Friday Photo: balloons at 9 o’clock

Traffic is hard to spot sometimes, but not when it's a hot-air balloon. German pilot Alexander Steinhorst shares exactly that view in this Friday Photo, with two large balloons off the left wing of his Aquila A211. It was obviously a great evening to fly—for airplanes and balloons alike.
W&B form

Flying loaded: what could possibly go wrong?

I knew we were very heavy and would need much more runway than usual to take off, but was really surprised when the nose lifted off before we were even at 40 knots. We were gaining speed slowly, but it needed a lot more nose down trim, and finally at around 110 knots airspeed we lifted off the runway, at the exact moment I ran out of forward trim.
Map of route

Airplane vs. automobile: commuting to work by air

Commuting to work by automobile is a time-honored ritual for many Americans. Most airplane owners dream of commuting by air if the opportunity would only present itself. A decade ago, that possibility became a reality for me.
Handshake

Finding our fathers

Knowing ourselves is a task for a lifetime. Knowing our forebears is a great help. I am under no illusion that “the old is good, the oldest is best.” That conceit seems unavoidable, revealed in the stories of Noah and his ancestors. We hear it in the sobriquet given to our parents, “the Greatest Generation.” Our wiser self knows it’s not always the case. We still need to know where we came from.
Reno airplanes

Friday Photo: lenticular clouds at Reno

Sometimes the best place to experience the power of Mother Nature is on the ground. That's what George Catalano shares in this Friday Photo, as some beautiful but intimidating lenticular clouds tower over the 2021 Reno Air Races. All the races were cancelled this day, and the clouds suggest why: high winds and rough rides.
HUD labels

When the magic dies: flying with and without HUDs

Sometimes the FM dies. The GPS goes on vacation, the HUD goes to sleep, the INS wanders off to a continent other than the one on which you are currently operating, or your radar takes a smoke-break. In those instances, we Viper drivers were left with what we called an iron sight, which is akin to the fixed, lighted reticle WWII pilots used to aim their weapons.
F-14 catapult

Learn to love stalls

Stalls are not a subject I ever expected to be writing about. They have been part of my flying repertoire since I first learned to fly in the 1970s. So why write this article? After a 25-year hiatus from flying, I returned to making stalls…
F-105 Thud

Dumb games with very fast airplanes

In February of 1966, I was lucky enough to be selected to fly the Republic F-105 Thunderchief after graduating from USAF pilot training at Williams AFB, Phoenix, Arizona. I had hoped to get selected for a fighter assignment and this was on…

From Venezuela to Alaska and back

It all started in May 1998, after we installed factory rebuilt engines in our 1976 Piper Seneca II, YV-850P. My partner Mark Dominguez and I asked ourselves where we could go with these new capabilities. Rather jokingly, we said, "why not Alaska?!" After some serious discussions, we decided, "let's go for it!"

Friday Photo: Sound Sunset

I am a lucky man. I live on Cape Cod and had a dinner date on Nantucket with my 8-year old granddaughter. Flying home, we encountered a beautifully calm summer evening and this view over Nantucket Sound. Martha’s Vineyard is visible in the left of the photo and Cape Cod to the right. With sights like this I am bound to piqued her interest in the wonders of aviation… I hope!
Blimp

Close call with a blimp

Like all pilots, I don't like to talk about the stupid things I did in the early days of my flying career. I have filed this one (along with a few others) in the file that says "never again." A big lesson was learned that night, and I made myself a promise to never again make low passes in an aircraft.
Seadog

Seaplane hijinks on the Connecticut River

Always keeping an eye out for opportunities to enhance my aeronautical flight experience, on June 26, 1966, I wandered into Walt O’Connor’s Agawam-Springfield seaplane base. Talk about opening up new horizons! This river rat bush pilot got to enjoy his two favorite things: from "docks out" in the fall to "back in" springtime, his 65 and 85hp BC12D Taylorcrafts and his coveted Warner Radial-powered Fairchild 24, lay idle.
Boeing 787

The Boeing 787’s ten years of service—a pilot perspective

The Boeing 787 Dreamliner is a marvel that serves as a reference for anything that came after: quieter, smoother, more fuel efficient than any other jetliner designed before or after. From my perspective, having spent almost four years flying it (nearly half of its service time) and logging over 2300 flight hours in one of the pilot seats, I really feel proud of the level the 787 has brought me as a professional.
RHP

It’s time to reform Obstacle Departure Procedures

What’s the most overlooked and misunderstood part of IFR flying? I nominate the obstacle departure procedure (ODP). While almost any instrument pilot can recite trivia like holding pattern entries or VOR test requirements—important but relatively rare procedures—many are quite shaky on ODPs. That’s a shame, because ignorance of this procedure can be fatal.

Friday Photo: Denali

Denali is the highest mountain peak in North America, but it's surprisingly easy to see—thanks to airplanes like the Turbine Otter. That's the view Craig Bixby shares in this Friday Photo, with the snow-capped mountain peak framed under the wing of the rugged bush plane. Definitely a must-see on any trip to Alaska.
Towbar

There’s a reason we use checklists

I had pulled my airplane from the hangar as Bill advanced the throttle and began moving from the hangar area to the taxiway. I glanced over and I had this impression that something wasn’t quite right. I didn’t see or hear anything to reinforce that impression and I turned back to my own task at hand to continue the preflight of my plane.
172 landing

The (unofficial) rules of flying

The following are a collection of rules or sayings I have collected, borrowed, and forgot to return later—filing off the serial numbers or just stolen over the years. They come from different times, from a variety of situations, and from pilots I have known and flown with. Some of the rules you may already know.
Stretch the glide

Don’t stretch the glide—easier said than done

The wind had seriously increased while we were aloft and on downwind I realized we were too far out when I turned base. I was getting a close-up view of the trees at the end of runway 11. I did two things, one of which was apparently necessary. One was fighting the urge to raise the nose. The other was to continue a conversation with the passenger so our landing would appear normal, not frightening. 
Over Greenland

Flying a Cirrus VFR across Russia

For decades, the requirements to fly a private plane beyond Moscow or St. Petersburg required having a Russian speaker/navigator on board. I understood that the necessary permits were difficult to obtain and that avgas was hard to come by. With little notice or announcements, all of this has changed. Thinking about all of this for just a few seconds, I knew that I had to make this trip.

Friday Photo: the king is ready

Daniel Schwerzmann gets to fly King Airs around the Swiss Alps, which as he says, "can be very tricky and challenging." The reward for safely navigating the picturesque mountains is often a photo like this: the heat from the ramp steams the water from a recent storm at Gstaad Airport. Proof that great aviation pictures can happen on the ground.