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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

    Chris Schaich

    Articles by Chris Schaich

    NEW ARTICLES

    OUR MOST RECENT POSTS

    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…

    Close encounters

    I was there
    I have been flying small airplanes on and off for several decades. I have had close calls before. They tend to happen quickly. I had never had two close calls inside of 20 minutes before that particular Sunday.
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    9 Comments
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    May 14, 2014
    https://media.airfactsjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/06173416/AFcollisionfeature.jpg 280 520 Dan Littmann https://media.airfactsjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/03140241/AF_Logo_24.png Dan Littmann2014-05-14 15:13:142014-05-15 10:06:08Close encounters

    76-year crash course: is only the good news fit to print?

    Dick's blog
    If talking about safety is an aeronautical sin, meet the two biggest perps, my father, Leighton Collins, and myself. Guilty as charged since February, 1938, when AIR FACTS started.
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    26 Comments
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    May 12, 2014
    https://media.airfactsjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/06173418/afcrashcoursefeature.jpg 280 520 Richard Collins https://media.airfactsjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/03140241/AF_Logo_24.png Richard Collins2014-05-12 11:20:562017-09-11 18:44:2476-year crash course: is only the good news fit to print?

    “Well, you are one!”

    I was there
    As we landed, my examiner said, “Well, you are one!” which I took to mean either you are a PILOT or you are a REAL SOB. Best not to ask, I thought. We walked back to the FBO, where my flight instructor was pacing like an expectant father.
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    13 Comments
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    May 7, 2014
    https://media.airfactsjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/06173423/afcheckridefeature.jpg 280 520 Graf Hilgenhurst https://media.airfactsjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/03140241/AF_Logo_24.png Graf Hilgenhurst2014-05-07 11:34:022014-05-07 11:38:38“Well, you are one!”
    R22 autorotation

    So, there we were…

    I was there
    Autorotations are maneuvers that sound and look really scary to the non-pilot. Before I started my training, I had watched many YouTube videos on the subject. I was pretty nervous about my first one. After all, this is an emergency procedure. And an emergency in an aircraft is never a good thing.
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    4 Comments
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    May 5, 2014
    https://media.airfactsjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/06173428/r22-auto-2.jpg 1080 1920 Douglas Williams https://media.airfactsjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/03140241/AF_Logo_24.png Douglas Williams2014-05-05 17:17:322014-05-05 17:17:32So, there we were…

    Debate: has the iPad made pilots safer?

    Debate
    The iPad, originally dismissed as a novelty, has now become an essential part of many pilots' flight bags, whether student pilot or airline pro. But have all these features actually made flying safer?
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    45 Comments
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    May 2, 2014
    https://media.airfactsjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/06173431/AFipadfeature.jpg 280 520 Air Facts Staff https://media.airfactsjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/03140241/AF_Logo_24.png Air Facts Staff2014-05-02 15:28:562014-05-02 15:30:09Debate: has the iPad made pilots safer?

    Managing risk in flying: cognitive traps!

    Technique
    The most critical skill in aviation safety is making good decisions, both before flight when time is plentiful and in flight when circumstances change and we may be rushed. The ability to generate and decide between diverse options (often with incomplete information and in the crunch) is essential to mitigate risk and achieve a safe outcome.
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    20 Comments
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    May 1, 2014
    https://media.airfactsjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/06173434/afradarfeature.jpg 280 520 David St. George https://media.airfactsjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/03140241/AF_Logo_24.png David St. George2014-05-01 12:34:502016-11-09 14:30:23Managing risk in flying: cognitive traps!
    Page 373 of 439«‹371372373374375›»

    John’s Blog

    The aviation community is alive and well

    John's blog
    Before the expletive could even leave my mouth, one of the FBO employees offered to lend me the crew car. I assumed the crew car option would be impossible, or at least impossibly bad manners, since the round trip would be nearly two hours and the FBO was closing soon. But he wouldn’t hear it: “take all the time you need and just drop the keys off with the night security guard. We appreciate your business.”
    Read more
    25 Comments
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    June 2, 2025
    https://media.airfactsjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/27151312/The-aviation-community-is-alive-and-well.png 1000 1250 John Zimmerman https://media.airfactsjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/03140241/AF_Logo_24.png John Zimmerman2025-06-02 08:54:432025-05-27 16:38:00The aviation community is alive and well

    The Starlink era is here—will we regret it?

    John's blog
    This promises to be a major advancement in cockpit technology, with benefits for pilots and passengers alike. But before diving headfirst into the Starlink pool, it would be wise to pause for just a moment and contemplate what we might lose. Don’t worry, I’m no Luddite and I’m not here to scare anyone away from an exciting new gadget. I am, however, an observer with enough experience to have seen technological breakthroughs bring unintended consequences. I fear that may happen here.
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    27 Comments
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    April 9, 2025
    https://media.airfactsjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/17123837/Copy-of-The-Starlink-era-is-here%E2%80%94will-we-regret-it.png 1000 1300 John Zimmerman https://media.airfactsjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/03140241/AF_Logo_24.png John Zimmerman2025-04-09 08:55:152025-04-17 12:38:45The Starlink era is here—will we regret it?

    Pilot’s Bucket List: 11 Must-Do Adventures After Earning Your License

    John's blog
    Everyone's dream list will vary, but let me suggest 11 things that every pilot should do with their license. Call it a bucket list if you want, but I consider it a flight plan for a fulfilling life in the cockpit.
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    55 Comments
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    March 14, 2025
    https://media.airfactsjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/20101002/11-things-to-do-with-your-license.png 1000 1250 John Zimmerman https://media.airfactsjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/03140241/AF_Logo_24.png John Zimmerman2025-03-14 08:55:252025-03-23 14:20:58Pilot’s Bucket List: 11 Must-Do Adventures After Earning Your License
    View John’s Blog

    I Can’t Believe I Did That

    A Quarter Tank and a Prayer

    I Can't Believe I Did That
    I was watching the fuel gauges drop before my eyes. I elected to continue to ECG rather than turn back. I was on a direct course. The Norfolk controller wished me luck—not the most reassuring sign—and handed me off to ECG Tower, who had already been briefed.
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    13 Comments
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    June 20, 2025
    https://media.airfactsjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/20175441/QUARTER-TANK-AND-A-PRAYER.png 1000 1250 Jeff Minck https://media.airfactsjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/03140241/AF_Logo_24.png Jeff Minck2025-06-20 08:55:212025-05-27 15:15:11A Quarter Tank and a Prayer

    Trial by Ice

    I Can't Believe I Did That, I was there
    The most valuable lesson I learned from the “School of Hard Knocks” had nothing to do with weather or instrument flying. The “trial by ice” was a lesson in the awesome responsibility that comes from occupying the left seat of an airplane, regardless of its size. It also taught me to recognize those rare and unusual emergency situations when going by the book is not safe, and when deviating from standard operating procedures or the Federal Air Regulations is not only warranted, but imperative.
    Read more
    31 Comments
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    May 5, 2025
    https://media.airfactsjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/16113809/trial-by-ice.png 1000 1250 Joel Turpin https://media.airfactsjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/03140241/AF_Logo_24.png Joel Turpin2025-05-05 08:10:022025-05-05 08:11:53Trial by Ice

    I Am UNSAFE Checklist—Lessons Learned on a Fateful Night

    I Can't Believe I Did That
    Very soon I was on the approach and thought I could still make 06C.  The ATIS called out the overcast at 800’ AGL, the minimum I needed (mistake #5—not mine, but it counted anyway.)  I held at 800’, assuming I’d see the runway lights below me and then I could continue to 06C.  As I crossed the runway threshold, it was solid IMC and I had to go missed.  I asked the Tower what the current ceiling was, and the response was that the ATIS was old and the ceiling was actually 400’ and you’ll have to go around. 
    Read more
    19 Comments
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    February 28, 2025
    https://media.airfactsjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/14102325/unsafe-checklist.png 1000 1250 Bob Hamilton https://media.airfactsjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/03140241/AF_Logo_24.png Bob Hamilton2025-02-28 08:55:512025-02-14 10:24:30I Am UNSAFE Checklist—Lessons Learned on a Fateful Night
    View ICBIDT

    Opinion

    Mea Culpa: Confessions of a Joyful Pilot

    Opinion
    Over the last several months, I have committed several aviation sins. I once went on a flight without checking the weather. I recently departed without calculating my takeoff distance or obstacle clearance. On more than one occasion, I landed from a non–“stable approach,” being both below and above target approach speeds. I’ve flown non-standard traffic patterns. I’ve flown outside the glide range to the nearest airport. I’ve even flown without talking to ATC or filing a flight plan.
    Read more
    5 Comments
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    July 9, 2025
    https://media.airfactsjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/23135150/mea-culpa.png 1000 1250 Serrhel Adams https://media.airfactsjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/03140241/AF_Logo_24.png Serrhel Adams2025-07-09 08:55:132025-06-23 13:52:53Mea Culpa: Confessions of a Joyful Pilot

    Why I Returned to Stick and Rudder

    Opinion
    When I first read Stick and Rudder, I had just started flying lessons. The lessons were going well, and my curiosity about aviation had turned into full-blown infatuation. I wanted to know everything, so I was consuming everything—magazines old and new, Reddit posts, YouTube videos. Somewhere in a best-of list, I found Stick and Rudder: An Explanation of the Art of Flying, by Wolfgang Langewiesche.
    Read more
    0 Comments
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    July 7, 2025
    https://media.airfactsjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/23131114/returned-to-stick-and-rudder.png 1000 1250 Evan Schaeffer https://media.airfactsjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/03140241/AF_Logo_24.png Evan Schaeffer2025-07-07 08:55:062025-06-23 13:11:50Why I Returned to Stick and Rudder

    ADS-Fee?

    Opinion
    Imagine flying out on a perfect CAVOK day to bathe in all that heavenly glory. Now imagine a few weeks later receiving a bill in the mail for a “landing” fee from an airport you, well, never landed at. Welcome to PLANEPASS!
    Read more
    20 Comments
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    June 16, 2025
    https://media.airfactsjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/20091718/ADS-FEE.png 1000 1250 Alexander Sack https://media.airfactsjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/03140241/AF_Logo_24.png Alexander Sack2025-06-16 08:55:252025-05-27 10:58:00ADS-Fee?
    View Opinion

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