Friday Photo: Cincinnati from a Caravan

They call it the office with a view, and for freight pilots that means a lot of night views. For Peter Schmotzer, a beautiful view of the Ohio River snaking through Cincinnati at night was just another day at the office. At least when your office is a Cessna Caravan.
Purvis helicopter

The forgotten story of the first helicopter patent ever issued

With the investors’ money, two 7-hp motors were obtained and mounted, and a flying demonstration was planned in the town square. What happened next has been the subject of considerable speculation, some more fanciful than others. All of it is unsubstantiated and has become part of the local folklore.

The most important bags aren’t suitcases

I had a gurgling feeling in my stomach that meant only one thing and it would happen soon. I didn’t have a bag handy so I told Mike who was in the right seat "your controls," took off my headset, opened the window and let it all hang out. The wind pulled my sunglasses off my face and gravity took them to the ground below never to be seen again.
R44 hovering

What’s wrong with Robinson R44 pilots?

Robinson R44 helicopters are death traps, right up there with Mitsubishi MU-2s and Cirrus SR22s - at least that’s according to a lot of articles you read online. But does it tell the whole story? In the spirit of Richard Collins’s very popular “What’s wrong with Cirrus/Mooney/Bonanza pilots” series of articles, I’d like to offer a more nuanced perspective.

Friday Photo: steam gauges or glass?

Pilots often argue whether new digital displays are better or worse than traditional round instruments. This photo from EAA AirVenture adds a new twist to the long-running debate. At least in this case, the younger generation is voting for glass!
Jumpseat

What are the chances? Jumpseating to get married

Jumpseating for free (a great pilot privilege) was the way to go! In addition, when we sat up front, we found it fun and interesting to see how pilots at the other airlines do things. So, we thought nothing of it when we decided on a Hawaiian beach wedding for $800 all-in. We planned on jumpseating there.
Thunderstorm cloud

“No complaints” – how I stumbled into a thunderstorm

I asked NorCal if there were any ride reports over the mountains. “No complaints,” replied the controller. We went into the clouds about over PXN VOR. No big deal. We were just bumping along V301, in and out of the clouds at first, then solid IMC. In the clouds it was just light chop, and my little Piper pretty much just flew herself, even without an autopilot. Then the world suddenly went mad.

Go or No Go: how do you define scud running?

After a long Christmas break, it's time to return to your home south of Seattle, Washington. The flight from Ocean Shores Airport (W04) to Pierce County Airport (PLU) is an easy 30-minute flight in your Cirrus SR22 - much better than a two and a half hour drive. But as always, the weather may spoil your plans.
Bryce Canyon Airport

Hope is a bad plan in an airplane

I graduated up the GA performance hierarchy through the usual suspects like the Piper Archer and the Cessna 182. But it was buying an RV-4 with an O-320 and a constant speed prop that freed me from all the pedestrian performance concerns of pilots flying lesser airplanes. Or so I thought.

Friday Photo: on top in a Cirrus

It had been a long day already - 2 hour flight training in Naples and then dodging thunderstorms in southern GA on my way to Louisville. The peace in that view was a welcome sight which relaxed me before I arrived in Louisville with a 40 KT blow from 290, forcing me to abandon 2 approaches at KLOU and divert to KSDF.
SkyMax airplane

A new aircraft – and a new dimension to air travel

One day it dawned on me that if the aviation industry would develop a large airplane that gives passengers a panoramic view, it would lay the foundation for a new dimension to air travel. But engineering an airplane like that is nearly impossible given the purpose of commercial air travel which is to provide transportation, nothing else.
Clipped wing Cub

The day my life changed – my first flight

On a crisp, clear winter morning in early January 1997, I took in my first whiff of 100LL fuel on the ramp at Watsonville Airport. My CFI let me fumble that morning with my own unfamiliar movements around the little flying machine. Tripping over the mains and bumping my head on the sharp trailing edge of that Reed Clipped Wing taught me quickly how to move about the preflight.
Air Traffic Control

Flying into Y2K

As I was thinking about the Y2K panic it dawned on me that the FAA and its computers all operate on a single time—Zulu. That meant Y2K would arrive at 7 pm eastern time on the Zulu clock. If the ATC system were going to blowup it would happen then. So I decided that was the perfect time to be in the air and flying in the system.

Friday Photo: a wingtip rainbow in Colombia

When you're practicing aerobatics, it helps to have a good visual reference for your maneuvers. Santiago Arbelaez found the perfect one on a flight in his RV-4 - a vivid rainbow off the right wing. Here's hoping 2019 brings you many spectacular views like this from the cockpit.

Reader question: what’s your 2019 flying resolution?

2019 is just around the corner, and many pilots take the time to make a flying resolution for the new year. We'd like to hear from you - what's your aviation goal for 2019? Do you want to fly more, add a rating, get current, check out in a new airplane, or maybe fly to Oshkosh? Add your comment below - and be sure to tell us how you plan to keep yourself honest.
Braniff Convair

From the archives: Len Morgan on the personal stories a pilot sees

Most airline flights involve simply moving people and things from point A to point B, but sometimes an airline pilot gets a view of the human side. In this touching article by Len Morgan, the legendary pilot and authro shares a memorable flight that shows how powerful air travel can be and the lives it can connect. This article originally appeared in the November 1956 edition of Air Facts.

Friday Photo: Merry Christmas from a floatplane

My loving wife let me implement "my Retirement Plan" a little early and purchase this airplane this past fall. I raised two US Marines, hence the USMC mascot - and yes Rock has been flying as well for the past 8 years! I will be offering seaplane instruction soon.
Cessna 150

Elevator failure at 4500 feet in a Cessna 150

The aircraft started bouncing around pitching up and down. I asked the student what he was doing. He responded, “I can’t control the plane!” I immediately took over and, looking around, I noticed that the left elevator was flapping up and down uncontrollably.
The crash site

Remembering a Christmas tragedy 50 years later

During the holiday season of 1968, in an isolated Pennsylvania community, Allegheny Airlines’ professionalism, safety culture and luck would abandon the airline to a sequence of events no fiction writer could invent. And the echo of those tragedies continues to resonate a half century later.
Surgeons

From zero to hero – every professional was once an amateur

In aviation, a newly minted private pilot is given some of the same responsibilities and authorizations shared by their 30,000 hour ATP counterparts. I see many similarities to the newly graduated surgeon working among his more seasoned peers with 20 years of experience and thousands of operations under their belts.