Canyons of Arizona

Business or pleasure – why choose?

The 10-day weather forecast looked amazingly good for January, so rather than go home on the weekend between two events, I concocted a scheme to do some sailplane flying at Estrella on the weekend, including the use of Estrella’s lodging facility - fabulously cheap bunk beds only soaring aficionados could love. I was saving the company money!
Piper Warrior

Being neighborly – an aerial introduction

The sky was clear and conditions appeared very good. We got into the Warrior and I had him strap in. After the runup, I tuned in to the latest ATIS, then contacted Ground, and started to the active. As we moved along the taxiway, Paul remarked to me, “This the first time in my life I’ve ever been in an airplane.”
Lenticular cloud

I never should have left the ground

I felt I needed to expedite, because there was another Southwest 737 eyeballing me from across the runway, also holding short, and waiting for the little puddle jumper to get out of his way, so they could depart. I rolled out on the runway, and went to full throttle... and with a lot of right aileron and rudder. We lifted off and WHAM, we were 30 degrees to the runway. Yeah, I'd say there was a bit of wind shift!

Friday Photo: Owens Valley solo flight

Tyler Core snapped this beautiful picture on a solo flight to practice maneuvers. The view is of the imposing Mt. Tom, rising nearly 10,000 ft. over the Owens Valley in the foreground. As Tyler says, "the Owens Valley is one of the most beautiful valleys to live in and the outstanding views coupled with the minimal air traffic around KBIH makes this a unique place to learn."
182 in climb

Dangerous technology – and not for the reason you think

All went well until about 100 feet above the runway on takeoff when I wanted to drop the nose a little. The airplane wanted to continue to climb as if it were approaching a power-on stall and I could not get the nose down. Terrible things could have easily happened if I would not have kept my wits about me.
72B on turnpike

Almost toll-free on the turnpike

As usual, I’d been running 30 minutes out of each tank when, about an hour and a half into the flight—you guessed it—the engine quit. Same drill with fuel selector, carb heat and mixture and, again, it started right up. What in the hell was going on this time? Both wing root fuel gauges were pegged at more than three quarters full… but they were even and they weren’t bouncing and I’d learned that was ominous.
Mobile airport

The education of a young professional

I kept the flashlight dancing around the panel… attitude, direction, attitude, altimeter, attitude, airspeed and repeat… with an occasional sweep of the left wing leading edge checking for ice. It was dark and the air was rough inside the cloud. I was in a tough spot this time for sure.

Friday Photo: sunshine after the cold front

John Gill spent a solid day flying in IMC and shooting approaches for a recent Angel Flight. Closer to home, has was rewarded with this view of the late afternoon sun shining through gaps in the clouds, illuminating other cloud layers below. As he says, it was "God's paintbrush giving a ray of hope after a hard day."
O-2 Skymaster

Put down the Budweiser – a Vietnam flying story

I pulled up one of the chairs, recalling the uneventful mission, filling out the paperwork after taking three quick chugs of beer. Soon, I would be over at the O Club, catching up on all the news from my fellow pilots there, whether they be F-4 drivers or Electric Goon (EC-47) ones. Then... CRACKLE – CRACKLE. The little speakers at the radio rack announced an incoming call.
Doolittle crew by airplane

The pilot brotherhood – only as good as your next action

I think we get carried away with this brotherhood talk. Sure, pilots can be accepting and caring folks, and the common bond of aviation often does bring wildly different people together. That hardly means such behavior is guaranteed, though. Pilots are still human beings who often bring their own powerful emotions, biases and agendas to any situation.

A pilot in command abdication

It was a dark and clear winter night, somewhere between 1979 and 1980. I walked up to the Piper Archer with my three other buddies, in full fighter pilot swag, full of myself and the false confidence only a 20-year old can have. I had earned my Private in just 54 hours and now, with a whole 61 hours logged, I was flying my buddies to the Playboy Club Resort at Lake Geneva, Wisconsin.

Friday Photo: how many souls on board?

They don't get much better than this Friday Photo. Pilot Chuck Tippett took his first selfie on the way to the beach with his two grandsons and the family dog. A 45-minute flight certainly beats a two hour drive, and the memories will last a lifetime. Rarely has the cockpit of a J-3 Cub looked better.
Glider in field

A glider flyer named Skysailor finds the earth

The day inevitably arrives. The weather is nice, there are cumulus clouds, soaring birds, other sailplanes are climbing, and I am beyond a final glide to the airfield. Suddenly, I’m not finding lift anymore, the trusty 1-26 is sinking as my heart rate is climbing. I’ve been taught off field landings, I have helped bring gliders back from off landings, and I’m about to have an off field landing.
Memorial Day cemetery

A Memorial Day salute – please join in

I usually write about private aviation but this starts out with an accident involving a military airplane – a long time ago... On November 22, 1952 a USAF C-124 crashed into Colony Glacier on Mount Garrett, 40 miles east of Anchorage, Alaska, where the airplane was supposed to land. The weather was awful and a distress call was received by a Northwest Orient passenger flight.
Viscount

Emergency formation flying with a Viscount

We called ATC and advised that we were not sure of our altitude or speed and declared PAN PAN. We then read up the drills in the QRH and the DC-9 manual but they had no effect on the instruments so we realized we had a serious problem. How to get safely down when the weather was poor and even our alternate in North Dakota had solid overcast?

Friday Photo: sunset on a first flight lesson

Sunsets are always better from the cockpit, and a thin overcast makes them a little more interesting. Daniel McPartland got to see one of these, but it was even more special because he was on his first flight lesson. Taking in the scenery while sitting in the left seat for the first time is this week's Friday Photo.

What every VFR pilot needs to know about arriving IFR traffic

VFR pilots operate in the same airspace as commercial IFR jet aircraft without having to ever hit the push-to-talk button. Most of the time things go just fine and the two operate without running into each other. Not having a requirement to talk to anyone doesn’t alleviate your responsibility as a small airplane driver to understand the airspace around you, though.
Pilot talking on radio in Cessna

5 things every VFR pilot should say

Radio communication is always one of the hardest things to learn for many pilots. It actually seems to make flying harder sometimes: you’re already busy flying the airplane when ATC gives you a call so fast all you catch is your tail number. Other pilots in CTAF areas can make it even worse. Let me give you the top five things I’ve learned to say over the years that have made flying easier and safer.
Takeoff by Cessna

Takeoff: the riskiest three minutes

There has been a rash of takeoff accidents featured in the news. That cabin-class Cessna hitting the trees in Alabama was dramatic, as was the footage of the Beech Duchess in a yard in Florida. There have been a lot others and when I read of these I think about how unforgiving airplanes can be if you fly away without the old ducks all in a row.

Friday Photo: San Francisco moonrise

San Francisco Bay is a unique place to fly, and Paul De Zan captures a lot of the activity in this week's Friday Photo. From the dark water to the shining city lights to the airliners landing at SFO, it's all visible from the cockpit of a Cessna 172. Off in the distance, a warm moon rises from the horizon.