We’re thinking about electric airplanes all wrong

Bill Gates has famously said, "We always overestimate the change that will occur in the next two years and underestimate the change that will occur in the next ten." Thus we overhyped the internet in 2000, but failed to recognize how completely it would change life by 2010. The same could be said for electric aircraft, an emerging technology that seems to have been on the "coming soon" list for decades.
Clouds over ocean

The weather is what it is – all alone in a Cherokee Six

I descended until I was, in fact, right on top of the waves. The visibility was better there, but, of course, at that altitude, I could no longer receive any VOR signals, and the airplane had no GPS equipment – no airplane did back then. All I had was a coffee-stained sectional chart, and it looked coldly aloof and insultingly bare of any useful information at the time.

Friday Photo: snow-covered Utah mountains

For sure one of the best looking mountains in the whole state. Sundance ski resort is located here, and so is Robert Redford’s residence. It’s also a popular, long all-day hike to the summit in the summer. Flying here never gets old.
Thermometer 50 below zero

An upside down landing on a remote Alaska strip

When the Cessna went up ever so slowly, pausing when the cowling slipped into the snow cover, I still thought we’d be all right. Instead of settling back to earth, though, the tail paused for an eternity—and then went slowly over to put us upside down on this very remote bush strip. Our world was upside down and we were now really in for it...
Facebook flying posts

Facebook is bad for general aviation

How can we turn around the public’s fear and confusion about GA? Let’s all agree, and get other pilots we know, to take the three-item Facebook pilot pledge. The three items are simple: Don’t share bad news, share only good news and share the beauty we see.
Stabilized approach

The changing myths of aviation

In this wide-ranging article, Dick Collins explores 9 myths about flying - some of which the FAA wants to bust, some of which the FAA perpetuates. Is GA safe? Not safe enough. Is learning to fly hard? No, but it's not easy either. Read the complete article for a thought-provoking look at our shared wisdom.

Friday Photo: Toronto skyline aglow

Toronto, Canada has a unique skyline, with the sprawling city spread along the coast of Lake Ontario, and the massive CN Tower looming over the island airport. Pilot Mark Nye captured the beauty of this city in a stunning nighttime flight in his Cessna 185. Here's a photo you'll want to view full size.
Preflight with CFI

Not all preflights are created equal – 4 different approaches

The detail and depth of a preflight inspection can vary from day to day based on the type of airplane we are flying, where that airplane is parked, and even whether recent maintenance has been conducted. Let's talk about our preflight attitude or mindset for renters/flying clubs/partnerships, individual owners, Part 135 or Part 91 corporate operations, and airplanes fresh out of maintenance.
Passenger in RV-12

An unforgettable passenger shows the power of sharing a flight

I have given a lot of people rides in both my RV-6 and now in my RV-12, and I always enjoy it as least as much as they do. What I have failed to realize, though, is that what I consider to be nothing more than a small favor may very well be measured at a far higher worth to the recipient. Phil was one of those passengers.
PSP airport with mountains

Baptism by air

I decided to descend to 3000 feet, by cutting power and setting the nose down slightly. Suddenly all hell broke loose, and the airplane felt like it was being pushed by a force from above. My airspeed was approaching 160 kts with power pulled back.

Friday Photo: sunset over a composite wing

Newly-minted private pilot Dominic Carpenter took advantage of a beautiful night to fly down the western coastline of Michigan in his rented Diamond DA40. The results was a fun cross country flight to celebrate his license, and a beautiful image.

Go or No Go: coastal California flight

It's not a long flight, and it's the type of mission that makes your Cessna 182 such a valuable asset to your business: a dash down the coast of California from Santa Barbara (KSBA) to your home airport of Montgomery Field in San Diego (KMYF). A four hour drive turns into a one hour flight, but will the weather cooperate?
Checkride complete

Staying alive: the merits of multi-state training

Weather was almost never an issue in California, but I sure learned about the effects of density altitude in ways I’d never experienced in Alaska. Off-airport landings and gravel takeoffs are common enough in Alaska, but I sure learned the value of understanding Air Traffic Control procedures and complex airspace flying through the Lower 48.
Yellow jacket

A different kind of buzz job

I taxied onto runway 9, gradually added full power and rotated at 65 knots. As I climbed out, I scanned the instruments and then the horizon, left to right. The engine sounded good, key gauges for a departure climb – airspeed, altimeter, turn coordinator and one of my favorites, oil pressure - all in the green. As my eyes reached the right side of the windshield, my eyes locked on, panic rising...

Friday Photo: glacier in France

A ski vacation turned into much more for Hrag Sarkissian. In this week's Friday Photo, he shares a the postcard view he saw when he touched down on La Grande Motte Glacier in France. The unique runway was a result of a short ski-flying checkout from an "altiport."
Wildfire smoke

Flying through fire and ice

I noticed a narrow, dark column of black smoke rising from the valley floor, directly in our flight path a few miles ahead. Being both young and ignorant, I thought to myself, “I’m instrument rated; we’ll pop out of the back of that thing in an instant and it will be fun.” So I aimed for the smoke column.
Route 66 with Cub shadow

Transcendental reactions – how aviation and photography work together

Russell Munson is one of aviation's most celebrated photographers, contributing to Richard Bach's classic book Jonathan Livingston Seagull and dozens of cover photos for Flying magazine. He's also an active general aviation pilot. We asked him about photography, airplanes and what happens when the two come together.
Alec Helmke with grandfather

Joining the brotherhood – a student pilot’s first cross country

I sat in the complex glass cockpit and looked over an array of instruments which I had no idea how to interpret. This was the most advanced and expensive aircraft I had ever been in, but I was not the pilot. In fact, to reach this point, I had flown in an aircraft many consider the archetype of simplicity…

Friday Photo: highest mountain in the lower 48

Medevac pilot Bill Custer shares this week's photo from the cockpit of his Piper Cheyenne. On a flight back to base from a patient drop off, he snapped this view of Mt. Whitney, the highest peak in the continental US.
S-Tec 55X autopilot

The case for automation

Lately there has been a lot of focus on over-reliance on automation in the cockpit – both in general aviation and the Part 121 world. Most of us can agree that as our avionics and aircraft become more sophisticated and automation becomes more affordable, this is a very real problem. But what about those of us who insist on flying with too little automation?