mystic Bluffs

Every year pilots are treated to a special fly-in opportunity near Ramah, New Mexico (population 391). Mystic Bluffs Airport (NM56) is a private dirt runway. The Timberlake Ranch Homeowners Association hosts the fly-in and provides breakfast for lucky pilots. The valley, at almost 7,000' MSL, is surrounded by mountains, mesas, canyons and the bluffs. Mystic Bluffs refers to the cliffs west of the valley that look like pink and white layer cake.

Airshows and Fighter Jet Demos

What I Know About...

Airshows can be small, at local airfields, or grand, like Chicago’s Waterfront extravaganza, Paris, or Farnborough, the aircraft can vary from small private aircraft, the sporty Putts and Yaks, to vintage ones, from WWI and WWII warbirds up to the teams, the Blues, the Birds, and Red Arrows. They all capture young and old for different reasons. The kids dream the old guys are also dreaming of the good days of yore. I’ve done both.

A Life in Aviation: Building a Legacy Through Books and Artifacts

What I Know About...

Rare are the folks associated with the aviation community who don’t collect, at one level or another, aviation related publications, photographs, and/or memorabilia. I would go so far as to call it a genetic aviation aberration; a built-in, irrepressible desire to own or simply possess “things” that connect us to the people, art, technology, business, and/or history of flight.

Pilot’s Bucket List: 11 Must-Do Adventures After Earning Your License

Everyone's dream list will vary, but let me suggest 11 things that every pilot should do with their license. Call it a bucket list if you want, but I consider it a flight plan for a fulfilling life in the cockpit.

Managing Your Speed Near the Airport

Uncategorized, What I Know About...

The NTSB analysis cites several factors, including the high speed of the Piper as it descended from the north over the airport’s parallel runways and flew a sweeping approach to runway 30L. The speedy low-wing airplane overshot the base-to-final turn and collided with the Cessna, which was doing pattern work on the shorter parallel runway 30R. The big lesson that I take from this event, and a similar midair at Watsonville, California (KWVI), also in 2022 (NTSB WPR22FA309), is managing speed in the vicinity of airports.

John’s Blog

Pilot’s Bucket List: 11 Must-Do Adventures After Earning Your License

Everyone's dream list will vary, but let me suggest 11 things that every pilot should do with their license. Call it a bucket list if you want, but I consider it a flight plan for a fulfilling life in the cockpit.

Who is the pilot in command of your aircraft?

FAR 91.3 is one of the simplest and best known federal aviation regulations, and it clearly defines the most essential job as a pilot: to be the boss for the entire flight. But as obvious as this sounds, it’s surprisingly hard to do in the real world. Little by little, your authority as PIC can be eroded until no one is actually in command.

The pros and the cons: Cirrus SR22

Cirrus had a controversial reputation early on, and to this day it’s the butt of some jokes. But it’s also the best selling piston airplane in the world for 20 years straight, a lone bright spot among small airplane companies who otherwise seem to be surviving on a few big flight school orders. And as I’ve repeatedly observed, the most vocal Cirrus critics are usually the ones who have never flown one.

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I Can’t Believe I Did That

I Am UNSAFE Checklist—Lessons Learned on a Fateful Night

I Can't Believe I Did That

Very soon I was on the approach and thought I could still make 06C. The ATIS called out the overcast at 800’ AGL, the minimum I needed (mistake #5—not mine, but it counted anyway.) I held at 800’, assuming I’d see the runway lights below me and then I could continue to 06C. As I crossed the runway threshold, it was solid IMC and I had to go missed. I asked the Tower what the current ceiling was, and the response was that the ATIS was old and the ceiling was actually 400’ and you’ll have to go around.

The Arrogant Pilot

I Can't Believe I Did That

On one early Monday morning, I took things for granted. I cut corners. I made certain assumptions about a departing fuel truck and an obscured fuel gauge—no substitute for pilot responsibility. Thirty minutes later, barely clearing the redwood ridge tops of the Santa Cruz mountains, I would dive for the first straight section of road I could find in the Silicon Valley.

How I failed my IFR Practical Test Twice

I Can't Believe I Did That

I decided after two attempts to not take the Instrument practical again. The examiner was gracious and realized that, being over 55, I did not have plans for commercial flying and certainly not airlines (ATP). He reminded me it is not easy to stay current with an Instrument Rating and flying IFR by yourself can be challenging even for the most proficient pilot, especially if you do not have an autopilot.

Opinion

In Defense of the Paper Nav Log

The typical mid-lifers are accomplished overachievers. The way they see it, they could easily learn the Rubik's cube of a paper nav log if they were made to do it. But why require them to spend hours mastering a process that in the real world of EFBs, they'll never have to use again? For a mid-life pilot, this seems like a criminal waste of time.

Why Crash Videos and Social Media Don’t Mix

I get that we all speculate in private on crashes since we have a natural tendency to try to understand tragedy after it unfolds. But when we speak publicly on social media or even to our friends and family at home, we become ambassadors for aviation. And as ambassadors, I firmly believe we need to steer these conversations toward supporting our fellow pilots who were involved in the incident as well as understanding how we can prevent it from happening again. And any online content that goes against these tenets should be strictly avoided or even better, unsubscribed.

Checking The Checklist Checks

Checklist usage shouldn’t feel like a chore, nor should it feel mandatory (and from a regulatory standpoint, it isn’t), but rather an act of habit. And the quality of checklists you use is directly responsible for how often you use them! Because once checklist usage feels natural instead of premediated, you don’t have to think about it anymore.

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I Can’t Believe I Did That

Learn from the mistakes of others

Technique

Improve your flying skills

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Test your weather decision-making

Young Pilots

The next generation writes

Friday Photo

Unforgettable cockpit views

I Was There

Sharing pilot stories