Features

In our series on refurbishing airplanes we’ve covered what’s involved with updating all aspects of your airplane. As a wrap up, we’ll look at the situation where you like your airplane as it is, and you want to keep it in good shape so you can keep flying it happily and safely for the foreseeable […]

Whether it’s a day out with the kids or a four-day mini-vacation, The Weekender’s SocialFlight calendar has plenty to choose from. EAA Chapter 242 celebrates its 50th anniversary Saturday in Columbia, South Carolina. Enjoy a free lunch of hot dogs, baked beans, slaw, lemonade and ice cream. A great variety of homebuilt and vintage aircraft […]

Mooney aficionados tend to be clustered in the end of the gene pool that has “I want a fast airplane” in the DNA. For years, they flocked to the marque that promised and delivered speed while sipping fuel. Starting with the single-seat Mite, they were willing to shoehorn themselves into tiny cabins in return for […]

A NASA T-38 flown by an astronaut was taxiing to the FBO when he turned into a private hangar’s parking area. Ground control rerouted him to the FBO, and the pilot thanked him and said: “It is so hard to find your way down here on Earth.” Gib Satterwhite

Letter of the Week:Risking Cancer to Keep Flying Regarding your Question of the Week on medical status: I get a special issuance every year. One of the requirements is for a nuclear scan for the heart. My current specialist says I should have one only when needed and he will know when it is needed. […]

In spring 2003, I was halfway through my flight training. My instructor and I were chatting about air traffic control. He’d just visited the local TRACON. From his description, I pictured a dark room filled with the intense chatter of men and women half-lit by radar scopes and blinking sci-fi lights. A few short years […]

Almost 15 years ago a well-known professional golfer named Payne Stewart was a passenger in a Lear 35 that departed Orlando, Florida for Dallas, Texas. The departure was unremarkable. Three minutes after the last communications with the Lear it made a turn consistent with a human input, but just three minutes later ATC was unable […]

Seafood’s on the menu for The Weekender’s SocialFlight events, with something for everyone – adventurous and otherwise.Pilots from throughout the northwest are invited to flock to the Willapa Harbor Airport Saturday in Washington for the sixth annual Oyster Feed Fly-In, sponsored by the EAA Chapter of the Willapa Harbor Pilots Association. A $20 ticket ($10 […]

When I was a controller in south Texas, a Piper Tripacer called me in the tower asking to transition through the airspace. Me:“Piper 123, squawk 4352.” Tripacer:“What’s that, tower?” Me:“Piper 123, squawk 4352.” Tripacer:“Tower, I don’t understand you.” Me:“Piper 123, your transponder code: 4352. Do you have a transponder on board?” Tripacer:“No, just me and […]

As anyone who’s paid attention to Central U.S. weather the last few months knows, it’s been a particularly violent spring across “Tornado Alley.” Midwest storms made national news and reintroduced repeat targets—such as Moore, Okla. Well ahead of the storms and far in front of the inevitable miles of destruction images, Americans coast to coast […]