Flight Safety

Thanks to Professor Lisa Whittaker at Western Michigan University for providing much of the information in this column. One of the frequent visitors to the pilots lounge, here at the virtual airport, is a pilot who has been flying for three or four years. He is conscientious, works on improving his skills and has fun […]

Neighborhood parties usually aren’t my thing. When it comes to drinking beer in the backyard while dozens of unaccompanied minors are screaming and running around my ankles, I’m not easy to get along with.This neighborhood beer bash had an important difference that made it more fun for me: It wasn’t in my back yard. This […]

I‘ve put it off long enough. We’re going to have to delve into this subject sooner or later. It might as well be now.Class, please pull out your copy of the Aeronautical Information Manual: Official Guide to Basic Flight Information and ATC Procedures. Open your book to Chapter 5: Air Traffic Procedures and turn to […]

No, not the windstorm after which it is named, but the Hawker Hurricane, the airplane credited with winning the Battle of Britain (although the Spitfire got more publicity). Most reports show the Hurricane with more kills than all other aircraft combined.As one British friend mournfully told me, “John, old boy, if you’re going to fly […]

Despite the ongoing silliness of a Transportation Security Administration that continues to treat general aviation pilots as if they were criminals, it’s been a pretty good summer here at the virtual airport. People are learning to fly, a couple new pilots have purchased airplanes and hangared them here, and we’ve enjoyed the conversations that ensue […]

It had been a long day and the last thing I needed when I came back up to my layover motel room after dinner was a long talk with my flight bag. It was still up, though, and had something on its mind.Say what you will about luggage, but when your flight bag of the […]

If you’ve been reading my columns, you know I’m always going on and on about following the rules and the way things are supposed to work. I try to explain why and how, but I always feel like I’m not getting through to some folks. So this month I thought I’d try something a little […]

Editor’s Note: This is the second of a two-part series on flying the Zero. Read Part One first. Revisiting the very interesting aileron tabs, I have updated information. Thanks again to historian Alan Gaynor, who dug up further details on those strange devices. I got it almost right last month, but some documents he found […]

The title of this article, which was made famous by Gene Kranz during the Apollo 13 mission, popped into my head recently while I was climbing my ham radio tower. Whenever I unhook my climbing safety belt and start to climb down, I take a moment to focus and remember to have one hand securely […]

Just as vices tend to become habits, the Pilot’s Lounge again made its annual odyssey from the pleasant confines of the virtual airport to the EAA Convention at Oshkosh this year. The regulars camped together and did their best to keep things stirred up. Jay and Doc Walt did a formation arrival in their Beech […]