In the May 1995 issue of KITPLANES magazine, we called the Zenith STOL CH 701 “more than just a pretty face” as a tongue-in-cheek reference to its rather ungainly, but highly purposeful, appearance. First flown in 1986, the little CH 701 is a perfect example of form following function. Everything about it was designed for […]

I’m not proud. I’ve done a lot of go-arounds in my career, and I’ll do one on my next flight if the occasion warrants. A lot of busted airplanes have resulted from trying to make a landing work, regardless of the situation. Back during my Army Aviation affiliations, our unit was equipped with Cessna O-1As […]

Flight planning invariably includes choosing an expected altitude for the trip and varying it as necessary for anticipated terrain encounters and ATC requirements. The question at the outset will often be, shall I go as high as practical, or as low as I can? Many factors enter into the decision, with each trip having du […]

Every so often I’ll get a casual inquiry from a “usta” pilot, someone who has a pilot’s license but hasn’t flown for a long time. Quite often, they’ll have an instrument rating and several hundreds, or even thousands, of hours of professed time. The conversation will start with “I used to fly, quite a bit. […]