Articles

Refuel to Fly Another Day

Fuel mismanagement continues to be a causal factor in general aviation accidents. It’s not the biggest issue – “loss of control” is – but...

Flying a Different Airplane

So, you’re about to put yourself into an aircraft that you’ve never flown before. Maybe you’ve been flying Cessna aircraft until now, and...

Scraping Away the Rust

Most any athlete will tell you that it doesn’t take much time away from training to loose your crisp edge of performance. Ask a pilot if...

Situational Awareness

For several years now, the flying of perfectly good airplanes into the sides of mountains has littered safety seminars in aviation...

Tires that Go Pop in the Night

Sometimes we can be guilty of giving little consideration to innocuous things that don’t seem to matter. However, when such things are...

Can You Fly This Thing?

Manual Flight Operations Proficiency was the subject of a recently released Safety Alert from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration...

Sims aren’t just for Newbies

Proficiency is a term that resonates through every pilot’s career. Its achievement and maintenance are taught to be the mantra of all who...

Have a Nice Crash

If you find yourself in sudden trouble while trundling along on a flight, you may thank your lucky stars that your GPS has a “Go to...

Blog Your Way to Live Another Day

There’s way too much information on the Internet to ever be able to digest every morsel available for one’s benefit. But, it’s not a bad...

Is That the Door?!

Have you ever had a door pop open while in flight? Not everyone has had this experience. Were it the case, manufacturers would be...

Protecting Yourself and Your Airplane

Insurance isn’t sexy. And no matter how cool the cachet of being able to call oneself an aviator, you need to understand insurance if you...

Attitude

A well-planned and well-executed flight is probably pretty boring. You take off, climb to altitude, cruise along for a while, descend...

The Pilot Who Cares is Not One Who Dares

Good airmanship starts before takeoff. A good pilot is dedicated to a higher standard of care for their aircraft before it ever leaves...

iPad EFB 101

Tablets are becoming a standard item in a growing number of general aviation cockpits. And of the tablets available for purchase, none...

Smartphones and Smarter Tablets

Of the more popular seminars at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh over the last few years, the ones about smartphones and tablets tend to draw the...

Fighting Fatigue and Staying Alert

Did you get enough sleep last night? If you’re going to fly an airplane, it’s best to make sure that you did. Fatigue is often a reason...

Get it Up or Keep it Down?

Have you ever been working through your pre-flight protocols, only to feel a nagging sense that you’d rather spend the day on the ground?...

Surviving an Engine Failure

Preparing for emergencies is the best way to survive them. And while many pilots may find the protocol of practicing for emergency...

Going for a Ditch

The dramatic video of a Cirrus SR22 dropping into the Pacific Ocean en route to Hawaii, in January 2015, resulted in a positive outcome....

The Right State-of-Mind

Having the right mental attitude doesn’t totally guarantee that you’re always going to get the results that you’re seeking. But far more...