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Sometime, watching a twin-engine aircraft taxi out and take off,you’ve probably wondered if you could fly one. When you pokeyour head inside the cockpit, it does look kinda complicated.Lots of knobs and dials there. But to let you in on a little secret: it’s really not that tough— most of the time. When everything is […]

I admit it: until a few years ago, I found Civil War history tiresome; there weretoo many battles, too many deposed Union generals, and too many politicalfacts to master. Now, midway through my fifth decade, I have the patience,the curiosity and the time to try to understand something of this mosttroublesome episode in our American […]

Situational awareness is more than knowing your position. It’salso about knowing what’s going on or anticipating what’s aboutto happen. There have been tragic results from the lack of situationalawareness. Some accidents/incidents haven’t ended tragically,but have resulted in FAA enforcement actions against the pilotsinvolved. Let’s review some of the occurrences and try to profitfrom the misfortunes […]

In the glory days of general aviation, Piper, Beech and Cessnatook the advice of the guy in The Graduate who whispered one wordof advice — “plastics” — into Dustin Hoffman’s ear. The OEMs became big consumers of polyester resins. Sometimes itwent by the trade name Royalite, sometimes ABS, but it was allmade up of pellets […]

The 33rd annual Reno National Championship Air Races opened on September9, 1996 and with it brought both excitement and disappointment. In recentyears the “fastest motor sport in the world” has been slightly waning interms of participation and competition. However, the 1996 campaign showedgreat encouragement for there were a number of new unlimited racers on theramp […]

The 0-470 is a rugged engine that’s capable of producing solidand dependable power. It distinguishes itself from other six-cylindercarbureted engines by its characteristic lope at idle and throatyexhaust stack burp. When balanced, an O-470 will run at cruisepower without the least bit of burble or vibration. There are 15 models of the O-470 engine flying […]

I am a student pilot on the East Coast, working toward my privatepilot ticket. Why? Well, the whole idea was my husband’s brilliantnotion of “togetherness.” After nearly five years ofmarriage as the poster children for Opposites Attract, Inc., hedecided we should “find something we could do together.”Learning to fly was it. And for some unexplainable […]

 As the prime winter icing season once again approaches, many ofus will be confronted with this sinister hazard. Every year, almostwithout fail, there are between 30 and 40 accidents involvingicing, about half of them fatal. As we’ve pointed out in previousissues, by heeding the pireps and taking decisive action at thefirst sign of ice, the […]

Many civilian pilots are aware, generally at least, of ground radarsbeing used to guide airplanes to landings through the clouds. The militaryhas used ground control approach (GCA) systems for many years. By the endof WWII and during the Korean War this was an established way of helpingpilots. Radar systems housed in trailers could be relocated […]

When I learned to fly on the East Coast thirty-something yearsago, turbocharging was a dirty word. Everybody said turbos wereexpensive, inefficient, maintenance-intensive, problem-prone,shortens TBO drastically, and makes sense only for folks basedin the Colorado Rockies. As a young, impressionable airman, Ibought it…lock, stock and intercooler. I bought my first airplane in 1968, a nice conservative […]