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.
Questions from the Cockpit: A Christmas quandary
Nancy, a student pilot in Florida, writes: Over airport pancakes and discussion of holiday plans, Ol’ Saint Nick’s airport came up, and my friends and I began to banter about the location of the North Pole Airport and what its GPS location would be. I thought it should be 0° North latitude, by 0° longitude…but then I realized that I don’t know if zero longitude is west or east. To top off all that confusion, Google says the North Pole is at 90° north, 135° west! What gives?
Human Factors: A cold, hard lesson
The pilot’s cold weather start technique is blamed for accident when his Cessna 172’s engine quits due to a lack of oil.
Human Factors: A poorly-timed thumb’s up
There are only two types of pilots in the world: Those who have left the wheel chocks in place and those who will.