Features

Normal afternoon ground transmissions, when, out of nowhere: Unidentified Pilot:“Yeah, they have fajitas, enchiladas, burritos, quesadillas, fish tacos — they got everything!” [A short silence.] Ground:“Uhh, you just broadcasted that on BWI Ground.” [Another short silence.] (A Different) Unidentified Pilot:“Sounded delicious, though.” Shawn Byers

In discussions with new pilots at airports and on aviation forums, two of the recurring questions I get are how to give a good ride to someone who has never been in an airplane before and how come the spouses and families of a fair percentage of pilots don’t like to, or simply won’t, fly […]

In Brainteaser Quiz #210 we invited readers to share stories of their favorite aviation getaways, real or fantasy. Money was no object, because it wasn’t ours. And because fantasies can get a little weird, we’ve expunged all names that might link back to a non-pilot spouse or employer suddenly realizing why you get that faraway […]

Houston was only an hour behind us, but the weather was turning out much worse than forecast. The ceilings were steadily lowering and the METAR updates said the few airports along our route were going from marginal to worse. A pop-up IFR clearance would have been great, but there was a little problem: the airplane […]

With three days to spend for Labor Day, The Weekender scouted out some first-time fly-ins on SocialFlight, plus some big airshows. FlightLevel of Cape May County Airport in New Jersey will hold its first fly-in, which includes AIRFest at the Naval Air Station Wildwood Aviation Museum featuring WWII re-enactors and live music. Grab a free […]

Back when I was a student pilot in Navy Flight School, I was flying solo along the beach, conducting precision aerobatics practice. As I finished a barrel roll and set up for a loop, I heard a student-and-instructor aircraft check in to the area, and the exchange went like this: Instructor:“Solo aircraft 123, was that […]

Departing from a 4200-foot runway, the twin engine Beech B60 Duke lifted off after a 1500-foot takeoff roll. The landing gear was immediately retracted but at approximately 100 feet agl, a large puff of black smoke erupted from the left engine. Witnesses stated the airplane pitched up and then banked sharply to the left. At […]

Concerns about pilot aging are just as important for the younger pilot as for the more silver-haired among us. The US population is getting greyer, and it’s plain to see when looking around any airport, so too is the average pilot. This aging brings numerous challenges and a few rewards that should be important to […]

The Weekender will have a hard time choosing what state to fly to, with SocialFlight offering some unique outings. On Saturday, experience the fun of landing on a well-maintained 2,600-foot turf runway that runs along an island on the Mississippi. This Iowa gem will be open to pilots and their guests for the 15th Annual […]

The idea of the push-pull twin makes such fundamental sense that it has been applied to aircraft designs in one form or another for nearly 100 years and in literally dozens of models you’ve never even heard of. Back in 2005, Adam Aircraft tried the idea again with the A500 push-pull piston twin. Like many […]