This is part three in a series of stories about flying to Alaska. Read about Bill’s trip planning, Flying to Alaska and Return from Fairbanks. It took four days flying from South Carolina to reach Fort Nelson, British Columbia, 283 miles up the Alaska Highway from its starting point at Dawson Creek. And more than 1,100 road miles — […]
Pilots
One pilot’s Alaska trip prep plan
This is part one in a series of stories about flying to Alaska. Read about Bill’s Flying to Alaska, Flying the Alaska Highway and Return from Fairbanks. Recently a friend asked me to help him prepare for a flying trip to Alaska. I said I would, using notes taken from my own 3,500-mile journey in a Cessna 172 from […]
When I grow up, I want to be a….
Last week I attended a Focus on Education Breakfast held in the student center at Polk State College’s main campus in Winter Haven, Florida. On hand were members of the school board, administrators from the county’s school system, teachers, principals, politicians, community activists, and a smattering of students. The whole crew was gathered for a dual […]
Why do you fly?
By GRANT BOYD Why do you fly? If you have never been asked this, or asked yourself it, then you have quite a question to tackle. I am sure that many pilots reasons are similar, but all of these aside, we can unanimously agree that flying is pretty cool. I was exposed to aviation as […]
The day I groundlooped a Baron
By JEB BURNSIDE. Flying the same aircraft all the time can be boring after a while. It’s an affliction most aircraft owners share, though it’s not one to generate much sympathy from non-owners. But after months and years flying the same familiar flivver, one begins to seek out new opportunities, different aircraft and even additional ratings. So […]
Wanted: Pilot Tips on … Flight Training
What flight training tools do you use (online courses/videos, sim time, DVDs, etc.)? What advice would you give someone who hasn’t started their training yet to help them keep down the costs and improve the quality of their training? How do you stay current? What training/currency tools are most effective and why? If you are a […]
Welcome to Cuba!
By AMELIA REIHELD. “Welcome to Cuba!” With those warm words, my first Cuban contact, a thoroughly competent Havana Approach controller, vectored me for the ILS at Havana’s Jose Marti International Airport. He handed me off with, “Contact tower 118.1, have a good stay.” Meanwhile, airliners were holding in the clag offshore as five American single-engine […]
Lexington: Horse capital of the world and birthplace of bourbon
By KARIN LEPERI Located six miles west of Lexington, Kentucky, the Blue Grass Airport (LEX) is a public airport including commercial, corporate and general aviation with an approach that arguably has to be one of the most scenic. Where else in the world can you fly over rolling emerald hills and neatly manicured horse farms […]
All pros, no cons
Regardless of what they fly, where they fly, or how they feel about flying, there is one thing all pilots have in common. We have a restriction that says we have to fly with a flight instructor now and again to demonstrate our proficiency. Most people think of that proficiency requirement as having to do […]