James, a private pilot and airplane owner in South Carolina, writes: What happens if someone wrecks your plane while they are considering buying it?
About William E. Dubois
Human Factors: Certified, not qualified
As it becomes harder to find a CFI, pilots may find they are waiting quite a while for flight training. But a long wait is much better than watching a brand-new airplane broken to pieces right in front of your eyes before you’ve even made the first payment.
Questions from the Cockpit: Recycle, replace, or retrofit?
Tom, an airplane owner in Georgia, writes: How do you re-web an airplane seatbelt?
Human Factors: Déjà vu all over again
People just aren’t getting the memo: The quickest way to kill yourself in an airplane is to pressure yourself to fly beyond your capabilities — whether those capabilities are weather, equipment, certification, experience, or simply how much energy you have left over from the day before.
Questions from the Cockpit: Freezing follies
I knew that, with heat, humidity “makes it worse.” A dry 95℉ in the Western deserts feels altogether different than a humid 95℉ in the South. But I didn’t make the mental connection that the same phenomenon might exist at the other end of the thermometer.
Human Factors: Planes, trains, and…
What lessons can we learn from a pilot who hits a train while taking off from a grass airstrip?
Questions from the Cockpit: Paperwork
Matt, a student pilot in Florida, writes: I’m studying lift as part of my pilot training. I can get my head around Bernoulli and Newton, and how that works with the airfoil, but none of my instructors can explain how a simple paper airplane — having no airfoil — generates lift to fly.”
Questions from the Cockpit: Re-branding induced drag
Joseph, a student pilot in Georgia, writes: I’m having a hard time wrapping my head around induced drag. Can you help me out?
Human Factors: A good airplane in a bad neighborhood
In addition to picking the right airplane for the job, an important pilot skill is bringing the same level of thought to picking the right airport for the airplane.