Features

Is nosewheel shimmy bugging you? It’s a continuing problem for many aircraft owners. With the following, we offer suggestions to minimize the effects of, or even solve this annoying problem. In order to correct nose wheel shimmy problems we must understand what causes the nose wheel to shimmy in the first place. Without getting too […]

SocialFlight has for The Weekender two days or more of cookouts, fly-ins and airshows, plus an invitation to fly into Pella, Iowa, for the famous Tulip Festival. Pilots-in-command can enjoy breakfast free on Saturday before getting a ride to the festival. Shuttles to and from are available from Pella Municipal Airport Friday, Saturday and Sunday. […]

Last Friday morning, I was en route to Sun ‘n Fun. The weather at KLAL prevented canceling IFR and joining the Lake Parker VFR arrival. As I (along with several other aircraft) was issued a holding clearance at LAL VOR to wait my turn for the ILS runway 9 approach, I was reminded just how […]

Vitatoe Aviation’s turbonormalized P210 conversion may just have turned the Cessna P210 into the airplane it should have been all along. I’ve liked the P210 ever since I first flew it in 1979. It’s fast, carries a good load, has honest handling and the pressurization spoiled me. However, the first part of any flight always […]

An increasing amount of instrument flying is done using technologically advanced airplanes and sophisticated avionics. Correct use of automation improves safety immensely by giving pilots the time to monitor systems, gather information, and plan ahead. But researchers have found that as a group we do not use automation effectively. Automation presents additional challenges. Over reliance […]

The Weekender’s SocialFlight schedule is bound to be a tiring one, with early mornings and late nights to enjoy. The Gopher Flying Club at Crystal Airport in Minnesota will host its semi-annual club plane wash on Saturday. All are welcome to see how a flying club works — and how to do a good wash […]

In the late ’70, I was flying up the East Coast in the early morning, in the low stratus along the Atlantic beaches. Our flight, an Allegheny Commuter Twin Otter en route to Atlantic City’s Bader Airport, was operating IFR with Atlantic City approach. Essentially, we were on top at 2,000 with high cirrus above. […]

If none of your experience involves a major international airport, it is incomplete. There are times when flying into a big airport is just more convenient, such as for a business meeting at the airport hotel or to pick up a passenger arriving by airline. With a little planning and study, you can handle even […]

The turbocharger is a useful part of a pilot’s toolbag. When flying an airplane with one installed, it can increase our rate of climb, boost our groundspeed and lift us above a lot of the weather. It also can be used to pressurize the airplane’s cabin, allowing us to enjoy a shirtsleeve environment in the […]

There are few personal airplanes that can deliver both mission utility and attention-getting nostalgia. The venerable Cessna 195 Businessliner is one of them. Cessna named it the Businessliner because it was, well, a business aircraft. But it was not the first business aircraft by a long shot. It is probably the most practical of classics […]