Features

The Weekender has some scenic seasonal flying in the works, thanks to SocialFlight, which found a Fall Foliage Fun Day (both Saturday and Sunday) at Warren Ohio’s 80OH, Sloas Field. The event will be at the Ernie Hall Aviation Museum, and on the grass runway enjoy a biplane ride in a 1929 Travel Air. Rides […]

This past week I watched the Wings Over Wine Country Air Show practice from my hangar at KSTS. I was listening to the tower on my handheld. While I was listening, three different pilots wandered into the TFR, causing the rehearsals to be delayed. The fourth time it happened was when the Canadian Snowbirds had […]

When did you last experience an embarrassing moment on the takeoff roll? Have you ever had to taxi back to the ramp to deal with a problem discovered during the run-up? Any moments of tension or near-terror because you missed something during the pre-flight? Most pilots can recite at least one tale about discovering they […]

The structure of an airplane and its systems are only as strong and reliable as the joints holding its components together. The strength of a joint is dependent not only on the properties of the fasteners, but on the design of the joint itself. The way the fasteners are loaded, the strength of the parts […]

If you’re looking for one more fly-out weekend this season with semi-rustic camping, The Weekender found some invitations on SocialFlight. Join fellow campers Friday for Centre Airpark’s 13th annual fly-in weekend in Centre Hall, Pennsylvania. There will be a big breakfast Saturday morning, lunch at the farm next door, then a potluck dinner, movie and […]

During a recent conversation with a pilot I had just met, he mentioned that one of the things he did as a volunteer pilot for Civil Air Patrol was to tow gliders in the squadron’s Cessna 182. He expressed frustration with the very time-consuming and complex power reduction procedure imposed on the pilots to prevent […]

The NTSB reports of the 100 most recent Beech Baron 55 crashes turned up some unexpected results: there were only three runway loss of control (RLOC) events, far fewer than we expect for tricycle-gear airplanes; for an airplane with a fuel system that has a reputation as simple, the majority of the 15 fuel-related accidents […]

Fly most any Beechcraft model and you will likely come away impressed with its sturdy feel, excellent build quality and, especially, its handling qualities. All the way down to the lowly Musketeer, Beech just took pains to get the airplane’s flying manners a cut above everything else, and that applies in spades to the Baron […]

I’ve really only had one landing-gear-related situation in many years of flying retractables. In that event, a brand-new gear motor—installed at annual—failed to extend the gear while airborne after several successful tests on jacks. After an uneventful landing, the motor was repaired and there were no further issues with that airplane or its landing gear […]

The Weekender’s SocialFlight options include a couple of four-day excursions for those who want to start their weekends early. The Clear Lake Splash In, “the oldest and largest seaplane fly-in west of the Mississippi River,” will take place Thursday through Sunday at Lakeport, California. It kicks off with a free barbecue and continues with a […]