Short Final

I was flying up to New York several years ago to the U.S. Open tennis tournament. Having an idea of the massive traffic in the area, I studied the arrival to LaGuardia Airport and had it all punched into my GPS. Getting very close, flying IFR in my single‑engine airplane, I was feeling pretty proud […]

One day when I was talking to Point Mugu Approach we had the following exchange: Point Mugu Approach: “CUP567, question for you if you have a moment. In how many miles could you dump a couple thousand feet? Just curious. I have a trainee here arguing with me and I want to prove a point.” […]

I was talking to New York Approach when I heard the following: GrayRider 5 (NY State Police): “Albany Approach, GrayRider 5. Change of mission. That plane in the water, well it’s confirmed as a float plane, so it’s now direct to Deer Park for Gray Rider 5.” Apparently they were under the mistaken impression that […]

I was with my instrument student in his plane, (an Alarus CH2T that is not a speed demon), and he was flying a five‑mile final to my home airport, Gwinnett County Airport Briscoe Field. Itwas a busy weekday afternoon, with lots of traffic in the pattern and also straight in for Runway 25. All of […]

One night the Potomac Approach frequency was not very congested. I overheard a pilot talking with the controller about his impending arrival at an outlying airport just at the tower’s 9 p.m. close. Pilot: “I think they’ll be closed by the time I get there.” Potomac Approach: “I don’t know. You might just make it.” […]

I enjoy flying kids as part of the EAA “Young Eagles” program. Last year, I had a particularly hilarious day: Two sisters were in the back seat and their brother was in the front. I always let the front seater fly the plane for a bit. When sister #1 realizes this, she says: “He’s flying […]

I was flying along, monitoring CTAFs and heard the following: “Penn Ridge, Penn Ridge, use caution. Use caution. Multiple parachutes in the air near Penn Ridge. Use caution.” Immediately thereafter, “Skydiving in progress over Brookhaven. Bombs Away!” Followed by, “Cross Keys, Yay Hooray. Skydiving All Day. Please Stay Away!” Then, me to New York Approach: […]

[Submitted by AVweb reader Bill Rackley] When my girls were young, we planned a trip to visit an old high school friend of my wife’s who lived near the beach in Fort Myers, Florida. We had been promoting the trip all week, telling the girls we were going to spend the weekend at the beach […]

As the World War II story goes … at an advance American fighter base during the North African offensive, mechanics fixed up a left-behind medium bomber, which took on the role of squadron “hack,” including one regular mission that was never recorded on the official logs. Apparently, there was no shortage of GI beer, but […]

Several years ago, I offered to take my young adult son and two of his friends in my Cirrus and drop them off at the beach. After the required defueling (Ugh), we took off for the 30‑minute flight. My son let one of his friends, Brian, sit in the front with me so he could […]