Features

Walla Walla Regional Airport (KALW) tower provided instructions to an incoming flight. “Cessna XXXXXX, incoming Alaska Q400 number two behind you. Make your best speed.” Response: “Walla Walla Tower, Cessna XXXXXX is a 152 and I’m pedaling as fast as I can!” Mark Carlile

While number four for takeoff on a 95-degree day, windows and doors open to catch any puff of moving air, every pilot ever minted has wished for air conditioning. With installed units starting at over $4500 and eating up at least 50 pounds of useful load, most owners are willing to sweat a bit and […]

Every pilot who’s ever packed an airplane for a trip has experienced the desire for more—more room, more useful load, more seats, more. . . As a family grows, the four-seater isn’t enough—the baggage kids seem to need grows exponentially with age. Part 135 operators want a small freighter that is rugged and can get […]

Flying an airplane involves multiple concepts from physics: Bernoulli’s principle, centrifugal force, Newton’s law of gravity, to name a few. There’s one more natural law, though, that isn’t in the science textbooks: the faster you’re trying to get somewhere, the more likely you’re going to get unexpectedly delayed. Today’s a perfect example of that. You […]

The Weekender’s calendar is filling up with family-friendly events for every region as found on SocialFlight.com.A three-day weekend awaits at the Flying Heritage Festival at Moraine Airpark just south of Dayton. Arrive Friday for on-field camping, and join the crowd for dinner and a movie at dark. Saturday will feature breakfast, forums, an afternoon poker […]

During a formation flying clinic near Redmond, OR (KRDM) one fine spring day. Lead: “Alex, never tell anyone I said this, but you look very pretty right there.” Redmond Tower: “Good thing you said that for the whole world to know.” Peter King

A frequent reader question we receive is: Why does my engine seem to lack the power it once had? We can’t tell you exactly what’s wrong, but we can get you pointed in the right direction, and that begins with a systematic approach. We can also tell you that one of the most common and […]

The stats are in, the tallies tallied and the totals have been summed up: Loss-of-control tops the list of general aviation accident causes. Recent studies by industry and government point to loss-of-control (LOC) accidents in all their variations are the leading cause of GA accidents, both fatal and otherwise. According to the U.S. Government Accountability […]

SocialFlight.com features a big selection of flying competitions and fun aircraft to see this weekend.Spirit of Flight in Erie, Colorado, will host its Hot Rods and Wings event Saturday, inviting cars, motorcycles and aircraft to join the crowd and enter judging for best-in-show trophies. Visit the museum during the event and enjoy a pancake breakfast. […]

The Socata TB20/21 Trinidad is a stylish and spacious airplane with good performance characteristics and a surprisingly low accident rate. It may not be the fastest airplane to sport a big Lycoming, but on pure style points, it has no equal. When the so-called Caribbean line from Aerospatiale first appeared at the Paris Air Show […]