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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…

Wright Flyer

Aviation at the leading edge of science

Charles was onboard with Nicholas Robert when his hydrogen balloon made its first flight on December 1, 1783. The Charlière flew farther, higher, and longer than the Montgolfiere had done two weeks earlier. When they eventually touched down, Nicholas Robert got out, and the balloon immediately went up again, making Charles the first man to fly solo.

What NTSB Reports Say About Impossible Turns and Angle of Attack

There is an impressive surge of AOA rhetoric—“lifesaving,” “correct,” “optimum”—but such language can be misleading. “Correct” and “optimum” may fit the context of the speaker but not necessarily apply to the situations of the listener, who may be considering other flight operations, or having to deal with real world scenarios. While the decision on where to expend safety resources will vary from pilot to pilot, the NTSB reports of this study do not support visual AOA indicators for impossible turns as a silver bullet to address overall safety issues.

ov-10 bronco

Friday Photo: Wild Broncos Over Laos

Somewhere over Laos in late 1972, I was ‘sandbagging’ with another Nail FAC. Sandbagging consisted of riding in their backseat logging time, but also providing an extra set of eyes watching out for bad guys shooting at us as well as monitoring/answering the five radios that many times all came active at one time!

Extend downwind for an arriving flight of two

Two F/A-18 Hornets, the Blue Angels, on low approach, sped towards the runway on final. They made their “carrier break,” circling to land. We were excited with our vantage point for the early show. A Blue Angel viewed from pattern altitude is not something one sees every day. Allie gave us a “pretty cool, huh” over the intercom. We were all smiles as continued on our extended downwind.

Landing

My mid-flight medical emergency

A personal telephone call from the Captain of a Holland America ship signified the importance of assistance urgently needed. A couple of passengers onboard had received a call that their daughter had been kidnapped back home in the US. They needed to catch a commercial flight from Nassau back home as soon as possible.

enroute

Soaring Over the Rainbow Nation: A Journey as a South African Pilot

The smaller airports and airstrips scattered across the country have their own charm. The controllers and managers at these smaller fields often share invaluable local knowledge and tips. During one flight to a remote airstrip in the Free State, the local controller not only guided me through unexpected weather changes but also shared some fascinating local lore.

John’s Blog

Cessna 172

What matters for VFR proficiency: better landings

Earlier 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?

PC-12 crash track

Ignore the YouTube crash detectives—it’s usually pilot error

When 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.

Flight instruction

Why learning to fly can be good for your mental health

Americans seem to be especially gloomy right now, according to a popular book and a report from the US Surgeon General. There are no miracle cures, but becoming a pilot can provide many of the positive experiences these experts recommend. No, I’m not suggesting the federal government mandate flight training to make American teenagers happy, but consider the following.

View John’s Blog

I Can’t Believe I Did That

Citabria on grass runway

The time when I almost landed short

I Can't Believe I Did That

The 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.

airplane in grass

Centerline, centerline, centerline

I Can't Believe I Did That

The 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 That

At 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

What NTSB Reports Say About Impossible Turns and Angle of Attack

There is an impressive surge of AOA rhetoric—“lifesaving,” “correct,” “optimum”—but such language can be misleading. “Correct” and “optimum” may fit the context of the speaker but not necessarily apply to the situations of the listener, who may be considering other flight operations, or having to deal with real world scenarios. While the decision on where to expend safety resources will vary from pilot to pilot, the NTSB reports of this study do not support visual AOA indicators for impossible turns as a silver bullet to address overall safety issues.

cruise flight

Cruise Checklist, Complete?

Monitoring your engine gauges is sort of a systems-level skill which is part of every primary curriculum. But most of the focus is on takeoff; hopefully, you’ve been taught to stare at the gauges when you line up on the runway in case you must abort because one of them doesn’t look right. Yet just because your engine is acting normally on takeoff doesn’t guarantee it will in flight, right?

New Cessna 172

So maybe there was a real purpose in flying that day

After I was current again and reasonably proficient, the 16-year-old son of some friends asked if he could go up with me. I said he could, but only if his parents were very clear as to my experience, the record of the flying club, the kind of plane we’d be flying, Vx, Vy, everything. They gave an enthusiastic thumbs up and we had a great flight.

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I Can’t Believe I Did That

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Improve your flying skills

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