Search Results for: vfr

Anyone who has seen the Cygnet SF-2A will remember the two-seat, side-by-side taildragger because it looks like no other. Contrary to the high- or low-wing choices favored by designers of Amateur-Built and certified aircraft, the Cygnet extends its wings from the shoulder like outstretched arms. Even more unusual, the wingtips are 14 inches ahead of […]

Correspondence from the FAA is enough to elevate a pilot’s heart rate well into triple digits. A letter from the FAA stating that the pilot’s competence has been called into question and requesting that the pilot take a reexamination checkride with an FAA inspector will make even the toughest pilot go weak in the knees. […]

Starship Completes High-Altitude Test Flight, Explodes During Landing People just don’t seem to understand how SpaceX has changed the space industry. Almost all our early space work was done by traditional aircraft companies like Boeing and McDonnell-Douglas. Obviously, when it came time to set up a test program, the people involved with aircraft testing would […]

It’s Saturday morning at 0730. Weather is VFR and a million, and most of the flight schools and weekend warriors are calling up Ground with the ATIS, ready to go. Add student pilots, crosswinds, a runway closure and more. What are the chances of pilots missing something critical or letting expectation bias hit? That risk […]

Earlier this year, Texas Aircraft updated its Colt LSA with a comprehensive Garmin avionics suite, and now it’s going the other way, with a simpler, less expensive Garmin setup for VFR flight. Priced at $139,900, the latest Colt configuration has a single-screen Garmin G3X Touch display, external com radio and remotely mounted ADS-B-compliant transponder. Texas […]

By LeRoy Cook It isn’t every day that I get to fly a single airplane that’s both an historic icon and as desirable as the newest of the current crop of super-homebuilts. Long known as two of homebuilt aviation’s evergreen designs, Mustang Aeronautics’ Midget Mustang and Mustang II have roots that go back more than […]

For some, flying is just braving the traffic pattern or short, local flights. But serious long-distance flying or commercial operations will eventually bring you to the heart of the Great Plains. Meteorology captivated me because of the incredibly turbulent and strange weather in this area. I chased tornadoes for 15 years and forecasted weather for […]

Defensive Flying Excellent article. I want to add that if you are practicing ILS or RNAV approaches at a non-towered airport you have to be very specific about your intentions and location and even more vigilant as many VFR pilots are unfamiliar with IFR procedures. Adib B. Don’t forget that you may have rotorcraft legitimately […]

In addition to publishing the 29th and 30th editions of its Joseph T. Nall Report, the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) Air Safety Institute (ASI) has launched a new platform designed to provide “access to more current accident data in near real-time.” According to AOPA, the new platform will allow accident data to be […]

After several weeks of not flying, I had finally found the time and energy to unlimber the Debonair and get some air under its wings. I was out doing some basic maneuvers and just letting the airplane exercise itself before heading off to a nearby non-towered field for some landings and cheap fuel. I had […]