Eye of Experience

Having flown family and friends and done a substantial amount of on-demand passenger charter flying in singles and light twins, carrying all kinds of people (from babes-in-arms – to old folks who had to be assisted into the airplane – to invalids) over an aviation career that has spanned more than half a century, I […]

When I first started writing the Eye of Experience, fresh after seven years of writing the Eye of the Examiner for FLYING magazine, I indicated that many of the Eye of Experience columns would deal with the subject of flight testing. With 17 years’ experience as a Designated Pilot Examiner, and having administered over 4,000 […]

Several months ago I wrote a column entitled Some People (Just don’t Belong in the Air). At that time, because of lack of space I did not include what is perhaps the most blatant example of an individual who had no business even approaching within 50 feet of an airplane, let alone attempting to operate […]

Some time ago I wrote a column in which I stated that I’d rather be lucky than skillful any day, but in reality the skillful pilot makes his or her own luck. In all the years I’ve been flying I’ll be the first to admit that I’ve been lucky – I’m no great shakes as […]

We’ve all heard the expression “staying ahead of the airplane” but what does it really mean to each of us? To different people it may well mean different things. Rod Machado advocates that, when in IMC (instrument meteorological conditions – in cloud), a pilot should at all times have determined what are the next two […]

Simply stated, the function of any expert witness is to educate the trier of fact (judge or jury) so as to lead that individual or group to the same inescapable conclusion that the expert reached. Of course, if, during the discovery process, the expert is successful in educating opposing counsel and leading him or her […]

G rowing up as I did in suburban Cleveland, Ohio, throughout the 1930s I was privileged to attend the National Air Races. Because my father was the attorney for the local organizing group, I was doubly blessed with the privilege of getting to sit right down in the pit where I got to meet all […]

There are several programs designed to interest young people in aviation – the most notable of which is the Experimental Aircraft Association’s Young Eagles – but there are only a very few that actually get the kids started flying as genuine student pilots. Rick Durden recently wrote about what is obviously the largest of these, […]

Although all kinds of sport flying are for fun rather than transportation, all you “power pilots” don’t know what fun is until you try soaring; it’s so quiet the instructor can hear his students cry. Soaring in a glider or sailplane is just pure joy. With the sophisticated aircraft of today that most of us […]

I‘ve said before and I’ll say again, the folks in ATC (air traffic control) are, on the whole, the greatest public servants in the history of the human race. However, the Flight Standards division of the FAA is an entirely different story. The vast majority of people in Flight Standards are typical bureaucrats, shuffling paper […]