Friday photo: Breaking out from a low IFR departure

The view: Low IFR departure just prior to dawn The pilot: Douglas Cole The airplane: King Air E-90 The mission: Transporting company personnel to a job site in Lewiston, ID with several stops on the way. The memory:…

Two in a row – a chain of mistakes and lessons

With less than 30 minutes to go before arriving, the battery couldn't hold a charge anymore. A warning message popped up on the PFD, and it only took five minutes for the electrical system to shut down. Thankfully, the PFD has a backup battery, so I knew I had around 30 minutes before it would go dark. I also had a Sporty's backup radio in my flight bag.
airplanes converging

My self-taught Immelmann for collision avoidance

The speck eventually sprouted a fuselage, twin-engine nacelles and a T-tail.  By the time the wing panels outboard of the engines became big enough to see, along with the turbine exhaust pipe exiting the near side nacelle, I was measuring four G’s on my panel accelerometer and depressing my control stick microphone switch.
Mooney M20E

Unfamiliarity and distractions nearly result in a gear up

About that time, another beeping noise could be heard over the buzzing in my headset.  “What’s that?” I asked.  “I’m not sure,” was the reply.  Now we were about a mile and a half from the runway.  Thankfully Philip did his GUMP check.  Gas, undercarriage.  Then we both noticed where that other beeping noise was coming from.
Cessna 150

My first flight 50 years ago

Flying is something that non-aviators just don't get. It's a calling....almost. I cannot be outside and hear and airplane without looking up to find it. It just seeps into the soul. It's a task that requires concentration, yet allows me to totally relax. The world goes away for me when I fly.
Low approach

Pilots need to be generalists, not specialists

American education has been obsessed with STEM (Science Technology Engineering and Math) for at least a decade, and the aviation industry has eagerly jumped on the bandwagon. The FAA is leading the charge to fit our square peg into this round hole, declaring aviation to be the ultimate STEM career path. I’m in favor of anything that attracts a new generation of pilots, but this framing is a radical oversimplification—and it sets up some pilots for failure. 

Friday photo: Arrowhead Lake in northern Laos

As a FAC in southeast Asia, it was important to always know where you were and how to expeditiously get the fighter aircraft carrying their bombs to join up with you. We used a lot of terrain features that were easily spotted and widely known by those who flew over that terrain for navigation. Pictured is Arrowhead Lake.
CFI with student

How That Proverbial Hamburger Could Save You $100, and a Lot More

Retention makes the difference between success and failure in the classroom. Retention is driven mainly by emotional and psychological engagement. Your brain must be perfectly and correctly stimulated for you to learn something. Information delivered at a trickling garden hose pace will have you falling asleep at your desk.
descent into clouds

As flight instructors we must continue to innovate

I tried the “Leans” on a pilot whom I was teaching and suggested that if he saw me lean left or right, he was to take the cue that he had to turn. And if he felt pressure on the rudder pedals, it was me getting his attention for him not using the rudder. And if I was leaning forward towards the yoke, well, that gets obvious in a hurry.
Aeronca

Flying during the pandemic and my approach to LAX

Gabe contacted the Flight Service Station regarding time and procedure for entering Class B airspace and landing at LAX. The answer was simple: no problem, be airborne at 7am and contact approach control on a given frequency; they will be expecting you. The next day found the Grumman on the taxiway at Long Beach Airport at 6:30am. At the appointed time, they departed and contacted approach control.
Meigs airport

I was at Meigs Field

Hours after Dr. Shehl closed the canopy door on his 1980 Bonanza, and went to his nearby hotel, bulldozers would roll onto Meigs. Under the cover of darkness, and without any notice or approval, Chicago’s mayor, Richard Daley, drove old Meigs Field down.

Taxiing vs. Flying—Which is Harder?

Just after we landed at Cedar Rapids, Iowa, on Runway 9. “Citation 246GF, turn left on Runway 13, right on Alpha, left on Echo, right on Echo Two to parking with me.”  We were the only aircraft moving at the airport.  The the call sounded like: “Citation246GFturnleftonRunway31rightonAlphaleftonEchorightonEchoTwotoparkwithme.”

Friday photo: Approach into York, PA (KTHV) Runway 35

Approach to York Airport (KTHV) Runway 35, York, Pennsylvania. The summer brings opportunities for late flying, sunsets, and just beautiful green landscape.

An action packed day on the Boeing 727

the flight continued normally until approaching PHL when we noticed various indications of low hydraulic pressure in our “A” hydraulic system.  Something about flap extension had caused a loss of pressure and quantity. 

The friends I do not know

I glance off to my left at the area along the south end of runway 18. He’s there. The friend I don’t know, yet we have become friends because I fly to OC8 often. He and his dog are always there. The dog never runs onto the runway, yet races around happily. I envision him as a Border Collie, though in truth I have no idea.

Caught above an overcast layer results in first encounter with IMC

By the time I did a 180 degree turn, there wasn’t a spot of open ground to be seen from horizon to horizon. At this point in my training, I didn’t even know what an approach plate was, but I knew I needed some kind of a plan for what to do next. What happened in the next few minutes was a combination of beginner’s luck with the benefit of a recent lesson on instrument familiarization from my instructor.

From the archives: Patrolling the Chesapeake Bay by seaplane

The seaplane patrol has special authority to fly at unusually low levels because the effectiveness of his work depends on his ability to see what's going on at close range. When he's "on target”—that is, when he has determined that a boat crew is fishing illegally—he is frequently within 75 feet of the pirate fishermen.

Cross-country to T25 in my Sonex

I climbed to 5,500’ after leaving Rolla and, as I crossed the Mark Twain National Forest, I saw a groundspeed rise to more than 160 mph. KARG was one of my original planned stops and my planning paid off well. The FBO let me rent an old hangar to house the Sonex and invited me to use the  courtesy car. The camaraderie in aviation never ceases to amaze me.

Friday photo: B17 over the Boeing plant

I thought what better than to fly the iconic Boeing B-17G over the Boeing plant to mark the day. Shiny new jets were parked below as the old gal still gracefully flies overhead 87 years since the first B-17 rolled off the assembly floor. 
iPad in cockpit

Webinar video: Flying with Datalink Weather

Datalink weather, either from ADS-B or SiriusXM, is an essential tool for almost all pilots. Once you’ve flown a cross country with in-flight radar, up-to-date METARs, and visual AIRMETs, it’s awfully hard to go back to flying without it. It makes flying safer, easier, and more comfortable – a rare combination - but only if you know how to use it properly.