Technique

Pilots transitioning from one type of aircraft to another havea responsibility to themselves and to their passengers to ensure that theyare comfortable and safe in the new aircraft. Others, from instructors todesignated check airmen to company managers, have the job of overseeing theprocess and ensuring that when a recently upgraded pilot makes his firstflights in […]

Most of us have been taught to hand rotate the propeller before normalstartup or after shutdown for the following suggested reasons: But few of us have been properly trained about the proper precautionsthat need to be taken before touching that propeller. Few CFIs or pilotexaminers provide guidance about propeller safety, apparently assumingthe aircraft manual provides […]

The following is the full text of a letter sent by the author to the FAA. This letter is to inform you of an incident that occurred during a routine flight from Austin, Texas (AUS) to Addison Airport, Dallas, Texas (ADS). This incident in no way deals with any violation of current FAR’s or use […]

Gone are the days when pilots were expected to know every nut and bolt intheir aircraft. These days, pilots aren’t expected to retain minute mechanicaldetails, but there is still much we need to know about our aircraft to staysafe_including enough systems knowledge to understand what the various cockpitannunciator lights and buzzers mean, and how to […]

April 19, 1996. There I was, 5,000 MSL (about 4,000 AGL) with my wife besideme in our 1954 Piper Tri-Pacer. The problem was that I was at full throttleand pitched for a standard climb, but we were descending.. I’d been cleared to 7,000 and instructed to contect Center upon reachingthat altitude TriPacer Zero Seven Papa […]

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 […]

 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 […]

I write this with considerable personal embarrassment, in thehopes that someone may learn from it. Sunriver, Oregon, is a lovely summer and winter resort communityabout 20 miles from Mt Bachelor, a popular ski spot. We renta condo there for a week every year, during the kids’ Spring break.I usually fly down with one or both […]

During the winter, dozens of aircraft come to grief on ice andsnow-covered runways, sometimes after completing an otherwiseuneventful instrument approach. These accidents are rarely fatal but they do illustrate a harshreality of winter flying. We worry incessantly about airframeicing but slick runways, snowbanks and low visibility test thelimits of man and machine and very often, […]

Two thousand miles in an open-cockpit biplane. Richard Bach did it. Steven Coonts did it. Clearly nothing that I can’t handle! Never mind that Bach and Coonts did their biplane treks in thesummertime and carefully picked their weather. My journey wouldbe in November…the only time I could find four free days ina row to make […]