Entries by

Why do pilots hate recurrent training?

Regular training increases safety and confidence. It’s good for you, right up there with eating more vegetables and exercising daily. But while all pilots know these facts, very few of us practice what we preach. Instead, we treat proficiency flights like a trip to the dentist: something we do only as often as we’re required to, and even then we dread it.

Accident report: aviate, navigate, communicate

The phrase is so overused that it’s become a cliche: aviate, navigate, communicate. The clear suggestion is that flying the airplane is much more important than messing with the GPS or telling Air Traffic Control about your problems. But while all pilots hear this advice from day one of flight training, the accident record shows that it’s hard to do when something goes wrong.

Aviation’s doomsday preppers

Roughly 20% of Americans think the world will end in their lifetime. That seems awfully pessimistic, but these doomsday preppers have nothing on pilots. Based on a number of recent conversations and comments from readers here at Air Facts, a solid majority believe general aviation will end in their lifetimes. Not get weaker – cease to exist.

10 questions for AOPA’s George Perry

The new leader of AOPA’s Air Safety Institute, George Perry, comes to the job with a diverse aviation background, including 20 years as a US Navy fighter pilot. He’s no stranger to general aviation though, from learning to fly as a teenager to owning a Mooney. We spoke to Perry about his approach to safety and his hopes for general aviation’s future.

Using historical weather data to learn

As pilots, we spend a lot of time reviewing the weather before a flight–you might even say some pilots obsess about it. But very few pilots spend any time looking at the weather after a flight. That’s a shame, because there’s much to learn from a post-flight analysis and there are some new tools that make it quite easy.

Is the ADS-B glass half full?

Over the past 25 years, pilots have complained about three different transponder rules: Mode C, then Mode S and now ADS-B. Is the FAA really this incompetent or do pilots just like to gripe? As usual, the answer is a little bit of both. I say the ADS-B glass is half full.

Go or No Go: fall cold front

As you stare at your iPad in the pilots’ lounge at Rochester, New York, you find yourself wishing for the warm days of summer. Your plan tonight is to fly from your business meeting in Rochester (ROC) to your home outside Columbus, Ohio (OSU). Will the weather cooperate?

Accident report: failure to climb

It sounds so simple: full power, pitch up and climb. What could possibly go wrong on takeoff, assuming the engine keeps running? The truth is, an awful lot, as a Cirrus accident from 2013 makes clear. We are at our most vulnerable just after takeoff, with little altitude or airspeed but lots to do in the cockpit. Throw in bad weather or dark skies and things can get overwhelming in a hurry.

Go or No Go: a legal alternate?

You’ve been looking forward to this trip for months, as you and some buddies are headed to beautiful Bandon, Oregon for a long weekend of golf. But coastal Oregon is famous for two things when it comes to weather: overcast skies and gusty winds. Can you make the flight legally? How about safely?

The emergency procedure nobody practices

Upon reviewing accidents from the past few years, it’s clear there is a disturbing trend in modern cockpits: pilots struggle to control the airplane after the autopilot quits flying. Now before you start bemoaning the state of stick and rudder skills and urging all pilots to start flight training in a Cub, let’s consider another (more nuanced) option.