It has been a LONG time since I’ve added a rating or certificate to my pilot qualifications. But I’ve just added the easiest certificate ever. If I understand it correctly — and that’s a big if — I’ve just earned a Remote Pilot Certificate with a Small Unmanned Aircraft System Rating. How easy was it to add […]
Opinion
Ask Paul: Cylinders and safety
Q: I have come across your name looking for answers to the following: We had to rebuild a Lycoming 0-540-J3C5D with normal wide deck cylinders instead of the thin wide deck cylinders nine years ago and 800 flying hours. This engine just came in for a cam shaft change. Our question is can we continue the rest of the engine’s life […]
Getting the word out in a big way
This past week my Sunday paper included a story you would have enjoyed. The photos were of three young women, each standing proudly beside an airplane. Two were beside a Piper Cub, while the third leaned casually against a Cessna 150. One is a CFI, the other two are high school students who just happen […]
The genesis of ‘Hold my beer, watch this’?
“The New York Times called it a ‘fine landing’ and reported it had been widely called ‘a feat of aeronautics.’” A friend passed the story to me from the popular Imgur website. According to the June 4, 2016 New York Times story, Thomas Fitzpatrick landed a stolen plane “on St. Nicholas Avenue in northern Manhattan,” […]
One of aviation’s guilty pleasures
By JEB BURNSIDE. “If you have time to spare, go by air” is one of many truisms associated with traveling by aircraft. It’s perhaps rooted most deeply in general aviation, where no matter how hard we may try, a schedule is merely a guideline — which means a lot of waiting. Glance around a typical FBO […]
Finding safety, longevity, and diversity in numbers
Living beings have a strong tendency to travel in packs, schools, prides, pods, or convocations. Whether they find a home in the sea, on the land, or in the air, living in a congregation is the norm more often than not. Even early humans lived and travelled in tribes for very good reason. This propensity […]
The little shows that could
In the world of airshows, two names quickly jump to mind: AirVenture Oshkosh and SUN ‘n FUN in Lakeland, Florida. These major events draw hundreds of thousands of pilots and capture the world’s attention. Little shows, not so much. But… Most readers may recall the childhood story of the “Little Engine That Could,” and that captions […]
Good job, just not good enough
Good news everyone, NTSB Chairman Christopher A. Hart says we are doing better. “Even though the fatality rate in 2015 was the lowest it has been in many years,” said Hart when the 2015 aviation accident statistics were released, “376 people still lost their lives.” If you click through to the “Data & Stats” link […]
Are you experienced?
It’s been said for many years the private pilot certificate is a license to learn. The underlying intent of the statement holds that with a private pilot certificate we have the freedom to get out and fly, to gain experience, and through that experience we might become better pilots. That was the idea, anyway. In […]