Clouds above airport tower

Stumbling into IMC without a plan

I believe this is where things go bad for well-trained pilots. It’s not that we can’t improvise and come up with new plans, but when we're a little lost and our original plan isn’t working out, we need a few moments to compose a new one. I was in the pattern in IMC, trying to descend well below pattern altitude to get below the scattered clouds while trying to do what I told the tower I would be doing - and also not get in trouble with ATC.

Friday Photo: grass strip fun

Darin Moody and Paul Leadabrand were doing some backcountry flight training in a Kitfox when this photo was taken. As they traded seats on the grass runway at Big Creek airstrip, Paul writes, "Blue jeans, blue sky, and training with your wing man - what could make a better weekend outing?" Not much, we would say.
CFI with student in Cessna

What I learned about instructors during private pilot training

The greatest weakness a student pilot has is that they lack the pilot skills to judge the quality of the super pilot assigned to be their instructor. Before first solo, the new student has all instructors on a throne. The CFI is god-like, certified by the government and endowed with such superior skills that they can “teach ME to fly.”
Turbulence map

3 questions to ask about weather reports

When you consider the big picture, you're really creating a weather hypothesis - an overarching narrative that ties together the various weather reports. Not all weather reports are developed the same way, and not all deserve equal attention. Here are three questions to consider when comparing different weather products.
Oil on airplane cowl

A sticky situation: flying blind in a vintage airplane

Seconds after the smoke started, I was looking out the windshield and could see smoke coming from around the propeller and all of a sudden: Whoosh! The windshield was completely covered with brown oil, and I could see nothing out of it. I shut off the engine with the mag switch and pointed the nose down steeply. I wanted to get the airplane on the ground now!

Friday Photo: Florida Keys sunset

David Compo had a dinner scheduled near his hotel in Ft. Lauderdale, but wisely changed plans. Since he had flown down from Michigan in his Comanche, he decided to take another builder and fly to Key West for dinner on Duvall Street. Once he got past the southern tip of the mainland he climbed to 1,000, the sun started setting and David's brother shot this beautiful photo.
Author with grandfather

Flying my grandfather for his 90th birthday

Every flight is exhilarating, but not every flight will be logged as a lifelong memory. This was one of those flights I will remember forever. Grandma nervously hugged us goodbye as Grandpa, Dad, and I squeezed into the compact Skyhawk.
Comanche 260

3 flying mistakes – and the lessons I learned

Learning from others’ mistakes is more conducive to successful flying than creating your own. Here are three lessons I learned on three different flights, but only because I made some mistakes. Hopefully you can learn from them and avoid making them yourself!

Video tip: your deceptive flying mind

We celebrate the great stick and rudder pilots of aviation history, but in reality, flying is mostly a mental game. Sometimes it can even feel like your mind is working against you in the cockpit. In this month's video tip, learn about four mental traps that can cause anxiety and even an accident if you're not careful.

Go or No Go: a gap in the weather?

You bought your Cirrus SR22 for business, but today's mission is strictly personal. You flew from your home near Chicago (DPA) to Rochester, Minnesota (RST), to visit your father, who is recovering after major surgery. He's doing great, and through the magic of general aviation you can get home the same day. That is, if the weather cooperates. Check the weather brief below and tell us what you would do.

Friday Photo: Manhattan from a Cessna

It's one of the great joys of being a general aviation pilot - the ability to fly almost anywhere you want, anytime you want. Chris Powell shows off that freedom in this week's Friday Photo, with a beautiful shot of Manhattan from the cockpit of his Cessna 182RG. When the weather cooperates, the view from up high is absolutely stunning.
Cessna control check

The devil is in the deadly details

Careful pilots use checklists. One item on all checklists calls for the controls to be free. After studying two accidents, one in a new production twin on a first flight and one in an experimental jet, because the ailerons were reversed, I paid extra attention to controls free and correct. I looked at the ailerons when I deflected them, every time, and made sure they moved correctly.
AT-401 airplane

Ferrying a crop duster to South America

It was getting late in the day and the tropical weather was closing in behind me. I felt trapped. Weather was all around and nothing but dense jungle below. I started to get frustrated and really worried. An hour and a half had passed and I was no closer to Panama City. My only alternate airfield was back across the mountains. The last thing I wanted to do was climb back up to 15,000 feet, but I had no choice.
Scud over airport

I am lucky to be a pilot, and I am a lucky pilot as well

It was a humid early September evening after a hot day. In Minnesota, that means when it cools off in the evening, the clouds come up, and the thunderstorms start. I hadn't considered what would be happening later in the evening.

Friday Photo: Beaver sunset

Scott Magie loves flying his 1950 Beaver on floats, and with pictures like this it's easy to see why. He shares this week's Friday Photo from shore, looking at the big seaplane at rest in the water in Minnesota. The moon is rising above the wings, the water is calm Scott says, "Time for another cocktail." We agree.
Arnie with instructor

A city boy learns to fly in the country

With only a few instructional hours logged, I had virtually no flying instincts. Mac, my instructor, called “power” and simultaneously shoved the throttle forward. It was all that kept us from cutting a swath through a cornfield bordering the runway’s approach end. The Cub wallowed ahead, barely above a stall, bouncing down on the grass just yards beyond the stalks.
Surface analysis chart

Weather forecasts – there’s more to it than just charts

On two recent occasions, I have spent my day staring down FAR 121.613. Both cases required a more in-depth study of the day’s weather than a simple scan of the TAF. Regardless of which part of the FARs you are operating under, the area forecast discussions put out by local forecasters are incredibly valuable when preparing for a day’s flying. They will give you the feel of a personal briefing.

Announcing the Young Pilots Writers’ Challenge

Attention all pilots under 23 years of age. Your voice needs to be heard as part of the general aviation community. It’s not just multi-thousand hour pilots who have wisdom to share and stories to tell. You are the next generation of pilots. For you, the good old days are right now! Air Facts is sponsoring a Young Pilots Writers' Challenge. Here are the details.
Medical

BasicMed: a cruel hoax?

Was 05/01/2017 a day that changed the life of a lot of pilots or was it just another Monday down on the farm? The first attempt to do away with aeromedical certification for pilots started about 70 years ago and the beginning of BasicMed on 05/01 seems to be all the progress that was possible on this sticky subject over all these many years.

Friday Photo: Amsterdam canals

Flying over Amsterdam isn't easy, but Gerhard van Roon says he wouldn't trade it for anything: "once over the target and the safety pilot has taken the yoke with me hanging with my cameras out of the window, I am sure that there isn't a job in the world as beautiful and satisfying as mine!" As this week's Friday photo shows, he does have quite the view.