
My first time as an aviation mentor – what do I do?
I was thereIt feels good to be a mentor. I have never been one before - at least in aviation. If anyone out there reading this has any words of advice I could give to the young man I would sure like to hear them. Seeing his passion for flying kind of rekindles my own.

Friday Photo: dog rescue flight
Friday PhotoSometimes the best passengers aren't even human. In this week's charming Friday Photo, flight instructor Michael Young shares a picture of a Columbia 400 flight that involved 24 total passengers: some human, some canine. Read the unique mission that Young was on.

An unusual first solo, Alaska-style
I was thereIt was on a Friday the Thirteenth, in April of 1956, that I soloed out at Lake Hood Seaplane Base in Anchorage, Alaska. I had waited for several months for this date, as I had, for some misguided reason, always thought of Friday the Thirteenth as a lucky day for me. I’d had eight and one-half hours of dual instruction up to that point, and my instructor thought that I was ready.

How flying saved my life
I was thereTo be honest, flying didn’t really save my life. It did, however, make me a better person, dad, husband and surgeon. Unlike many who grew up dreaming to fly, I didn’t start in aviation until I was 30. I never really thought that it was a possibility for me to become a pilot. This all changed with a free hamburger at a hangar at a small airport.

Friday Photo: One World Trade Center
Friday PhotoFlying is always fun, but it's even more fun when you can share it with friends or family. This week's photo, from McGregor Scott, shares an unforgettable view, and the important right seat passenger that made this flight down the Hudson River even more memorable.

Debate: a kinder, gentler FAA?
DebateThe FAA has a reputation for being punitive and unequal in its enforcement, more interested in paperwork and police work than in promoting real safety. If you believe some recent announcements, though, that attitude may be changing. Administrator Michael Huerta spent much of 2015 promoting a new “Compliance Philosophy Order,” which promises to change the way his agency deals with pilots.

The real incentives young aviators need
OpinionAviation is not just about playing with your family’s toys and living out the thrills of flying every day. It’s about the friendships that are created in hangars, the sound of a Lycoming roaring to life after YOU replaced that cylinder, the old school feeling of grass under your landing gear, the controlling of numerous aircraft simultaneously, and the everlasting wonder of flight.

Cutting corners as a freight pilot – and regretting it
I Can't Believe I Did ThatForcing myself to stay calm, I faced the embarrassing possibility that a wheels-up landing might be the only way out. I was angry with myself for being such an idiot because failure to secure the freight was not only a clear breach of the regulations, but worse still, an example of poor airmanship. I vowed that never again would I be pressured into potentially dangerous situations by fears of job security.

Friday photo: twilight over Rotterdam
Friday PhotoThis week's stunning cockpit photo comes from pilot and professional photographer Gerhard van Roon, who snapped this beautiful shot of The Netherlands' second-largest city. The combination of twilight, tall buildings and calm water make for an unforgettable view.

Top 10 articles of 2015 at Air Facts
HistoryWe had 76 different pilots write for Air Facts over the past 12 months. Almost all of these were just regular pilots who had a story, tip or opinion to share, but they brought an incredibly diverse range of experiences and perspectives. In closing out the year, we thought readers might enjoy a look back at our top 10 most popular articles.

Out of touch with modern life – lessons from golf’s decline
John's blogGolf and flying share a lot in common: a reputation as an expensive leisure activity, a mid- to late 20th century boom, a significant decline over the past decade and a search for relevance among a new generation. What can pilots learn from golf's decline?

Flying an old Boeing to China for Christmas
I was thereAsk airline pilots where they want to be during the Christmas to New Year holidays and most say… home with family and friends! In December 1982, we split the difference; being with wives and kids, but on a 707 odyssey to Tianjin, China, celebrating Christmas Eve in a frigid airport dining room with the leaders of China’s airline, CAAC.

Killer autopilots? It is all in the eye of the beholder
Dick's blogIt is my opinion that the debate over basic airmanship v. high-tech has become confused. Advances in information technology have done wonders for all forms of aviation and should be embraced by all. I think the jury is still out on some forms of automation though autopilots have gotten a lot better. They can still be deadly in the hands of a pilot who doesn’t fully understand the system.

Friday Photo: Toronto at night
Friday PhotoIn our latest weekly photo entry, Dean Smith shares this picture of Canada's largest city, just after the sun had set. The tall buildings are lit up, and go right to the shores of Lake Ontario. It's all visible, even the island airport, from Dean's 206 at 10,000 ft.

There I was: my near midair at Shelton, Washington
I was thereThe Glasair came from behind and below, just under the right side of my fuselage. The flash of white made me pull up and barrel roll to the left. My right wing and his left wing overlapped our respective longitudinal axes. I’m not sure how his prop missed my right main gear. My best, no BS guess is we missed each other by maybe 10 feet.

Thanks, Mom! Winter flying around Chicago
I was thereMy mom had flown with me once before, and it was a very short flight, but this flight was special. It was the first flight we had flown without anyone else on board and it was my first winter flight. She was very excited and surprisingly calm. We approached Lake Michigan and turned north just underneath Chicago's Bravo airspace.

Will the Cuban Skyway come to life once again?
HistoryNot too long after the birth of aviation itself, a surging community was forming in Cuba. It was a community that dominated the tropical skies. And that congregated at airstrips scattered amongst the sugarcane and tobacco fields. Can it come back?

Friday Photo: Swiss Alps rise above the fog
Friday PhotoSwiss pilot Tobias Goller says "Moments like this always make it clear to me that I'm very fortunate in so many ways... Everyone has his one big love story. I do have three: My wife, my daughter - and being able to fly. All the sorrows you may have on the ground are forgotten once airborne."

The inside scoop on aging airplanes, new engines and pilot skills
InterviewThis article is the latest in an occasional series where we talk to interesting pilots from across the aviation industry. Here we pose 12 questions to Matt Thurber, an experienced pilot, A&P and aviation journalist who knows aviation from the inside and outside. He previously worked for FLYING magazine, and now covers safety and technology for Aviation International News and Business Jet Traveler magazine.

Are doctors bad pilots?
TechniqueAs the adage goes, the superior pilot will avoid demonstration of superior skills through superior judgment. The pilot who is extremely nervous before every flight may have a genuine concern for their ability, but a pilot without any self-questions or ongoing self-assessment may be supremely confident, yet much more dangerous. The best pilot is somewhere in between.