Archives: Tools

Flight Review Maneuvers TAKEOFFS  Date Practiced 1. Crosswind takeoff 2. Short-field takeoff 3. Soft-field takeoff 4. Rejected takeoff LANDINGS Date Practiced 5. Crosswind landing 6. Short field landing 7. Soft-field landing 8. Balked landing/Go-around MANEUVERS Date Practiced 9. Steep turns 10. Slow flight 11. Power-off stalls 12. Power-on stalls 13.… Read More

Prompted by initial reports of the in-flight break-up of a V35B Bonanza near Fresno, California on January 18, 2008, and numerous media and online discussions of the structural failure record of Bonanzas and the V-tail airplanes in particular, I reviewed the NTSB accident record and made a list of all… Read More

STOP! READ BEFORE TAXI Conduct Pre-Taxi Planning Monitor Airport Activity Maintain Situational Awareness  Manage Cockpit Communications Remain in the Communications Loop 

STOP! READ BEFORE TAXI Conduct Pre-Taxi Planning Write Down Taxi Instructions Maintain Situational Awareness  Manage Cockpit Communications Remain in the Communications Loop 

Author’s Note: This is Part 2 of a 2-Part series. Click here to see Part 1. Your mechanic should have test-run the engine(s) before signing off the airplane as airworthy, but it’s unlikely that he or she test flew the airplane.  PROBLEM: Things might not have been thoroughly checked, or… Read More

Author’s Note: This is Part 1 of a 2-Part series. Click here to see Part 2. The annual is done, repairs are complete, the modification is installed … whatever the reason your airplane was in the shop, it’s all buttoned up now, and ready to fly — or is it? … Read More

Although most pilots aspire to owning their own aircraft, the reality is that most of us are going to rent airplanes. Rental aircraft have a reputation, unfortunately deserved in many cases, for poor and inoperative equipment, substandard levels of cleanliness, and overall wear and tear from years of service and dozens… Read More

Upgrade Your Training In the Mastery Flight Training Airmanship Model the four stripes of a Captain’s epaulets symbolize pursuit and attainment of each of these goals:

I’ve never been to Oshkosh without seeing at least one airplane ground-loop. It’s almost always a tailwheel airplane, but I’ve seen loss of directional control in “nosewheel” designs as well. And no, I wasn’t flying all (or even any) of these airplanes.  Loss of Control Loss of directional control on… Read More

You’re flying to Oshkosh! We’ve been discussing what you can do to ensure a safe AirVenture arrival. Here’s another tip: don’t go it alone. Safety in Numbers Four eyes are better than two… …and six eyes are better than four, etc. You’ll have a blast flying into AirVenture, but you… Read More