![Los Angeles Flight Watch](https://media.airfactsjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/06180957/los_angeles_fss_flight_watch1976.jpg)
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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…
![Los Angeles Flight Watch](https://media.airfactsjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/06180957/los_angeles_fss_flight_watch1976.jpg)
![Garmin G1000](https://media.airfactsjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/06181023/G1000.jpg)
A tale of two panels
OpinionI’ve always loved gadgets, so when our flying club purchased a 2005 Cessna 172SP with a G1000 panel (which the club immediately upgraded to WAAS) and autopilot late in 2009 I was thrilled. I had new toys to learn how to use and to play with—what could be more fun? A small minority of my fellow club members, however, was less than thrilled. A few even declared, “Round gauges are better.”
![Camp David airspace](https://media.airfactsjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/06180958/P-40.gif)
Dick’s blog: F-15 v. Cherokee
Dick's blogThe Labor Day weekend was a busy one over our house. Back in the good old days, when the traffic pattern at the Frederick (Maryland) airport was perpetually full, general aviation airplanes filled the sky overhead. With air traffic down, that is no longer true. This Labor Day there was a lot going on but it involved F-15s, probably from some state’s Air Guard. Because of the proximity to 9/11, and because the President was at Camp David, they had air cover like I haven’t seen in a long while.
![A380 cockpit](https://media.airfactsjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/06181001/A380-cockpit.jpg)
The Great Debate: autopilot addiction?
DebateThe loss of control of an Airbus A330 over the Atlantic has led to calls for more hands on (as opposed to autopilot) training for airline crews. This subject has recently gotten a lot of attention in the press. Much ado about nothing or a real problem?
![Stall training](https://media.airfactsjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/06181003/Stall.png)
The Great Debate: stall training
DebateThis is the first in a series of questions we'll be posing to our readers. We'd like to hear your opinions on various aviation topics, so write away. Just enter your comments below--there's no need to sign up.
Question: Most inadvertent stalls that result in serious accidents occur at an altitude too low for a recovery. Do you think this means that practicing stalls at altitude is a waste of time?
![On top of the clouds in a Citabria](https://media.airfactsjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/06181017/Citabria-on-top.jpg)
Cross country at 26,000 ft. and 500 ft.
I was thereTwo recent trips reinforced for me both the potential and the limitations of using general aviation airplanes for transportation. In many ways, they could not have been more different: the first flight was in a Pilatus PC-12 at 26,000 ft., the second in a Citabria at 500 ft. But while the equipment was quite different, the result was the same: a successful trip of 400+ nautical miles between cities poorly served by the airlines, and more or less on my schedule.
John’s Blog
![Cessna 172](https://media.airfactsjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/06161032/C172ExternalLanding.jpg)
What matters for VFR proficiency: better landings
John's blogEarlier this year I argued that if IFR pilots wanted to prevent accidents, they should focus on the most boring of skills: basic attitude instrument flying. Now it’s time to look at VFR pilots, and to spare you the suspense, the answer is similarly prosaic: loss of control on landing damages more airplanes than any other accident scenario. What can be done?
![PC-12 crash track](https://media.airfactsjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/19161538/PC-12-crash-track-495x400.jpg)
Ignore the YouTube crash detectives—it’s usually pilot error
John's blogWhen a high performance airplane crashes in IMC, the self-proclaimed experts on social media quickly spin elaborate theories about autopilot failure, in-flight icing, structural failure, carbon monoxide poisoning, or some other incredibly rare cause. It makes for good entertainment (“hit that subscribe button!”) but the reality is usually much less interesting and much more depressing.
![Flight instruction](https://media.airfactsjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/09101641/dual-instruction-copy-495x400.jpg)
Why learning to fly can be good for your mental health
John's blogAmericans seem to be especially gloomy right now, according to a popular book and a report from the US Surgeon General. There are no miracle cures, but becoming a pilot can provide many of the positive experiences these experts recommend. No, I’m not suggesting the federal government mandate flight training to make American teenagers happy, but consider the following.
I Can’t Believe I Did That
![Citabria on grass runway](https://media.airfactsjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/06174505/Citabria-takeoff-on-grass.jpg)
The time when I almost landed short
I Can't Believe I Did ThatThe 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](https://media.airfactsjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/06101838/172-in-grass-1-495x400.jpg)
Centerline, centerline, centerline
I Can't Believe I Did ThatThe 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.
![](https://media.airfactsjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/29112829/warren-anderson-extra-495x400.jpg)
A dead stick landing and a chance encouter with Hal Shevers
I Can't Believe I Did ThatAt about 1,500 feet hawking the wind sock to determine my landing runway. The UNICOM frequency was quiet and I saw no other planes in the pattern. I turned away to re-enter on a 45 degree downwind. As I banked back to the field came a startling assault of silence. The engine quit—politely and with no shudder—it simply stopped running. I was a glider.
Opinion
![cruise flight](https://media.airfactsjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/31140254/CRUISE-495x400.jpg)
Cruise Checklist, Complete?
OpinionMonitoring your engine gauges is sort of a systems-level skill which is part of every primary curriculum. But most of the focus is on takeoff; hopefully, you’ve been taught to stare at the gauges when you line up on the runway in case you must abort because one of them doesn’t look right. Yet just because your engine is acting normally on takeoff doesn’t guarantee it will in flight, right?
![New Cessna 172](https://media.airfactsjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/06180355/new-172-2.jpg)
So maybe there was a real purpose in flying that day
OpinionAfter I was current again and reasonably proficient, the 16-year-old son of some friends asked if he could go up with me. I said he could, but only if his parents were very clear as to my experience, the record of the flying club, the kind of plane we’d be flying, Vx, Vy, everything. They gave an enthusiastic thumbs up and we had a great flight.
![Windsock](https://media.airfactsjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/06155020/wind_sock_at_airport_by_geekophelia-dchvg8b.jpg)
Wind is More than a Number
OpinionThose little hills made for fiendish turbulence down low. The lower I got, the worse it became. I’m stubborn and I kept thinking it’s just 20 knots, and I’m a CFI (beating chest). Until I was porpoising down the runway like a first-time student. I went around the pattern a few times but finally got a clue and decided to go elsewhere.
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Did you know that most of the articles at Air Facts are written by readers like you? You do not have to be Richard Collins or Ernest Gann – simply a GA pilot with a story you’d share with friends sitting in the hangar.