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I Can’t Believe I Did That

Learn from the mistakes of others

I Was There

Pilot stories from around the world

Technique

Improve your flying skills

History

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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…

Arkansas satellite

Go or no go: how strong is the front?

Go or No Go
A weekend flying trip is on the calendar today, as you're scheduled to attend a family reunion in Springfield, MO. Your flight will depart from Olive Branch Airport (OLV), just outside of Memphis, TN and arrive at the Springfield Branson Airport (SGF). Your proposed departure time is 1630Z. It's time to make the go/no go call.
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18 Comments
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April 23, 2012
https://airfactsjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/AR-satellitesmall.jpg 450 640 John Zimmerman https://airfactsjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Air-Facts-Logo340.png John Zimmerman2012-04-23 09:18:492016-02-27 10:16:09Go or no go: how strong is the front?
iPad in helicopter

Breaking in my iPad on a helo ferry

I was there
Occasionally, I get a break from the dreary doldrums of flying a FLIR-equipped MD500E police helicopter (I know, right?) with a ferry flight, moving ENG (electronic news gathering) R44s around the country. Last month, the opportunity arose to fly via airliner to Pittsburgh to move a ship to Atlanta. I thought it would be a good time to put my new iPad to the test.
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5 Comments
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April 19, 2012
https://airfactsjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/ipad-helo.jpg 598 800 Lou Gregoire https://airfactsjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Air-Facts-Logo340.png Lou Gregoire2012-04-19 18:14:292016-02-27 10:16:00Breaking in my iPad on a helo ferry
Tenzing-Hillary Airport

Crappy runways

History
It’s known as the Pucker Factor, and everyone contracts it at that particular airport where, frankly, it sucks to land. Phil Scott reviews some of the worst, from Catalina Island to the Himalayas. Read his list, then add your own nominees.
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47 Comments
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April 18, 2012
https://airfactsjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/himalyas-airport.jpg 450 600 Phil Scott https://airfactsjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Air-Facts-Logo340.png Phil Scott2012-04-18 09:27:092020-05-13 11:15:56Crappy runways
Low clouds

Mr. Invincible

I was there
Well I finally met that guy. That guy everyone has read about. That guy who seems to be at every airport. That guy whom no one admits to being. You know, the guy who willfully violates significant federal aviation regulations and openly brags to total strangers about his near death experiences.
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12 Comments
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April 16, 2012
https://airfactsjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/clouds-gray.jpg 686 1024 Michael McDowell https://airfactsjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Air-Facts-Logo340.png Michael McDowell2012-04-16 16:36:242016-02-27 10:15:40Mr. Invincible
Thunderstorm from airplane

Do you cancel too many flights?

John's blog
Some instrument pilots apparently are uncomfortable in anything less than clear skies and unlimited visibility. It raises the question: do you cancel too many flights? Has the aviation community beaten everyone over the head with the risk management stick so much that they’re gun shy? From what I read and hear, I think it’s quite possible.
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16 Comments
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April 12, 2012
https://airfactsjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/weather-citation.jpg 641 855 John Zimmerman https://airfactsjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Air-Facts-Logo340.png John Zimmerman2012-04-12 15:56:112016-11-18 16:27:28Do you cancel too many flights?
172 on landing flare

Touchdown: squeak squeak every time…

Technique
So if for the past 65 years we have been able to fly and land electronically, we should be able to teach a chimpanzee, or at least a pilot, how to do it with no trouble at all. That we can’t do this is illustrated by the fact that there are more accidents on landing than in any other phase of flight.
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61 Comments
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April 10, 2012
https://airfactsjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/172-landing.jpg 664 1019 Richard Collins https://airfactsjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Air-Facts-Logo340.png Richard Collins2012-04-10 11:10:312012-12-19 11:34:01Touchdown: squeak squeak every time…
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John’s Blog

Trevor Jacob jump

YouTube, Top Gun, and aviation culture

John's blog
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.
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22 Comments
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May 9, 2022
https://airfactsjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/f6920-16506029019652-1920.jpg 1080 1920 John Zimmerman https://airfactsjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Air-Facts-Logo340.png John Zimmerman2022-05-09 09:57:172022-05-09 09:21:34YouTube, Top Gun, and aviation culture
Pilatus PC-12

What’s wrong with Pilatus PC-12 pilots?

John's blog
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.
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14 Comments
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March 30, 2022
https://airfactsjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Pilatus-PC-12-landing.jpg 1192 1800 John Zimmerman https://airfactsjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Air-Facts-Logo340.png John Zimmerman2022-03-30 08:41:022022-03-29 17:49:56What’s wrong with Pilatus PC-12 pilots?

Aviation’s roaring ’20s? A case for GA growth

John's blog
Is the current GA boom just temporary, one that will soon break hearts and bank accounts, or has something fundamentally changed? I think we should seriously consider the possibility that general aviation has some steady tailwinds. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not convinced we'll reach the dizzying heights of the late 1970s, but there are some long term trends that could make light airplanes more attractive.
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18 Comments
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January 31, 2022
https://airfactsjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Bye-Aerospace-eFlyer-4-render-2-1080x675-1.jpg 675 1080 John Zimmerman https://airfactsjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Air-Facts-Logo340.png John Zimmerman2022-01-31 08:29:592022-01-26 12:37:29Aviation’s roaring ’20s? A case for GA growth
View John’s Blog

I Can’t Believe I Did That

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.
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6 Comments
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March 16, 2022
https://airfactsjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/thermometer.jpg 360 640 Craig Bixby https://airfactsjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Air-Facts-Logo340.png Craig Bixby2022-03-16 08:39:562022-03-08 16:08:06Low, hot, and humid
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?
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4 Comments
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February 14, 2022
https://airfactsjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/SavannahS.jpg 536 800 David Johns https://airfactsjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Air-Facts-Logo340.png David Johns2022-02-14 08:14:572022-02-11 15:49:17Who’s pilot in command? A faulty assumption leads to an accident
Scud from Cessna

A severe, multi-day case of “get-there-itis”

I Can't Believe I Did That
I took off before noon, as planned, and headed south. Soon the sky grew dimmer, and clouds started turning from cumulus to a thick carpet around 3000 ft AGL. Rain patches started to appear and two hours into my 3.5 hour planned trip I had to dodge them. Then about one hour from my destination a solid wall of rain appeared in front of me.
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12 Comments
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February 7, 2022
https://airfactsjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/kopec-v-hmle.jpg 1070 1600 Pavol Varga https://airfactsjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Air-Facts-Logo340.png Pavol Varga2022-02-07 09:08:412022-02-02 14:09:41A severe, multi-day case of “get-there-itis”
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Opinion

Home simulator

Simulators: focus on saving time, not logging time

Opinion
In the context of flight training, the discussion around simulator time that can be logged versus not logged is an important one. There is a general argument that if the FARs do not allow the time to be logged, then why spend more time in a simulator? Let's examine why that reasoning is flawed.
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4 Comments
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May 16, 2022
https://airfactsjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/b1908_scene_nick_web-2.jpg 1200 1200 CP Jois https://airfactsjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Air-Facts-Logo340.png CP Jois2022-05-16 08:34:122022-05-22 23:38:59Simulators: focus on saving time, not logging time
CFI with student

Why you should think like a pilot

Opinion
After many years working as a TV producer and network executive, I turned my hobby (flying small airplanes) into a second career as a flight instructor. While you might not be excited by the prospect of getting behind the controls of an aircraft, every day that I teach new pilots I realize the skills essential to safe flying apply just as well to making you better at whatever you do. From that, a few suggestions.
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16 Comments
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February 28, 2022
https://airfactsjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Student-and-instructor-in-Cessna.jpg 599 1200 Mitch Semel https://airfactsjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Air-Facts-Logo340.png Mitch Semel2022-02-28 08:47:582022-02-23 17:44:22Why you should think like a pilot
Logbook entries

The only flight time that counts

Opinion
Local environments produce interesting flying hours, especially if other pilots are not likely to obtain the “correct” time a local pilot may enjoy. I was informed that I could never obtain true pilot-hood until I had logged the following.
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24 Comments
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December 6, 2021
https://airfactsjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Logbook-first-flight.jpg 409 655 Skip Stagg https://airfactsjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Air-Facts-Logo340.png Skip Stagg2021-12-06 08:31:452021-12-10 09:56:22The only flight time that counts
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