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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…
![The smog of LA](https://media.airfactsjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/06181024/smog.jpg)
![Night flying](https://media.airfactsjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/06181027/13-Cessna-414-Cockpit-Night.jpg)
Opinion: NTSB’s ten most wanted list
Opinion“Improve general aviation safety” is on a recently issued National Transportation Safety Board list of ten things that it wants to do. Funny they should mention that. It was on my father’s list when he started Air Facts in 1938, it has been on my list since I joined him in 1958, and I guess you would now say that it is on my bucket list.
![Hurricane](https://media.airfactsjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/06181035/hurricane.jpg)
Hurricane, inside
History"This remarkable account of a remarkable flight first appeared in the January, 1945, issue of Air Facts. Hurricanes haven't changed a bit but hurricane research flying sure has." –Ed. The airplane we use is a B-17, but it's a lot different from most 17s. The turrets are off and so are the guns and the armament, and instead there is a lot of test equipment that we don't talk about out loud.
![RNAV (GPS) approach at Mount Snow](https://media.airfactsjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/06181037/RNAV-chart.jpg)
Skunked at Mount Snow–again
I was thereA late June family wedding was to take place in West Dover, Vermont, at a location about a mile from the Mount Snow Airport. I have had a love/hate relationship with this airport for years. It’s the only airport that I have been unable to get into a whopping 75 percent of the time. Weather, wind, and runway conditions—or a combination thereof—have all stymied my attempts to land there over the last 15 years.
![Sopwith Camel](https://media.airfactsjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/06181041/Camel.jpg)
Power to the people
HistoryBirds did it. Bees did it. Even uneducated fleas did it. But every time a man strapped wings to his arms and stepped into the void, he simply ended up splattering himself. It felt as though winged creatures mocked mankind for mocking them. Then one day in 1809 a man stood up and did what any wealthy guy does when he keeps losing a game: he changed the rules.
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Leaving a legacy that changes lives
OpinionMany people in our industry are compelled to share the aviation experience with others for the sheer joy of bringing them into this unique world. Others take it a step farther and reach out to those who, through some unfortunately circumstance, want to be involved but can’t. Charles Stites is one of those people.
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.