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Articles by Serrhel Adams

Articles by Serrhel Adams

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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…

Occluded front radar image

The Weather Geek: occlusions, a bad time to fly

Occlusions don’t happen too frequently. I guess I might have had to deal with a dozen or so in 57 years of flying. But when one does present itself, you can get a better ride if you know what is going on and make a plan to avoid the worst of it.

Going out on top

In this frank and personal article, Collins says he decided to "stop [flying PIC] with satisfaction" at age 74. His last flight was a good one, but "limiting flights to good weather took all the challenge and fun out of my flying. To me, dealing with inclement weather in light airplanes is one of the most interesting things that a pilot can do."

Flight Risk Assessment Tool

John’s blog: risk management is a sham

Risk Management in its current form is a sham, a feel-good phrase that is popular precisely because its meaning is so elastic. Just like “I want better schools” and “I support a strong America,” everyone is in favor of it until it comes time to define what it actually means and how to do it.

Cessna 310

50 years ago in Air Facts: Double Trouble?

In this groundbreaking article, first published in the July 1965 edition of Air Facts, Richard Collins raised the question--heretical at the time--of whether twin engine airplanes really were any safer than singles. His cogent, well-researched argument started a debate that rages to this day.

Cessna 150 Checklist

Is your checklist really necessary?

Do you really need a massive checklist to fly a single pilot Seminole or Duchess? From the time a student first steps into an aircraft, he should not have to rely on a checklist as a crutch. Checklists are indeed a Good Thing in the big jets, but I sometimes wonder are they really necessary in light aircraft?

Crosswind landing

Technique Geek: crosswind landings

Crosswind landings are a real challenge and making a perfect one is every bit as satisfying as a flawless ILS to minimums or a graceful eight-point roll. As a student I had a hard time learning to do them and later, as an instructor, I had a hard time teaching them. You simply can’t talk as fast as you have to think when landing in a gusty crosswind.

John’s Blog

The aviation community is alive and well

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.”

The Starlink era is here—will we regret it?

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.

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

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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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.

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.

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.

Opinion

ADS-Fee?

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!

A Different Kind of Pilot Decision—Choosing Not to Fly

I was there, Opinion

In my airplane, I am the source of reliability—or unreliability. The flight doesn’t leave without me. If I don’t like the weather, I don’t go. If I need to divert, I can. I choose my departure time. I build in margins. And most importantly, I have the authority—and practice—to say “no.”

What the Sky Taught Me

Small airports hold a peculiar magic—they exist in the present moment while preserving a vision from long ago. For decades, I watched small aircraft come and go from these little strips, until at 49, that pull became a question I couldn't ignore: what was I missing by staying on the ground? What relationships—what dialogue—awaited me in the sky?

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I Can’t Believe I Did That

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I Was There

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