Jim Thomas submitted this photo and note: “After landing at Spearfish, South Dakota, for the Badlands Fly-In in September 2025, a thunderstorm moved across the grass airplane parking.”
Questions from the Cockpit: Strength is relative
Staci, a student pilot in Arizona, asks: Why are airplanes less strong when it comes to negative Gs than positive Gs? Our “normal” trainers are said to be OK to 3.8 positive but only 1.52 negative. Even aerobatic airplanes, while stronger on both sides of the scale, are still weaker in the negative G area. It would seem to me you’d just build an airplane to be the same strength all the way around. I’m hoping you can tell me why there is a difference in strength between positive and negative.
Are larger tires in your future?
Backcountry Pilot put together a list of things to consider when increasing the size of the tires on your aircraft.
Virginia launches advanced air mobility and unmanned systems test site
Developed to support the deployment of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), urban air mobility solutions, and other advanced aviation platforms, the program will serve as an operational proving ground for new capabilities that align with Virginia’s Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) strategy, public-private priorities, and long-term economic goals, according to state aviation officials.
New partnership developing pilot training kit for Apple Vision Pro
The companies are developing LoftHOME, an at-home pilot training kit.
Lancair hits car
Probable Cause: The pilot’s failure to attain the proper touchdown point during landing, which resulted in a runway excursion and collision with terrain and a vehicle.
Picture of the Day: Gorgeous night
Jeff Marrero submitted this photo and note: “Flying over Chatham, New York, on a flight from Florida to Poughkeepsie.”
Guardian combines legacy avionics with cutting edge technology
The customizable and expandable avionics systems consolidates multiple sources of flight data, such as obstacles, flight environment, traffic, weather, terrain, satellite imagery, and more, displaying it in a high-resolution 3D view on programmable touchscreen displays.
GA accidents down, flight hours up
Key takeaways from the latest report from the Air Safety Institute show that in 2023 there were 1,097 general aviation accidents in the United States, including 186 that were fatal. The overall accident rate fell to 3.86 per 100,000 flight hours, down from 4.3 in 2022, and the fatal accident rate declined to 0.65 from 0.68 the year before.