Surface analysis chart

Weather forecasts – there’s more to it than just charts

On two recent occasions, I have spent my day staring down FAR 121.613. Both cases required a more in-depth study of the day’s weather than a simple scan of the TAF. Regardless of which part of the FARs you are operating under, the area forecast discussions put out by local forecasters are incredibly valuable when preparing for a day’s flying. They will give you the feel of a personal briefing.

Announcing the Young Pilots Writers’ Challenge

Attention all pilots under 23 years of age. Your voice needs to be heard as part of the general aviation community. It’s not just multi-thousand hour pilots who have wisdom to share and stories to tell. You are the next generation of pilots. For you, the good old days are right now! Air Facts is sponsoring a Young Pilots Writers' Challenge. Here are the details.
Medical

BasicMed: a cruel hoax?

Was 05/01/2017 a day that changed the life of a lot of pilots or was it just another Monday down on the farm? The first attempt to do away with aeromedical certification for pilots started about 70 years ago and the beginning of BasicMed on 05/01 seems to be all the progress that was possible on this sticky subject over all these many years.

Friday Photo: Amsterdam canals

Flying over Amsterdam isn't easy, but Gerhard van Roon says he wouldn't trade it for anything: "once over the target and the safety pilot has taken the yoke with me hanging with my cameras out of the window, I am sure that there isn't a job in the world as beautiful and satisfying as mine!" As this week's Friday photo shows, he does have quite the view.
Uber concept for VTOL

Silicon Valley discovers aviation – but for how long?

You have to pay close attention these days to keep up with all the breathless news about "flying cars" and "disruptive aerial vehicles." The great and the good from the technology world have fallen in love with aviation lately, and their various startup companies have been launching aviation projects at an unprecedented rate in 2017. Do any of them have a chance? Does it matter?
Super Cub

Are you ready? Flying the Alaska bush

I’m going to fly along with you as you take your Cessna 206 Stationair II for a flight to pick up a client out in the flat country beyond the Alaska Range. Your client lives in a log cabin along the Kuskokwim River, downstream from the village of Aniak. You’ve made sure to have the necessary flight charts with you.
Piper L-4

Flying to Oshkosh low and slow

Like many pilots, flying my plane to Oshkosh was on my bucket list, but work, cost, and time always seemed to say “not this year.” So, in 2012 when the Cub Club announced the “Cubs To Oshkosh” in celebration of the 75th anniversary of the Cub, that was it. I had to be part of that history. This is my story of that trip.

Friday Photo: Mt. Shasta off the wing

Mount Shasta is a stunning sight from any altitude, but when it's passing off the right wing the towering peak looks particularly good. That's exactly the picture Dale Morris captured from his RV-6A on a sightseeing flight with his wife.
Cade by airplane

My first flight – as told by my grandpa

Saturday October 16, 2010. Mom and I were at a craft show when Grandpa called to see if I could go fly with him today. He tried to take me before but something always came up, like I hadn’t had my nap. When you're four years old everybody knows no nap and flying aren’t a good mix. Today was my lucky day.
Maple Airport Park

Ghosts in the hangar: a true aviation short story

The place as it stands today bears no resemblance to the airport tucked away in my thoughts. Every pilot has melancholy memories of favourite places because flying sears powerful images and feelings they long for. The airfield that comes to mind is where I learned to fly. Introductory flights were $10 back then.

Quiz: IFR holding procedures

Most pilots don't fly holds too often these days, but that doesn't mean you can ignore them. Whether it's a hold on an instrument approach or knowing when not to hold, there is a lot to know. Take our 10-question quiz to test your knowledge of IFR holding procedures and see if you're still current.
Crosswind landing A380

Turbulent flying lessons: windy tales

The potential for turbulence should be an integral part of pre- and in-flight weather study. And I found over the years that experience is the best teacher because with turbulence what you feel is what you get. If flying IFR in clouds, the fact that turbulence there makes many riders uneasy and uncomfortable has to be acknowledged, and even some pilots riding as passengers get antsy in bumpy clouds.

Friday Photo: Helgeland coast in Norway

One of the best parts of our Friday Photo series is the wide variety of locations we get to share. This week's photo is a great example: Thor Fredrik Eie took this beautiful picture of Torghatten in northern Norway on a recent sightseeing flight. The rocky coast and the blue skies make for a unique view over the nose of his Cessna.
Barb standing by airplane

A date with aviation

In the remarks section of my logbook entry for January 3, 1999, it simply says, “Ride for Barb – Clear and cold.” We flew for 1.9 hours, but I honestly can’t remember the flight. For Barb, this was her first flight in a plane other than a commercial airliner. For me it was part of my vetting process for potential dating partners. If they didn’t like flying in small airplanes, there wouldn’t be much of a future in the relationship.
Garmin G5 panel

The death knell for the vacuum pump?

This year's Sun 'n Fun Fly-in didn't have any flashy new product introductions - no $50,000 LSAs or supersonic jets from unknown startups - but there may have been a more important trend unfolding. The vacuum-driven gyro may finally be on the way out. Thank goodness.
Denali from airplane

Double sunsets: falling in love with aviation and Alaska

I loved being at Elmendorf and being in Alaska. It was supposed to be a 90-day tour; I volunteered to stay much longer. My memory causes me to believe there were about a dozen B-47s cocked on alert. Four days a week, three B-47s arrived from Tucson, two of which were turn arounds rotating flight crews, the third cocked to replace an alert bird being rotated home.

Friday Photo: stunning Arizona sunset

The flight started out as an early evening flight to just go flying. I stopped and refueled at Ak Chin just as the sun was getting low on the horizon. I departed for KCHD in time to catch this fantastic sunset over Maricopa. It reminded me of the Arizona flag.
Final flight with parents

Final flight

Mom and Dad, now elderly, were visiting our family in Waterloo, Ontario, on one of their annual visits. I decided to take them flying. I rented a Cessna 172 out of Kitchener Waterloo airport and took them for individual flights. He took the controls for some of the flight. I marveled at how natural he seemed with the controls.
152 in a spin

A humbling solo flight

So I poured the power on and hauled back on the yoke. With the lighter load, that yoke came right back and the nose of the plane pointed right up. For a split second I thought “that's strange” and before I knew it, I was pointing straight down at the ground in a left spin.

Where is the upwind leg?

I had taken off from a small airport in southern Arizona, when the tower asked me to extend my upwind leg. “I’ll extend departure leg,” I acknowledged. I just happened to be flying with my CFI, who is also a controller at the same airport. My CFI gave me a quizzical look. I asked, “why do controllers use incorrect terminology to describe the departure leg?”