Eye of Experience

Not long ago, Rick Durden and I wrote companion columns on the subject of buying and selling airplanes. Now it is time to discuss airplane paperwork – the maintenance records which provide a complete history of everything that has been done to the airplane since it left the factory as well as a complete equipment […]

At a recent press conference, Hal Shevers, founder and “head guy” of Sporty’s Pilot Shop, mentioned a drastically different training technique that Sporty’s Academy has been employing in its ab initio program. Instead of doing things the “traditional” way – planning for the Private Pilot practical test from the beginning – they start all students […]

When I was an aspiring young aviation cadet in the old Army Air Corps during World War II, we were told that anybody can learn to fly – some just take longer than others. It was probably true then, because that group was carefully selected for aptitude, but I have since learned that it is […]

Over the years I have been a sole airplane owner, been involved in a two-person partnership in owning an airplane, and been in another partnership of four people that owned two airplanes. I have also belonged to several airplane ownership clubs, and I’ve been an airplane renter. I think this probably qualifies me to speak […]

From the friendly folks at FSSes (Flight Service Stations), who are sort of stepchildren in the ATC system, to the controllers at the ARTCCs (air route traffic control centers), the personnel in ATC (air traffic control) are on the whole, with rare exceptions, men and women are the greatest public servants in the history of […]

Probably the most dangerous thing about general aviation is that one must be around propellers — after all, they are attached to airplanes — and when a human being encounters a rotating propeller, the prop invariably wins. The result is usually disastrous to some part of the human body. I personally know two — not […]

Small children have vivid imaginations. They create imaginary playmates and re-enact stories, movies, etc. Unfortunately, as we grow older we tend to lose the ability to apply imagination to our activities. In training instrument students I explain the three skills required of an instrument pilot – instrument cross-check (scanning), instrument interpretation (what are these gages […]

One of the unsung benefits of being a general aviation pilot is getting to meet and know a lot of different FBOs. A Fixed Base Operator can be anything from a single-purpose business which sells fuel, or supplies, or provides training, or performs maintenance, or sells aircraft, or it can offer a combination of services […]

Many years ago when I was a whole lot younger than now, I was a championship athlete in a very competitive sport. When preparing for a competition, I always used to say, “Let my opponent have the skill, just let me be lucky!” When it comes down to a really tight situation in an airplane, […]

Everybody knows about “buyer beware,” but how about seller beware? Much has been written on the subject of protecting oneself when purchasing an aircraft (see Rick Durden’s excellent AVweb column or Brian Jacobson’s comprehensive book on the subject, Purchasing & Evaluating Airplanes), but I have yet to see anything on the subject of protection for […]