Led by Sherman Mills Fairchild, who enjoyed both wealth and talent, Fairchild fast became a reliable part of American aviation industry.
Opinion
The real reason pilots quit flight training
In his series of stories Jamail Larkins noted money, medical issues, and clashing personalities between student and CFI were the top three reasons people quit flight training. But a veteran CFI says that’s not the real reason people quit.
Carry that weight with style and accuracy
Weight affects performance. Sometimes positively. Sometimes negatively. Sometimes catastrophically.
Blame it on the lawyers
When there is a problem with the transition to unleaded avgas, maybe those affected will sue the EPA or the FAA. But more realistically they will sue everyone from the airplane manufacturers to the fuel distributor, letting the courts sort it out to determine the winners and losers.
Human Factors: Hidden wear and tear
When a pilot crashes his new plane on the same day he bought it, NTSB investigators discovered the smoking gun for the accident was a part that pilots can’t see during a preflight.
It’s about heart, not heft
People have a tendency to discourage friends and family from seeking great adventures in aviation. The belief is often expressed that we aren’t prepared, or funded, or that we’re operating machines that were never meant to fly such a distance. Poppycock, I say.
Questions from the Cockpit: When ATC goes dark
David, an airplane owner in Iowa, writes: Given the recent reported radio outage at Newark, I’m sure we could all use a refresher and perspective on lost comms. It’s one thing to have an on-board failure, but seems much different if ATC goes down, especially in busy airspace. It would be great to hear and learn about scenarios that appear more likely than we thought.
It’s all about the blades
Propellers are a mystery to most. Even to pilots they are little more than an afterthought. They seem simple enough. They are little more than a fixed form attached to a spinning shaft that produces thrust when run up to enough RPMs. How it works, why it works, and what can be done to make it work more efficiently rarely comes up in conversation.
Music or noise?
While music to my ears, the constant sound of a Cessna T206 circling overhead for nearly two hours may have rattled the nerves of some of my neighbors.