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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…

A dream of the 1970s: the Bede-5

To say that Jim Bede was controversial is an understatement. Some called him a visionary, others had descriptions that were not so kind. The undisputed fact, though, is that Jim Bede excited and then disappointed a lot of pilots in the 1970s. He was a hard guy not to like and he exuded infectious enthusiasm even if he didn’t always deliver.

Fire

Fire!

Wispy smoke begins streaming around the cowling and quickly thickens. Fire! I’m alone in our Cessna 180. My adrenaline flow redlines. After a few seconds considering my options, I turn the master off, grab a piece of equipment, push the left door open, and jump. No parachute.

Abandoned airfields: history in our midst

We all know that airports are disappearing at a depressing rate. But they are not forgotten, thanks to the heroic efforts of Paul Freeman and his fascinating website: Abandoned and Little-Known Airfields. This hidden gem offers history and pictures for over 1600 airports that are still among us, but no longer on the sectional.

Go or No Go: game time

Your friend got you tickets to the Super Bowl to see your beloved Baltimore Ravens play. To make an adventure out of it, you've decided to fly your 1995 A36 Bonanza to New Orleans for the game. But will you be able to make it?

LP approaches – coming soon to a GPS near you

Remember LP approaches? Last year we shed some light on these obscure but increasingly common instrument approaches, which are part LPV and part LNAV. At the time, this was mostly an academic conversation--nobody could actually fly an LP approach. But that’s about to change.

clouds at night with moon

I Can’t Believe I Did That #1

I Can't Believe I Did That

During the first few hours after a new private pilot’s checkride, he feels unstoppable. Eventually, every green pilot makes a mistake that gives them a wake-up-call and makes the unstoppable pilot a mortal once more. It usually happens in marginal weather, at night, or in gusty winds. This story is about my wake-up-call.

John’s Blog

Low approach

Pilots need to be generalists, not specialists

American education has been obsessed with STEM (Science Technology Engineering and Math) for at least a decade, and the aviation industry has eagerly jumped on the bandwagon. The FAA is leading the charge to fit our square peg into this round hole, declaring aviation to be the ultimate STEM career path. I’m in favor of anything that attracts a new generation of pilots, but this framing is a radical oversimplification—and it sets up some pilots for failure.

HRRR

TAFs are so last century—here are four new tools to try

If your preflight weather briefing habits don’t change every few years, you probably aren’t curious enough. Occasionally there are major shifts, like the one from Flight Service phone calls to iPad app self-briefings, but more often we slowly integrate new weather resources and let others fade away. That’s exactly what I’ve done with the Terminal Aerodrome Forecast (TAF), the gold standard of aviation forecasts. I still read them, but it plays a much less central role in my decision-making process than it did five years ago.

VL-3 airplane

Five changes the new MOSAIC rule could bring to aviation

The word mosaic can be a noun, meaning a beautiful arrangement of glass, or an adjective, as in the tablets that Charlton Heston brought down from the mountain. Whether you view the FAA’s recently released Modernization of Special Airworthiness Certification (MOSAIC) proposal as a work of art or a restrictive set of commandments from on high, this 300-page document will definitely change general aviation.

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I Can’t Believe I Did That

Two in a row – a chain of mistakes and lessons

I Can't Believe I Did That

With less than 30 minutes to go before arriving, the battery couldn't hold a charge anymore. A warning message popped up on the PFD, and it only took five minutes for the electrical system to shut down. Thankfully, the PFD has a backup battery, so I knew I had around 30 minutes before it would go dark. I also had a Sporty's backup radio in my flight bag.

airplanes converging

My self-taught Immelmann for collision avoidance

I Can't Believe I Did That

The speck eventually sprouted a fuselage, twin-engine nacelles and a T-tail. By the time the wing panels outboard of the engines became big enough to see, along with the turbine exhaust pipe exiting the near side nacelle, I was measuring four G’s on my panel accelerometer and depressing my control stick microphone switch.

Mooney M20E

Unfamiliarity and distractions nearly result in a gear up

I Can't Believe I Did That

About that time, another beeping noise could be heard over the buzzing in my headset. “What’s that?” I asked. “I’m not sure,” was the reply. Now we were about a mile and a half from the runway. Thankfully Philip did his GUMP check. Gas, undercarriage. Then we both noticed where that other beeping noise was coming from.

Opinion

You’ll always be a student and some advice for aspiring professional pilots

As I manuevered toward the field, I realized we were too high. As I glanced at the moving map - a luxury I did not have during my Private training - the G1000 revealed a grass strip right underneath us. In no time, I positioned myself for a landing and completed the simulated emergency successfully. Now it was time for pattern work.

CFI with student

How That Proverbial Hamburger Could Save You $100, and a Lot More

Retention makes the difference between success and failure in the classroom. Retention is driven mainly by emotional and psychological engagement. Your brain must be perfectly and correctly stimulated for you to learn something. Information delivered at a trickling garden hose pace will have you falling asleep at your desk.

descent into clouds

As flight instructors we must continue to innovate

I tried the “Leans” on a pilot whom I was teaching and suggested that if he saw me lean left or right, he was to take the cue that he had to turn. And if he felt pressure on the rudder pedals, it was me getting his attention for him not using the rudder. And if I was leaning forward towards the yoke, well, that gets obvious in a hurry.

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