Features

While a young second lieutenant at nav school at Mather Air Force Base in 1983, I was trundling along in a T-37 in the high teens on a training mission. I overheard the following conversation between an Air Force pilot and a controller who was apparently unfamiliar with the Northern California air space and the […]

Fly-ins offer a chance to explore small airports, with their quirky appeal and hidden assets, and this weekend provides plenty of opportunities. SocialFlight makes it easy to find events near and far using their free website and app. This weekend, Benton Airport, in Benton, Pennsylvania, hosts an Open House on Saturday, with a ham roast […]

One day at Spangdahlem Air Base (Germany GCA), I was working a couple of F-16s. One was on the go for his last approach. Me:“Callsign, reset transponder, squawk XXXX, and ident.” Pilot:“Roger. XXXX on the flash.” Me:“Callsign, radar contact.” [after a moment] Me:“Callsign, your ident feature appears stuck.” Pilot:“Roger.” [pause] Pilot:“How about now?” Me:“Negative. Still […]

The aircraft involved was a 1973 Cessna T210L. It had a current annual inspection, was ADS-B compliant, had a GPS approved for IFR operations and the database for the avionics was found to be current. The aircraft was not approved for flight into known icing conditions, a concern for the planned October flight into the […]

Mark Twain once said, “If you hold a cat by the tail, you learn things you cannot learn any other way.” That’s also true of flying a Cat I ILS to minimums. No amount of training, except maybe in the best simulators, prepares you for what it’s like to reach DA and see … very […]

As the season changes, the fly-in circuit shows no sign of slowing down-our review of all things SocialFlight uncovered everything from an air race for everyone through an historic airport appreciation day to a fly-in for omelets. The Cleveland Air Races are being revived-a bit more than 1000 miles away and using airplanes that mere […]

While flying back to Arkansas from eastern Tennessee, we stopped at McKeller-Sipes Regional Airport (in Jackson, Tennessee) to take advantage of their $4.75-per-gallon low lead. Being a slow day at the field, after clearing the active, the tower told us to stay on tower frequency and gave us taxi instructions to the FBO. As we […]

Flying IFR under Part 91 gives us pilots an incredible amount of freedom. Yet, it is this relative freedom from heavy regulation which is largely responsible for general aviation’s safety record, and it, frankly, is not all that great. No, flying little airplanes is not as safe as flying the airlines. Nor is it as […]

With fall arriving, SocialFlight has plenty of seasonal events to check out in the Northeast. The Adirondack Regional Airport, in Lake Clear, New York, celebrates PumpkinFest on Saturday, with games, music, food, a hay maze, silent auction, and plenty of pumpkins. The fund-raising event is sponsored by North Country Life Flight, a not-for-profit medevac service […]

I was arriving in the Washington, D.C., area with a destination of Manassas Regional in Virginia. There was a mid-morning thunderstorm that was causing aircraft, including Air Force One, to request deviations when I heard the following. After being denied a 20-degree deviation to the right to avoid weather and given an alternative of 30 […]