Flying to the Edge
A Cirrus SR22, a remote Arctic village, a solar eclipse, and hundreds of miles across the Greenland Ice Sheet. John Bone takes us along on an unforgettable flight to the edge of the inhabited world.
Author Archive for: johnbone
Entries by John Bone
VIA The Poles: Journey Around the World’s Ultimate Flight Path
I was part of a four-person crew that completed a Polar Circumnavigation Diploma flight in May 2025 in a 1976 Learjet 36A, S/N 022, N31GJ. If the application is accepted, it will be the fourth aircraft to meet the FAI Polar Circumnavigation Diploma requirements. The flight served as a fundraiser for the Classic Learjet Foundation, which is currently restoring Learjet 23 S/N 003, the first Learjet delivered to a customer in 1964. The now-vintage Learjet 36A completed the 26,291-mile flight without any issues or maintenance delays.
The European “28 Day Holiday License”
If you have not flown in Europe, there are some differences from the US. Airspace, altimetry, transition level, VFR procedures, and airport operations differ. A quick flight with a flight instructor is not enough to get familiar with the differences. You will want to schedule ground and flight training to familiarize yourself with European airspace and regulations.
Flying for Ukraine Air Rescue—small planes, big mission
Ukraine Air Rescue came to life in just a few days. Within six months, UAR had grown to 313 volunteer pilots worldwide. The pilots range from retired or current airline and military pilots, flight instructors, professional pilots, an EASA safety inspector, and many VFR private pilots. The mix of participating airplanes ranges from the French-built Robin to Pilatus PC-12s and just about everything in between.
Flying a Cirrus VFR across Russia
For decades, the requirements to fly a private plane beyond Moscow or St. Petersburg required having a Russian speaker/navigator on board. I understood that the necessary permits were difficult to obtain and that avgas was hard to come by. With little notice or announcements, all of this has changed. Thinking about all of this for just a few seconds, I knew that I had to make this trip.
Stepping down in automation—the real lesson for children of the magenta line
Van Vanderburgh and the American Airlines Training Department determined that pilots flying the new automated jets were becoming “Automation Dependent Pilots.” One of Van’s slides defines such a pilot as one who does not select the proper level of automation for the task and loses situational awareness.
A young pilot’s plan to eliminate get-there-itis
Most of us have a Plan B in mind but it might not be developed into a concrete plan and often is not executed in time to put it into action. This is where Dylan’s plan works beautifully and has been very successful for both him and the company. One of the key elements of the plan is that it be implemented 24 hours before the scheduled departure.
VFR to Russia? No problem!
This past July, we joined the Alaska Airmen Association and Circumpolar Expeditions on a group flight from Nome, Alaska, to Provideniya, Russia. The trip served two purposes: one as a goodwill mission to the Chukotka region of Russia and the other to keep the route between Nome and Provideniya open.
A brief history of single-engine solo circumnavigation flights
Earth Rounders currently document 231 single-engine circumnavigations by more than one pilot and 124 solo circumnavigations. The range of single-engine airplanes that have made circumnavigations is amazing: Long EZs, RVs, a Stearman, a Searey. Unbelievable! Of course Mooneys, Bonanzas, Pipers, several Cessna 182s and all kinds of homebuilts have made the trip.