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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…

Flying route on ForeFlight

Go or No Go: get to the beach

The flight today is from your home in Knoxville, Tennessee (KTYS) to Kiawah Island in South Carolina (KJZI), which should take just over 2 hours. Your 1980 Cessna is well-maintained, with a fancy new Garmin GTN 750 WAAS GPS and XM Weather on board. It looks like you'll need that XM Weather--and maybe your instrument rating--for the trip today.

Airport fence no trespassing

Our airports look like prisons

Almost every airport these days--regardless of size or location--is locked up, treated like a dangerous weapon instead of a community asset. As licensed pilots, many of us probably don’t even notice this anymore, but the message our airports are sending out is clear: stay away.

Derecho radar

A what? An exciting bit of weather action

I don’t spend much time watching TV news but my wife keeps it playing at times. I kept overhearing a new word (to me) after the June 29th storm that turned out lights from the middle west to the East Coast. The word sounded to me like “deratio” but Wikipedia lists “de-ray-cho” as the correct pronunciation.

sectional chart for northeast coast

Island flying, Northeast-style

In my part of the country a pilot’s license is a ticket to visit coastal islands that are otherwise accessible with difficulty. The islands, Nantucket, Martha’s Vineyard, Block, and Fishers each have their own special charms. I’m going to describe some of the features of each. The emphasis here will be on day trips.

valley fog

Breakfast flying 101

Our squadron is usually anywhere between two to five aircraft. Pilots, enthusiasts, first-timers...all are welcome. Early morning departures are a must, for we still have a full day of work to get in once we get back. As the sun peeks up over the horizon, the planes are in the air and beginning to rendezvous.

The ramp at Fargo Jet Center, busy as always.

A day in the life of the line

The ramp personnel at an FBO, better known as the Line guys, welcome us and see us off. They are often the front door to a thousand other services. They appear and disappear, oftentimes as if by magic, and they seem to know what we need before we’ve understood it ourselves.

John’s Blog

Pilot in airplane

How to improve your aviation decisions

At some point in a pilot’s flying career, usually around 250 hours, the primary challenge shifts from a physical one to a mental one. When you finally master crosswind landings and learn how to use all the avionics in your airplane, what’s left is the never-ending task of making good decisions. How can we improve this skill?

Trevor Jacob jump

YouTube, Top Gun, and aviation culture

Is YouTube good or bad for general aviation? That seems to be a popular hangar flying debate these days, especially since a number of high profile pilots have found themselves in hot water with the FAA over the last month. The answer may be more important for the future of GA than you think.

Pilatus PC-12

What’s wrong with Pilatus PC-12 pilots?

A key reason for the PC-12’s popularity has been its stellar safety record, one of the best in all of general aviation. So any effort to answer the question, “what’s wrong with Pilatus PC-12 pilots?” has to begin with: not much. But accidents do happen, including a recent one off the coast of North Carolina. That means it’s worth our time to examine the safety record of a specific airplane type, even if you don’t fly that model.

View John’s Blog

I Can’t Believe I Did That

Cessna 182

Weight and balance “get-there-itis” traps

I Can't Believe I Did That

It was a beautiful spring day for an airplane ride, which I was asked to give to a very important and even famous client (and his two friends). As an instrument pilot having flown for years, I knew the importance of getting the exact weight of my client and his two adult friends, so I got the numbers over the phone. I never realized that a hidden trap was awaiting me until I first saw all three of them at the airport.

Thermometer at 100 degrees

Low, hot, and humid

I Can't Believe I Did That

The subsequent takeoff began normally enough—I didn’t necessarily notice if we became airborne a little farther down the runway than normal or not. But once airborne, I slowly became aware that things weren’t going as expected. After liftoff, the climb rate of the 172 was downright anemic to say the least. It was clawing the air trying to climb, but without much success.

Savannah

Who’s pilot in command? A faulty assumption leads to an accident

I Can't Believe I Did That

There was much joking and laughing about operating the Savannah, a small aircraft, from an 8,000-ft runway that had been built for nuclear bombers. The weather was perfect, we were in high spirits, but there was no discussion about our respective licences and experience or check procedures. We were just a couple of pilot mates going for a fly—what could go wrong?

Opinion

Constellation cockpit

Where have all the pilots gone?

I have noticed the aviation industry is once again experiencing another pilot shortage. So, let’s take a little trip back in time and see how we keep getting in to these so called “shortages.” A long time ago—when dinosaurs ruled the earth, beer was only a nickel, and I had no gray hair—the airlines were regulated and all was well upon the land. For a captain flying at night on an international flight, the salary was as much as God.

Autonomous ucar

Who is in charge of your safety?

I have a GPS that will provide me navigation support and let me access almost anything I need to know to continue on a safe flight. All these things are nice and helpful, and I would not enjoy flying as much if I did not have them. But there are two essential elements I can’t do without, and if they are not working, I’m not flying: SA and ADM.

Facebook group

How the web and social media have encouraged aviators

Ever since the earliest days of the internet, when Usenet newsgroups were the main source of shared information, aviation has had a presence. With the advent of the World Wide Web in the 1990s, it wasn't long before aviators and aviation enthusiasts built their first websites. When social media arrived in the 2000s, aviation once again established a firm foothold and has used the medium to its full extent.

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

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