Features

We’ll admit it up front, without equivocation—we think flight simulators have improved the quality and safety of flight training substantially. We’ve seen the benefits for everyone from just starting out student pilots through grizzled veterans doing recurrent training. That’s why we are interested in the attractively-priced sims developed by one-G simulation, a Seattle-based company. We […]

It’s probably safe to just come right out and say it: Walter Treadwell is not your typical homebuilder. In fact, he’s something of a legend around his local airport. And there is so much to his story. In the April 2008 issue of KITPLANES, the late Bob Fritz got a good leg up on Treadwell’s […]

The Weekender has some aviation history tours in store on SocialFlight‘s calendar. See the historic Falcon Field in Mesa, Arizona, and its legacy aircraft at the airport’s annual open house Saturday. Learn about the airport’s origins as a World War II pilot training base at the on-site museum, which will host a Southwest Military Transport […]

About 20 years ago, I was flying on a cloudy Saturday morning southwest of Austin, Texas. I was monitoring Austin approach when I heard a conversation from a plane inbound to Austin asking if they were in radar contact. Approach asked if they were the plane ten miles west of Comfort, Texas on a heading […]

Imagine a Piper J-3 Cub parked beside a mighty double-decker Airbus A380. The two airplanes couldn’t be more different, yet both function on the same four principles: thrust, drag, lift, and weight. The 1.2 million pound Airbus just scales them up a thousand times over the 1,200-pound Piper. Each aircraft is designed for its purpose. […]

It seems there’s always a Piper Arrow on the ramp as well as a good selection of them on the used market. Flight schools have long sworn by them as relatively economical complex trainers, and owners report happy relationships with their combination of useful load and range. Through longevity and numbers, it may have replaced […]

SocialFlight’s calendar will have the Weekender looking for some old-fashioned hangar flying, airplane rides and airport-hopping. On Saturday, the North Vernon Municipal Airport and EAA Chapter 1328 in Indiana will serve free coffee and donuts while supplies last, welcoming all to fly or drive in. Everyone is welcome to join the group every other weekend […]

While pilots grow old waiting for the FAA to reform the Third Class medical, light sport flying remains the last refuge to stay in the air. And vintage airplanes like Pipers venerable J-3 Cub or the Aeronca Champion actually promise affordability, if not comfort and technological panache. Taildraggers both, these two aircraft have always enjoyed […]

Years ago, we were approaching Cleveland on a clear Sunday afternoon. Accompanied by nearly unbearable static, we heard an obviously nervous light plane pilot trying to tell Hopkins tower where he was, how high he was, and what he wanted to do. When he finally (and mercifully) finished, the tower calmly replied with a clearance […]

To gain sizable amounts of speed and efficiency, you’ll generally have to fly in the mid to upper teens and higher. And to do that, you’ll have to make a choice: stick an oxygen hose (or mask) in your nose or pay for the convenience of pressurization. Due to market demand and high production costs, […]