As a new pilot in 2002, I was proficient at takeoffs, cruise flight, and landing—but I wanted more. I wanted to go places, fulfill some of the goals I’d made for myself as a student pilot.
As a new pilot in 2002, I was proficient at takeoffs, cruise flight, and landing—but I wanted more. I wanted to go places, fulfill some of the goals I’d made for myself as a student pilot.
When connected to GPS navigators such as the Garmin GTN series, modern autopilots like the Garmin GFC 500 and GFC 600 can use vertical navigation (VNAV) to fly smooth, precise profiles through a series of step-downs prior to the final approach fix during instrument approaches and while descending via standard terminal arrival routes (STARs).
In late May 2023, a passenger on an Asiana Airlines Airbus A321 seconds away from landing in South Korea managed to wrestle open one of the emergency exit doors, which blew the escape slide/raft.
Night flying can be beautiful and peaceful. Like a portal to an unknown world, cruising along on a smooth night with a full sky of stars and a quiet radio frequency is a place only pilots get to know or experience. Unfortunately, that peaceful vibe contains numerous increased risks that must be respected before we can relax and enjoy the view.
Hundreds of children and their parents were entertained in June by dozens of general aviation pilots who landed their aircraft at the busy Dulles International Airport.
Striking out from Maine to Alaska solo in a Cessna 150 was only a small beginning for Lydia Jacobs, now 25, in search of the greater flying opportunities Alaska promised.
The magnetos that power traditional aircraft ignition systems are antiquated, inefficient, and maintenance intensive, but they have one saving grace: If the aircraft electrical system fails, magnetos continue operating normally without missing a beat.
An Air France crew’s spectacular failure to get along in flight resulted in two pilots coming to blows (and getting suspended), and it brought to the fore a question I’ve long held but never asked out loud: What’s the right way to fly with pilots we just don’t like?
My landings were fine, and then they weren’t. After months of routine touchdowns, one day I flared too high, and the airplane dropped firmly onto the runway. No worries; ungraceful landings happen sometimes.