Mooney landing

What’s wrong with Mooney pilots?

I have found that the safety record of an airplane relates more to who flies it and what they try to do with it than anything else. Maybe the pilot is 90 percent of the equation and the airplane ten. When thinking of it in this way, the Mooney 20 series is by far the most diverse airplane in the fleet.
Wirraway

Thrills awaiting a flight instructor

By now we had lost several thousands of feet as expected, after starting off at 8000 feet. There was no answer from the front seat so I attempted to take control, only to find the controls jammed in the pro-spin positions.

Some thoughts on landings

I was TERRIBLE at landings. Not just bad--TERRIBLE. I either stalled the plane at three to five feet (or more) above the runway or drove right into it. My airspeed control was marginal. My sight picture was non-existent. Here's how I got better.

The approach plate olympics – more crazy charts

Everybody loves a good approach plate. At least Air Facts readers do. After we shared seven bizarre instrument approach charts last year, we had hundreds of positive comments and numerous requests for more. As we like to say here, the readers are PIC, so here we will indulge your desire for more torturous procedures.

The flight of a lifetime

Flying in a light aircraft has its risks and rewards just like any other endeavor. We all know that the risks can be considerable, but what about the rewards? Are they worth the risks? This flight, complete with pictures and video suggests they are.
Richard Back

Richard Bach and Air Facts: long time ago…

In the summer of 1960 a 24-year old Air Force jet fighter pilot, Richard Bach, submitted an unsolicited article to Air Facts. It was the beginning of an incredible writing career. Here, Dick Collins tells Bach's story and we republish his very first Air Facts article.

Night flying: out of our element

As much as we romanticize night flight, it's not something most pilots do very often. It's foreign territory, and the poor accident records backs this up. So what can we do to fly safer at night? Let's consider terrain, spatial disorientation, weather, fuel and fatigue.

Going solo: a eureka moment

My first trip in the air force trainer of the period, the Chipmunk, was a revelation. As I subsequently wrote home to my mother that evening, “I had my first trip today. It was easy. I think I am a natural pilot.” It wasn’t until later that I found out that following through on the controls whilst listening to an explanation of their effects can’t really be called flying.
Airport at PA88

The Hungry Pilot: Nemacolin Resort, PA

This large hotel and resort has its own private airport, just steps from the lobby. Fly in for a good burger or a elegant French dinner--there are plenty of options at Nemacolin.
Wright Flyer turning

Warp speed: birth of an aileron

Instead of shifting its weight to right itself, as every bird-watching, would-be aeronaut assumed their winged subjects did, the buzzards flexed one wingtip up and the opposite down. Could there be a more unlikely, less romantic bird to bestow the gift of flight upon humanity?
Risk dice

The risky moments: when decisions go bad

Everyone who writes about aviation safety eventually comes around to the subject of risk management. The FAA wants CFIs to teach it using checklists, which is hardly realistic. The simple truth is that risk management can be done only through a deal the pilot makes with self.
Fuel gauges low

Knowing your true airspeed for fuel management

I have a healthy fear of running out of fuel and I do everything I can to be sure there is fuel left in the tank when I land. One of the best improvements I made had nothing to do with the airplane at all, but instead was a cheat sheet for quickly finding True Airspeed to trim the airplane and to determine engine fuel flow.

Go or no go – en route decision

Richard Collins has famously said there's really no such thing as a single go/no go decision. Rather, weather flying can be seen as a series of "continue flying or land short" decisions. Tonight is a perfect example. After a long weekend with friends in Hilton Head, SC (HXD), you're headed home to suburban Atlanta (RYY).
CFI pointing to panel

Thoughts on training vs. education

“You train for things you know are going to happen. You educate for the things you can’t anticipate.” Most of us use the term “train” to mean everything we pay for in order to get a license or rating. But the reality is that the respective approaches to training and educating are very different.

Like son, like father?

Flying has become much more than just operating an airplane; it is something that my son and I share together. It is our uninterrupted time together and well worth the expense.
Six pack instruments

Weird winds or something more serious?

I had read plenty of articles just like this one before my unusual flight happened. It always seems so obvious until you're actually there, in the situation. Luckily, in my case, we got home safe, and after the disappointment passed, I learned just a little more to make me a better pilot.

Have we won the safety battle?

Here's a number that should be on the front page of every major newspaper: 224. That's how many people died--worldwide--in airline crashes last year. Around 3 billion people flew on airlines last year, which makes 224 a simply incredible number.

What has the FAA done for (to) you?

I was challenged to write something like this a while back and spent time looking at blank screens before finally formulating an idea. The challenge was to write about the good, but I feel compelled to write about some of the good and the bad.

Two very different types of flying

For most of us amateurs and professionals, flying involves risk management. While boating has its own satisfactions (and accidents), the reward-risk level in aviation is substantially higher, and this to me indicates that aviation attracts people who are more likely to be “risk-takers.”

Lost pilot on frequency

It was July 2, 1974, and my wife Mary Ann and I were flying home from Salilsaw, Oklahoma where we had dropped off an employee's children. I was just north of Guthrie, Oklahoma; it was early evening and near sundown. We had our Beech Debonair cruising in smooth air at 7500 feet when a call came over 122.8. "This is Cessna NN; can anybody hear me?"