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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: Santa Paula

June 18, 2021/by Patrick Coughran

It’s a Bird! It’s a Plane! It’s a VariEze!

June 17, 2021/by Margot Smith

Really short and really soft fields—flying C-123s in Vietnam

June 16, 2021/by Ralph Grigg

Helicopter escapades in the Arctic

June 15, 2021/by David Dickins

NotKosh—a year without AirVenture

June 14, 2021/by Dean Zakos

Friday Photo: CJ sunset

June 11, 2021/by Phelps Lane

John’s Blog

Rethinking light airplane limits

John's blog

There are rumblings of an important announcement this summer, perhaps at Oshkosh. The headline is a new group of airplanes, somewhere between an LSA and a traditional Part 23 airplane, to be called Light Personal Aircraft (LPA). This would offer a major boost in performance, including higher gross weight, more powerful engines (perhaps up to 200 hp), and the option for retractable gear.

What if flying cars are just a bad idea?

John's blog

Billions of dollars have been invested in flying car startups over the past decade, and if the press releases are to be believed, tilt-rotor aircraft will soon be a reality in American cities. But I’m increasingly convinced that Americans don’t actually want a flying car in the first place. Maybe the problem isn’t the technology, but the product-market fit, to use the popular venture capital term.

Ten years of Air Facts

John's blog

Ten years is a long time on the internet, so the fact that Air Facts has survived is an achievement, but it’s done much more than that—it has thrived, and grown into its own bustling community. In fact, it has succeeded beyond my wildest dreams, with over 1 million visitors last year from all around the world. Even more satisfying are the 1,900 articles we have published since 2011, written by 760 different writers.

View John’s Blog

Friday Photo

Friday Photo: Santa Paula

Friday Photo

Learning to fly at CP Aviation at KSZP has been a trip. It feels like Santa Paula is what GA used to feel like in its heyday: one small runway, one taxiway, no tower. Nothing but Cessnas, Ercoupes, Stearmans, Citabrias. Life at SZP is simple. The core ethos? The pure love of flying.

Friday Photo: CJ sunset

Friday Photo

Sunsets are always a favorite view for pilots, but sometimes the conditions are just right. In this beautiful Friday Photo, Phelps Lane shares a photo from the left seat of a Cessna Citation CJ1+ as he descended over New Orleans. The lights are glowing in the distance, the black sky fades to blue, then orange, then red—and you can almost see the curvature of the earth.

Friday Photo: Gulfstream HUD

Friday Photo

The views over Alaska are always epic, but that's especially true if you're looking through a heads-up display (HUD) in a Gulfstream G650ER. That's the picture Brendan Donovan shares this week, cruising home at FL450 on his way back from China.

View Friday Photo

Friday Photo: Santa Paula

It’s a Bird! It’s a Plane! It’s a VariEze!

Really short and really soft fields—flying C-123s in Vietnam

Helicopter escapades in the Arctic

NotKosh—a year without AirVenture

Friday Photo: CJ sunset

I Can’t Believe I Did That

I Was There

Technique

History

NEW ARTICLES

Friday Photo: Santa Paula

It’s a Bird! It’s a Plane! It’s a VariEze!

Really short and really soft fields—flying C-123s in Vietnam

Helicopter escapades in the Arctic

NotKosh—a year without AirVenture

Friday Photo: CJ sunset

John’s Blog

Rethinking light airplane limits

What if flying cars are just a bad idea?

Ten years of Air Facts

Friday Photo

Friday Photo: Santa Paula

Friday Photo: CJ sunset

Friday Photo: Gulfstream HUD

More Articles

I Can’t Believe I Did That

Technique

Go Or No Go

Young Pilots

Friday Photo

I Was There

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