Features

Our weekly foray into SocialFlight.com revealed that aviation activities are emerging from the winter doldrums with a combination of airshows, type club events and fly-in gatherings. The Take to the Skies Air Fest will take place on Eaker Field, Durant, Okla., on Saturday March 29 from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Organizers promise an exciting […]

An Air New Zealand DC-10 en route from Auckland to Honolulu was about to pass the southbound company flight in the early morning hours, and its crew was chatting with another flight on the inter-plane frequency. In short order, a Qantas aircraft joined the conversation. A bit later, a USAF MAC aircraft called in as […]

One of the ongoing bright spots in the world of public perception of general aviation is the growing recognition that pilots are quietly volunteering their time, skills and aircraft to make flights that benefit others. The purposes of the flights vary widely-they may help many people at once, such as through documentation of environmental degradation, […]

Whether your goal is to learn something new, give something back or just have a good time, SocialFlight can help you and your airplane find somewhere to go this weekend. In Brunswick, Ga., the Golden Isles Airport is hosting a Wings, Wheels, and Run event on Saturday, with a 5K run, a classic auto show, […]

Letter of the Week:Flying to St. Barths I watched with great interest your video with the Aztec landing in St. Barths and finishing on the beach. I happened to be in St. Barths recently. I fly there regularly in my Cirrus SR-22 but was there most recently flying an airliner. Here are a few words […]

Two airplanes took off from the same controlled airport right after each other — one a Cessna 172, the other a Cessna 182. The first off was the Cessna 172 Skyhawk, followed a minute or so later by his buddy in the Cessna 182. Both were headed for the same destination airport. Just before the […]

For most of us tooling around the airstrip and to the occasional pancake breakfast, the size of our fuel tanks doesnt matter. But when youre planning a longer flight, your aircrafts range becomes a consideration. Put another way, if you want to travel more than 500 nm, tank-size matters, and not all of us are […]

Although the design is more than four decades old, the Cessna 177 Cardinal—with its racy sloped windshield, wide doors and strutless wings—looks more modern than the newest Skyhawks coming out of Cessna’s Independence, Kansas, plant. Yet, sadly, the Cardinal is a poster child for why innovation and audacity in general aviation development has often met […]

Our weekly review of aviation activities noted on SocialFlightfound not just fly-in breakfasts, but a dinner, with seminar, and rides being given by EAA’s Ford Trimotor. The Sixth Annual Shamrock Fly-Inwill be held on Saturday, March 15 at Cannon Creek Airpark, Lake City, Fla. Running from 11:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., food offerings include a […]

Pilot:“Center, N12345.” Center:“N12345, where have you been? We haven’t heard from you in a while.” Pilot:“I’ve been in Fort Myers for the last three months or so.” Center:“N12345 -“[Chuckles.]“No, you’ve been NORDO for the last 45 minutes; we haven’t heard a communication from you. When did you last speak to a controller?” Pilot:“I guess 45 […]