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?

Dogfighting with ADS-B traffic over Pennsylvania

It was an unremarkable flight so far, but suddenly the large letters “TRAFFIC” plastered across my screen with corresponding alert. Three hundred feet below and slightly behind was an airplane, approaching fast. I banked left and right in my low wing craft, looking for the guy, who must be right below me, now 200 feet. On a collision course.

Forced landings: is getting your shoes muddy the biggest risk?

I was always of two minds about forced landings after a power failure. One, if I thought the engine was going to quit I wouldn’t go flying. Two, I knew that engines did quit so I had best not be surprised if one did, and had best have a plan for what comes next.

Friday Photo: Alaska sunset

This week's Friday photo comes to us from Alaska, where Rob Murray snapped this picture of a beautiful sunset off Baranof Island. The only thing better than the sunset is the classic airplane in the foreground: a 1952 DeHavilland Beaver.
Full cockpit of aviation authors

10 pilots in a 4-seat Cessna

I am so lucky. Every flight, I am accompanied by nine extraordinary pilots, looking over my shoulder and whispering in my ear. They have made my flying safer, more enjoyable and less expensive. They’ll go with you, too. All you have to do is ask.
Foggy runway

IFR departures: the forgotten procedure

Instrument pilots obsess about approaches: if you can keep those needles crossed all the way down to 200 ft, you must be a good pilot. While shooting an ILS to minimums is an important skill, this all presupposes you managed to depart safely. Unfortunately, NTSB reports prove that's a big assumption - each year, a few pilots tragically learn that IFR departures aren't as simple as they seem.
Boeing wing iced over

Airplanes vs. blizzards: a few war stories

As the blizzard of 2016 was raging on January 23rd I looked at the video of stranded motorists, stuck cars, cars in ditches, and traffic snarls and wondered what in the world possessed those people to make them try to go somewhere. Then I scratched my head and remembered what possessed me when I used to challenge snowstorms in little airplanes. I was big on running the traps as scheduled and a blizzard was no excuse for not being there.

Friday Photo: runway in Sweden

This week's Friday Photo has an international flavor. Dmitrij Karpenko snapped this photo of Vaesteras airport, outside Stockholm, from his Glasair Sportsman just before turning final. The sun is lighting up the water in the distance, while another airplane prepares to land.
Piper Cub

Old men and old airplanes

Are old guys attracted to old airplanes by nostalgia? For sure, in the first 30 years or so after WWII, there were lots of pilots whose romance with aviation began in the excitement of Lindbergh’s Atlantic crossing, grew through the “Golden Age” of ‘30s air racing and record-setting, and perhaps matured as biplanes went to war.
Cherokee after mid-air

Surviving a mid-air

At approximately 200 ft. AGL there was a thud and the 140B shuddered as a glimpse of red passed by my left-side window. Then a red airplane (type still unknown at that point) passed in front of my windscreen, hit the nose of my aircraft, and disappeared under my starboard wing, all in about three seconds.
Brenham, TX airport

Borrowing from the bag of luck

As I finished my private pilot training in 2006, my instructor told me that we start with a bag full of luck and an empty bag of experience. The trick is to fill the bag of experience before you empty the bag of luck. Less than three months later, the ink barely dry on my certificate, I had occasion to test that maxim.

My first time as an aviation mentor – what do I do?

It 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

Sometimes 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.
Lake Hood

An unusual first solo, Alaska-style

It 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.
Pietenpol Air Camper

How flying saved my life

To 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

Flying 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?

The 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.
Mechanic helping kid

The real incentives young aviators need

Aviation 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.
Baron

Cutting corners as a freight pilot – and regretting it

Forcing 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

This 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.