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Joel Turpin

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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…

Will the real Harold Neff please stand up?

Was Harold Neff a pioneering airmail pilot, a record-setting charter airline pilot, an Air Force Colonel or a regular general aviation pilot? As it turns out, all four. Here's the fascinating story, from a man who knew at least one of them.

The Great Debate: are air shows dying?

Air shows have been slowly fading for the past few decades, mirroring the overall decline in general aviation. This year, the federal government has dealt the final blow, thanks to the budget sequestration. Are air shows a dying species? Join our debate.

Farhad Kashani

I Can’t Believe I Did That #9

I Can't Believe I Did That

Last February, on a weekend, I decided to take a flight from Tehran to Shiraz, in the south of Iran. I asked my instructor pilot and friend to accompany me. We encountered a heavy headwind up to 30 knots and fuel quickly became an issue.

License to Learn, part 3: forty hours and final

In the third and final article in this series, 18-year old pilot Kyle Libby shares the story of his checkride, including some great tips for student pilots. He also explains how earning his license changed his perspective.

Wrecks and recession: is there a connection?

The question I have relates to serious accident activity in general aviation. We all know that the accident rate does not vary by much so the number of fatal accidents tells us a lot about flying activity. What has happened here during the economic collapse and rebound and the general aviation collapse without a rebound?

DC-6, N6103C

Eggs to Caracas, Venezuela

Eggs. Who knew there would be a need to fly eggs from Florida to Venezuela? In this case, it was 28,800 pounds of eggs each flight, every night for weeks. Here is the story as it occurred in the summer of 1977.

John’s Blog

The pros and the cons: Cirrus SR22

Cirrus had a controversial reputation early on, and to this day it’s the butt of some jokes. But it’s also the best selling piston airplane in the world for 20 years straight, a lone bright spot among small airplane companies who otherwise seem to be surviving on a few big flight school orders. And as I’ve repeatedly observed, the most vocal Cirrus critics are usually the ones who have never flown one.

Christmas reading list: 24 books for pilots to read in 2024

Six years after my last list, I still hate social media and I still love books, so I’m back with more recommendations—24 good aviation books for 2024. This is an eclectic mix, so I don’t expect readers to love every suggestion, but I believe there’s something for pilots to learn from almost any book, even if it doesn’t relate to aviation directly.

Weather flying means learning to read clouds

Whether I’m flying IFR or VFR, most weather decisions come down to looking at clouds and trying to figure out what they are trying to say. Is that weather convective or just harmless showers? Will the ride be bumpy or smooth? Can I top that cell? Is there ice in that cloud layer? The answer almost always depends on what the clouds look like.

View John’s Blog

I Can’t Believe I Did That

How I failed my IFR Practical Test Twice

I Can't Believe I Did That

I decided after two attempts to not take the Instrument practical again. The examiner was gracious and realized that, being over 55, I did not have plans for commercial flying and certainly not airlines (ATP). He reminded me it is not easy to stay current with an Instrument Rating and flying IFR by yourself can be challenging even for the most proficient pilot, especially if you do not have an autopilot.

Citabria on grass runway

The time when I almost landed short

I Can't Believe I Did That

The plane was perhaps 50 feet above the ground, but at least there was a smooth gravel under-run and the wheel pants were off. I had just enough energy to flare with a soft touchdown. I prepared myself for landing short. What an embarrassing end to the second leg of my Private pilot solo long cross-country.

airplane in grass

Centerline, centerline, centerline

I Can't Believe I Did That

The gusting wind from the east returns, pushing the aircraft toward the right side of the runway. In a matter of a few seconds, the grass infield fills my windshield. I didn’t get the thumb into the wind and I didn’t immediately get on the left rudder pedal to steer us back to the centerline. Years of training ignored in an instant which means we are now headed into the infield.

Opinion

The NTSB Got It Wrong on TWA Flight 841

For the event described by the NTSB to have happened, the wing flaps had to be extended at 39,000 feet. This takes hydraulic power which creates a substantial amount of noise from the hydraulic operating pumps. Most passengers have heard this when the flaps are extended during ground taxi. The noise is just as noticeable at high altitude.

Ask Mr. Pilot

This informative little column answers questions from non-pilots, and helps them understand the strange world of the “aileron,” the “empennage,” NOTAMs and even the word “niner.”

gear up landing

Do Crash Videos Make Us Safer Pilots?

Do you really need a YouTube expert to remind you of the dangers of flying into known icing conditions? How about thunderstorms? Flying at night over mountainous terrain in hard IMC? Yeah, I didn’t think so. In fact, if you read the comments section of a lot of these videos (please don’t read the comments section), you’ll find that there are more non-pilots than real ones. They either found the video out of morbid curiosity, or they just got lost (hey, it happens).

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