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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…

I Need a Donut

I Can't Believe I Did That

I strive to keep my inner Homer Simpson quiet, but sometimes he takes over in the cockpit. From tailwinds at KVBT to snow-filled wheel pants in Evansville, here are a few of my “D’oh!” moments—and what they taught me about staying sharp as a pilot.

aeroshell

Friday Photo: Night Moves Over Oshkosh

It was my first time back to AirVenture since the late 90s. My wife and I were thoroughly enjoying being in Oshkosh and seeing all of the aircraft, displays, and people. We had seen 3 of the daily air shows, and we were enjoying our first ever night airshow.

Release the Brakes: What My Flight Instructor Taught Me About Life

A flight instructor’s simple command—“release the brakes”—became a lifelong lesson in judgment, responsibility, and growth, both in the cockpit and beyond. Years later, those words still guide decisions when it matters most.

Thirty Minutes

You can pack a lot into a 30–45 minute flight. I can do a full stall series, slow flight, and twenty or more aerobatic maneuvers. I’ll also have time to repeat a few maneuvers I wasn’t happy with. Sometimes I’ll add an extra maneuver or two just for fun. Snap roll or tail slide, anyone? The point is that a lot of practice and work toward precision can take place in a relatively short amount of Hobbs time.

My Experience with Hypoxia

A routine high-altitude flight in a T-33 turns into a subtle but dangerous encounter with hypoxia. In this firsthand account, Gennaro Avolio shares how quickly judgment can slip away—and why recognizing the signs can make all the difference.

Is your flight school training you for the wrong job?

To be blunt, some schools are training the next generation of pilots to be excellent systems managers in a multi-crew environment, but are failing the pilots who want to use an airplane as a tool for personal travel. A Bonanza isn't a miniature Boeing; it's a cross-country time machine that requires a completely different set of skills, most of which aren’t found in the ACS or an accelerated syllabus.

John’s Blog

Is your flight school training you for the wrong job?

To be blunt, some schools are training the next generation of pilots to be excellent systems managers in a multi-crew environment, but are failing the pilots who want to use an airplane as a tool for personal travel. A Bonanza isn't a miniature Boeing; it's a cross-country time machine that requires a completely different set of skills, most of which aren’t found in the ACS or an accelerated syllabus.

Use it or lose it: the instrument rating is not an insurance policy

One of the saddest things in aviation is a pilot with an instrument rating who’s afraid to use it. They look at a 1500-foot overcast and realize their $15,000 investment has become nothing more than a souvenir. Maybe they used to fly in the soup all the time and simply fell out of the habit; more likely, they can recite the holding pattern entries from the textbook but have never seen the inside of a cloud. Either way, it’s a waste of money and a missed opportunity.

Go-arounds don’t have to be hard

I was grumpy with my friend because I hate the obsession with instant analysis, and he made me participate in this ugly trend. I was grumpy because this accident hit a little close to home, killing a father who was flying his wife and daughter in a Cirrus SR22 (something I do often). But I was mostly grumpy because go-around accidents happen far too often—and they are eminently preventable. This is one problem we should be able to solve.

View John’s Blog

I Can’t Believe I Did That

I Need a Donut

I Can't Believe I Did That

I strive to keep my inner Homer Simpson quiet, but sometimes he takes over in the cockpit. From tailwinds at KVBT to snow-filled wheel pants in Evansville, here are a few of my “D’oh!” moments—and what they taught me about staying sharp as a pilot.

Collins Writing Prize Second Place: Livin’ the Dream

I Can't Believe I Did That, Young Pilots

This article received second place in the 2026 Richard Collins Writing Prize for Young Pilots. Grace Eger, who also placed in the contest in 2023, shares a memorable winter lesson in humility—and a reminder of why flying is still the best job in the world.

Out of Options—Pinned in the Pass

I Can't Believe I Did That

Weather closing in. Terrain rising ahead. No room to turn back. In a narrow New Zealand valley, one pilot learns just how unforgiving a single wrong decision can be — and what it taught him about judgment and humility.

Opinion

Thirty Minutes

You can pack a lot into a 30–45 minute flight. I can do a full stall series, slow flight, and twenty or more aerobatic maneuvers. I’ll also have time to repeat a few maneuvers I wasn’t happy with. Sometimes I’ll add an extra maneuver or two just for fun. Snap roll or tail slide, anyone? The point is that a lot of practice and work toward precision can take place in a relatively short amount of Hobbs time.

Flying for Life

What starts as a quiet morning quickly turns into a mission with real consequences. In this firsthand account, a volunteer pilot answers the call to deliver lifesaving blood across Arizona—proving that general aviation can make a difference when every minute counts.

Whose Freedom To Fly Is It Anyway?

If you have been reading the news of late, AOPA has been getting a lot of negative press these days from what appears to be a perceived disconnect between its current Board and the GA community at large. Be that as it may, I think this presents a golden opportunity for all of us to step back and ask what does the word “general” in GA even mean and how should it be represented?

More Articles

I Can’t Believe I Did That

Learn from the mistakes of others

Technique

Improve your flying skills

Go Or No Go

Test your weather decision-making

Young Pilots

The next generation writes

Friday Photo

Unforgettable cockpit views

I Was There

Sharing pilot stories