Learn to Fly

Now, I realize that this column is usually about amusing encounters, but I want to share something that was simply heartwarming to possibly expand your horizons. About a year ago I was training a student pilot. The college student was very intense and strived to be perfect at all her training. She listened to LiveATC […]

The Sling Pilot Academyis set to induct the first round of students this week to its Accelerated Airline Pilot Program based at the Torrance airport in Southern California. The school has also announced a $20,000 scholarshipto be offered to one student who applies before Aug. 5, 2019. Using the S-LSA Sling 2 as the initial […]

In another world and another age, when I lived in Connecticut, several times a year I’d hop in the Mooney and fly down to DCA, walk to the Metro, thence to the NTSB’s basement to pore over accident reports. This led quite naturally to my penchant for reducing eye-bulging, bowel-loosening fear to actual numbers so […]

The profoundly concerned TV meteorologist warned of dangerously cold temperatures sweeping across the Midwest, conjuring Dr. Zhivago images of Cossacks on horseback and Lara Guishar in her Ice Palace with Omar Sharif to keep her warm and free from reality. A nice try to glam up winter, but it failed. I despise the season. Hate […]

Simulator manufacturer Frasca International has announced a partnership with Garmin to incorporate G1000 NXi software into its new Reconfigurable Training Device (RTD). The company says integrating the NXi software with the Frasca’s simulation software “required extensive collaboration” with Garmin and is “a first in the simulation industry.” The Frasca RTD, which is an FAA-approved Advanced […]

After months of production delays, Icon Aircraft is ramping up production of its A5 light sport amphibious aircraft. Showing a demo model at the Sport Aviation Expo in Sebring this week, Icon’s Scott Rodenback said in this exclusive podcast that about 90 airplanes have been built. The company says some 1300 are on backorder. Rodenback […]

Veteran FBO and flight school operator Lou Mancuso has opened a new flight academy at Sebring, Florida, that he says will provide fast-track training for pilots planning professional flight careers. In this exclusive podcast recorded at the Sport Aviation Expo 2019 show in Sebring, Mancuso said the school will rely on light sport aircraft, specifically […]

In the airline and military realm, fly-by-wire control has become old hat but because of expense and certification complexity, the technology hasn’t trickled down to light aircraft general aviation. Some in the industry, however, believe that digital control architecture and the enhanced stability it can offer might make airplanes easier to fly and would thus […]

Not a big fan of Best-Of lists. They rank number eight on my Top 10 Least Favorite Things list, right below raindrops on roses. Recently, AOPA published survey results of a Top 15 list of “classic” airplanes. The Waco F-series caught my eye. These are the stoutly gorgeous open-cockpit biplanes from the 1930s and 40s, […]