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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…
Friday Photo: Texas Skies on a Fun Fuel Run
Friday PhotoThe Texas skies enroute to Cherokee County Airport (KJSO), Jacksonville, Texas for fuel in the Sonex. Every flight is a gift! Cherish all of them.
Flying with the Old Breed—Why’d You Do That?
I was thereDiane tasked Charlie Stanton, a USMC veteran of WWII, to instruct me in the craft and discipline of an instrument-rated pilot. Tall, lean, opinionated, and looking perpetually pissed off about something, Charlie was all business. He didn’t mince his words either, speaking in that clipped, point-blank manner of the military. He could have been a character from a Pat Conroy novel.
Carburetor Icing and My Taylorcraft Accident
What I Know About...Preventing ice is your best bet to avoid becoming an NTSB statistic. Follow your airplane flight manual or operating handbook's instructions and use your carburetor heat whenever icing is probable. Remember, you can even pick up ice when taxiing or idling on the ground. If ice is likely, run the carb heat for a few minutes prior to takeoff to make sure that the carburetor is clear.
Close, but no Cigar
My AdventureWe were passed from Miami Center to Havana Center as we approached Cuban airspace and the Cuban controllers were both professional and helpful as we went wheels dry only 40 minutes after leaving KMTH. From 8,000 feet (minimum to cross over Cuba), we saw lots of land under agriculture and a large road bisecting the island east to west but only one car on the road. We also saw several airfields of great length, like one might use for large military aircraft?
Panic, and How To Not
OpinionReading the accident reports where pilots panic and make fatal mistakes is helpful. But—the most helpful thing to do—for me, anyway—to ward off panic and build flying confidence is train, train, train. Drill, baby, drill. Flashcards and chair-flying and flying are my friends.
John’s Blog
What’s wrong with the teardrop pattern entry
John's blogHaving solved the impossible turn and other manufactured crises, the aviation training industry (or at least some YouTubers and keyboard warriors) has now turned its attention to the teardrop pattern entry. This “innovation” is alternately described as wildly unsafe or the only legal option for entering the traffic pattern. In reality it’s neither, but the bigger problem is that most pilots don’t even know what it means.
What matters for VFR proficiency: better landings
John's blogEarlier this year I argued that if IFR pilots wanted to prevent accidents, they should focus on the most boring of skills: basic attitude instrument flying. Now it’s time to look at VFR pilots, and to spare you the suspense, the answer is similarly prosaic: loss of control on landing damages more airplanes than any other accident scenario. What can be done?
Ignore the YouTube crash detectives—it’s usually pilot error
John's blogWhen a high performance airplane crashes in IMC, the self-proclaimed experts on social media quickly spin elaborate theories about autopilot failure, in-flight icing, structural failure, carbon monoxide poisoning, or some other incredibly rare cause. It makes for good entertainment (“hit that subscribe button!”) but the reality is usually much less interesting and much more depressing.
I Can’t Believe I Did That
The time when I almost landed short
I Can't Believe I Did ThatThe plane was perhaps 50 feet above the ground, but at least there was a smooth gravel under-run and the wheel pants were off. I had just enough energy to flare with a soft touchdown. I prepared myself for landing short. What an embarrassing end to the second leg of my Private pilot solo long cross-country.
Centerline, centerline, centerline
I Can't Believe I Did ThatThe gusting wind from the east returns, pushing the aircraft toward the right side of the runway. In a matter of a few seconds, the grass infield fills my windshield. I didn’t get the thumb into the wind and I didn’t immediately get on the left rudder pedal to steer us back to the centerline. Years of training ignored in an instant which means we are now headed into the infield.
A dead stick landing and a chance encouter with Hal Shevers
I Can't Believe I Did ThatAt about 1,500 feet hawking the wind sock to determine my landing runway. The UNICOM frequency was quiet and I saw no other planes in the pattern. I turned away to re-enter on a 45 degree downwind. As I banked back to the field came a startling assault of silence. The engine quit—politely and with no shudder—it simply stopped running. I was a glider.
Opinion
The Corsair C172-V8 Experiment Update #3—Reader’s Suggestions
OpinionUnfortunately, it became clear that FAA leadership had no interest in supporting such a solution—whether as an experimental conversion for certified airframes or via a STC (a certification that would allow owners to replace their original engine with ours on certified aircraft)—regardless of the potential benefits.
Panic, and How To Not
OpinionReading the accident reports where pilots panic and make fatal mistakes is helpful. But—the most helpful thing to do—for me, anyway—to ward off panic and build flying confidence is train, train, train. Drill, baby, drill. Flashcards and chair-flying and flying are my friends.
The Flying Sport
OpinionWhat’s not obvious to a lot of non-pilot folk is that flying is one of the few passions you absolutely must do regularly just to safely do it. Think about that for a second: unlike other modes of transportation, you can stop driving for several months, even years, and still be able to get back into a vehicle with little to no training. Flying isn’t like that.
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Did you know that most of the articles at Air Facts are written by readers like you? You do not have to be Richard Collins or Ernest Gann – simply a GA pilot with a story you’d share with friends sitting in the hangar.