The Altar of Safety: does the FAA know it all or does it know anything?

The FAA has rediscovered the fact that the general aviation safety record is not good many times. Each time, they come up with things that need to be done to shape us up. In the latest utterance the FAA proposes seat belt air bags, angle of attack instrumentation and two-axis autopilots.

My 2013 Sun ‘n Fun adventure

New author Dennis Long shares his Spring flying adventure, as he flew his light sport aircraft nearly 1900 miles in just over 21 hours--all for $400 in fuel. Ride with him as he visits numerous airports throughout the southeast US and Florida, including a stop at Sun 'n Fun.

Go or No Go: home from the Bahamas

After a relaxing week of vacation in the Out Islands of the Bahamas, it's now time to head home. The good news is your Cirrus SR22 is a capable machine, and you should be landing in Ft. Pierce to clear customs about an hour and a half after takeoff. The bad news is your secluded beachfront villa is totally disconnected from the outside world.
Stearman Field Bar and Grill

The Hungry Pilot: Stearman Field Bar & Grill

The food and surroundings are always great and Saturday and Sunday breakfast are especially fun because many times the locally-based customers are out with their Stearmans, Pitts, Extras, etc. and the airplane activity is fun to watch. Try it sometime--you won't be disappointed.

The weight – and the balance

The video of the 747 crashing after takeoff from Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan is hard to watch. As pilots will do, after watching the video I came up with an idea on what I thought might have happened.

5 things general aviation needs right now

General aviation isn't dying, it's just changing. To successfully navigate this major transition, we need to face up to some critical issues, like avgas, NextGen and certification. We also need to look in the mirror.

I Can’t Believe I Did That #6

Growing up in Ohio, the phrase, "if you don’t like the weather, wait a while and it’ll change," is quite common. As pilots venturing to new places, we may want to pay extra attention whenever we hear locals chatting about weird or sudden weather changes they have witnessed.

From the archives: Molt Taylor on flying cars

This article, published in the January 1959 edition of Air Facts, shows just how long we've been talking about flying cars. Molt Taylor was perhaps the most successful (or least unsuccessful) flying car entrepreneur of the last century. Many of the questions he asked are still being asked today about the Terrafugia Transition and other flying car concepts.

License to Learn: ground to solo

In order to have a robust general aviation community, we need to learn from all participants, not just those multi-thousand hour pilots. Here 18-year old Kyle Libby, a new pilot, shares his insight into the training process and his flight training experience. His perspective offers a lot to think about for more experienced pilots.
Eclipse 500

The dream v. the reality: it’s a tough world

It might also be true in other areas, but it has always seemed to me that general aviation is littered with more broken dreams than any other field. As an observer for about 60 years, the length of the list of failed projects amazed me when I wrote down the ones that I remember.

Top tip: get a “big picture” weather briefing

Checking the weather is one of the few constants in aviation. Pilots of all experience levels do it, whether it's a trip around the pattern in a Cub or a trip across the Atlantic in a Gulfstream. But how do you get a good weather briefing? Is a look at the current METAR enough?

A revolution in remanufactured airplanes

Have we seen the last clean sheet piston airplane? It's a fair question given the current state of new airplane sales. But a handful of new companies may point to an alternative--remanufactured airplanes that are as good as new ones for half the price.
ADS-B system diagram

The Great Debate: is ADS-B good or bad?

Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) is an awkward phrase that was virtually unknown to pilots just a few years ago. Today, as the 2020 deadline approaches for equipping with ADS-B Out pilots are starting to learn what this new system really entails. But not everyone likes what they see.
Urbana

The Hungry Pilot: Airport Cafe, Urbana, Ohio

With this article we are launching our latest feature, called simply "The Hungry Pilot." We'll highlight the best airport restaurants, from small town diners right on the runway to five star establishments within walking distance of an airport. As usual with Air Facts, we want to hear from you, too.

I Can’t Believe I Did That #5

December 4, 1995, a little over a year since earning our instrument ratings, my dad and I found ourselves flying in dark clouds in our club’s Grumman Tiger. We had departed Cleveland Cuyahoga County airport in Ohio and were now en route to Dunkirk in upstate New York where we would make a brief stop then fly on to Jamestown, New York for lunch.

Fly safely – think like a golfer

At first glance, flying small airplanes and chasing a tiny white ball around a golf course seem like completely different activities. But while the stakes are certainly higher in aviation--nobody ever died from a bogey--I think there's a lot for pilots to learn from elite golfers.

Make a case for your airplane

We asked the Air Facts community to share with us why they bought the airplane they did and why this was the right choice for them. We heard from William “Pete” Hodges of Spotsylvania, Virginia, who made the case for his 1968 Cherokee PA28-140. Here’s Pete’s case.

The Cessna OE-2: a mishmash military model

In 1954, just after the cessation of hostilities in the Korean war, the Marines wanted an improved model of Cessna’s L-19 Army Liaison/Observation airplane. The Marines only wanted a few of these good airplanes, and they were willing to pay--quite a bit more--for them.
N40RC

The perfect copilot–of many years

I took Ann for her first ever airplane ride on May 30, 1956, in my Piper Pacer. I had been flying for five years then. A couple of years later we got married and she had really signed on. I took her for her final airplane ride on August 19, 2007.

Accentuate the positive!

Spend enough time reading this site or any other aviation publication, and you’ll eventually get to the articles or comments sections stating how there just simply isn’t enough interest in general aviation for it to survive. Instead, why don’t we ask ourselves what we can do to improve the flying experience?