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Ice, turbulence and oil – oh my!

It was a rough flight. One of those flights where you think to yourself, I should have taken up boating. It started as a routine mountain departure. Typical go now in the 30-minute window between snow, sunshine, and the rapidly approaching rain clouds. After clearing mountainous terrain, I picked up my instrument clearance and looked at the broken cumulus build ups in front of me. Be a good chance to use my new Avidyne IFD440 in some real IFR I thought. And then the fun began…

September 21, 2016 /4 Comments/by

5 things every VFR pilot should say

Radio communication is always one of the hardest things to learn for many pilots. It actually seems to make flying harder sometimes: you’re already busy flying the airplane when ATC gives you a call so fast all you catch is your tail number. Other pilots in CTAF areas can make it even worse. Let me give you the top five things I’ve learned to say over the years that have made flying easier and safer.

May 18, 2016 /46 Comments/by

5 things every IFR pilot needs to say

Single Pilot IFR is one of the most dangerous types of flying in general aviation, because it requires high workload and multitasking. The human brain is always more effective when it can focus on one thing; that one thing should be flying the airplane. Over the years I’ve found five key phrases that, when told to ATC, reduce workload and make IFR much easier.

April 4, 2016 /21 Comments/by

Facebook is bad for general aviation

How can we turn around the public’s fear and confusion about GA? Let’s all agree, and get other pilots we know, to take the three-item Facebook pilot pledge. The three items are simple: Don’t share bad news, share only good news and share the beauty we see.

March 1, 2016 /36 Comments/by

All runways are the same (sort of)

The biggest problem I used to have as a pilot was landing at different airports. I used to say, “I hate this airport; the runways are different…” Strange but I never have problems parking my car in a different lot, with spaces that face a different direction than my normal office lot. I still have to put the car in the middle and pointed straight!

April 21, 2015 /9 Comments/by