“What’s this button do?” Why you need to watch your passengers

Flying with passengers is a lot of fun, but you need to be on guard whenever someone is in the right seat - even if they're a pilot. A wary eye and a good pre-flight briefing is a start. But as this story proves, sometimes it's the little things you have to watch.

Friday Photo: Denali from an Aerostar

In the second installment of our Friday Photo series, Larry Baum shares a gorgeous shot of the famed Denali, from the cockpit of his Aerostar. Read about his long trip from New York to Alaska.

The in-flight emergency nobody prepared me for

The flight in question was a routine one, with three jumpers who wanted to jump from 10,000 feet. I did the usual full-power climb to 10,000 and was right at the jump zone so was ready to reduce power and level off for the jump. Except I couldn't budge the throttle.

Earning my “barnstormer rating” in a Beech 18

"I think I might fly the BE-18 a few minutes next week. If you want a sneak peek, the left seat is yours…” Dan said in a Facebook message to me. It didn’t take long for me to say that I’d be there if I could. You know, as long as the world didn’t end or something.

Friday photo: Manhattan skyline

Today we are kicking off our latest series, called simply the "Friday photo." Each week we'll share a great photo taken from the cockpit - one that shares the joy, beauty or fun of flying. First up is Ian Seager, with a stunning view of Manhattan.

The day I became a “pro” pilot and knew it all…

I’m so good at IFR, I have people from all over the country come to train with me. They all say how good I am - and I started to believe them! Have you ever noticed, when you start to “get good” at flying, reality likes to step in to smack you in the head?
Joseph Kirwan watching son land

My best hour – and I wasn’t even flying!

I’ve often thought that the day of my first solo, April 6, 1996, would be the most memorable of my flying career. I had a whopping five hours of dual logged when I climbed into “Super Chicken,” Skyhawk N172SC, for my three trips around the pattern at Mount Sterling (KIOB). But, 19 years later, I learned how wrong I was.

From the archives: Leighton Collins flies a 747 to Paris

One of the most popular stories from the Air Facts archive is Leighton Collins's spellbinding trip report from the cockpit of an early Boeing 707 on the way to Europe. In this article, we move 10 years into the future, as Collins again flies to Europe with TWA captain Bob Buck. This time they are in the larger and more advanced 747.

Out of control on short final – a freight dog learns a lesson

Suddenly, I was jolted out of my delectable dreamland by a violent roll to the right. Instant paralyzing fear, equivalent to several thousand volts of crippling electrical current, seemed to anesthetize my entire body. There was no time for panic, but that’s all I could manage to do.

Smoke and flames report – is the GA safety picture changing?

The fatal accident rate has been pretty stable in recent years at just over one per 100,000 flying hours. Nobody will argue that this rate is acceptable. It is not, it is terrible, but it is what we get from our pilot population and the only way to change it would be to alter the behavior of pilots and that’s not going to happen.
Flaps down on Cessna

For want of a spring an airplane was (almost) lost

As has been said, “Flying is very unforgiving of any carelessness or neglect.” That’s the rub, up there: even the simplest of problems, like a tiny broken spring, can be the precursor to a seriously bad ending to a good day’s flying.
Cherokee 235

Flying for fun, and flying with a mission

All in all, I flew 6.3 hours in the air, the most I’d flown in a day. I was tired, but I sure felt good, as many of you who will read this know. There’s nothing better than flying your airplane on a pretty day unless you get to do it and help someone at the same time. It doesn’t get much better than that!

Professor Armstrong – learning from an airplane geek and astronaut

It is only through the lens of history that I have come to appreciate the unique opportunity afforded to me 40 years ago while attending the University of Cincinnati. Neil Armstrong was a member of the Aerospace Engineering faculty there from 1971 to 1979. I attended his classes.

At home in the night sky – the most honest place I know

I assume my late night cruising position, lights down low in the cockpit, forearm resting on top of the instrument panel, chin resting on forearm, face as close to the windshield as I can get without leaving a smudge. I’m struck with an intimidating thought. The only thing between my forehead and a 470 mile per hour -54C breeze is about one and a half inches of glass.

Letter to myself as a young student pilot

So you're taking a flying lesson tomorrow. Congrats. You'll have a blast (yes, the instructor really will let you fly the airplane), but you may be surprised how much this flying thing will change your life. With that in mind, here's some free advice from someone who knows a little about the journey ahead.
Cessna 150 N704RY

Mission accomplished – getting the job done in a Cessna 150

Being a VFR pilot with (currently) little interest in pursuing an instrument rating, chances to perform a mission were a little difficult to come by, as completing said mission can oftentimes be waylaid for the obvious reasons. However, this day was an exception… aircraft ready, CAVU everywhere, no TFRs, and a reasonably simple mission.
Nauru Island runway

On your own – airline flying in the South Pacific before GPS

Former airline captain John Laming spent a career flying between tiny islands in the South Pacific. In this enchanting story, Laming takes us along for one of those flights, complete with the weather deviations, failing airport infrastructure and sleeping tower controllers. Were these the good old days?

Flying on the ground – 7 tips on staying current

What can I do, a measly college student, who can only fly every so often? How can I stay current and make sure that the next time I sit behind the yoke again, be it tomorrow or a year from now, I can be assured I’ll know what to do?
Fireworks

The rockets’ red glare: a July 4th landing to remember

Sliding quietly past the last of the Quonset buildings, and with 40-degrees of Cessna’s barn door Fowler flaps hanging out, I was pretty well committed at that point. I was ready for the touchdown, probably three or four feet above the grass runway, when the whole world exploded directly in front of the heavy Cessna.

Comparing your dreams – why owning an airplane is worth it

What we love about these aeroplanes is how we feel when we are inside them, travelling across wide open spaces, chasing small puffy clouds or even just mastering two landings in a row without the instructor grabbing the yoke. It’s nice to have a beautiful interior, modern avionics and a super modern profile. But what’s more important is being able to fly, safely and passionately.