It’s really cold up here. The wind chill is biting into any exposed skin. I’m going fast but still accelerating. The air rushing by my helmet creates a roar that is quickly becoming a banshee scream. As I move faster, every part of my body is engaged. The slightest movement has an ever-increasing effect on my flight.
Special flight permits, also known as ferry permits, allow pilots to operate aircraft that currently do not meet applicable airworthiness requirements but are still capable of safe flight.
The stories are harrowing. Sitting in my cozy little office in Frederick, Maryland, Steve Throne is sitting across from me, telling me the most horrific stories, and I eventually say to him: You have to leave.
There are numerousimportant issues to consider when purchasing an aircraft. One issue clients universally seek guidance on is how best to structure aircraft ownership to mitigate personal risk/liability. Although this is a very important issue, clients often overlook another equally essential and directly related issue: ensuring that the aircraft ownership structure complies with federally mandated United States citizenship requirements.
Special flight permits, also known as ferry permits, allow pilots to operateaircraft that currently do not meet applicable airworthiness requirements but are still capable of safe flight.
The name Goodyear is inextricably connected to the city of Akron, Ohio. It’s where in 1898 the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company was founded by brothers Charles and Frank Seiberling. The company quickly evolved from manufacturing bicycle and carriage tires to automobile tires and expanding into aviation, supporting the U.S. World War I efforts with airships and balloons.
The work of your association to protect, promote, and defend our freedom to fly is multifaceted—from the tireless efforts of our government and state advocacy teams to the important work of assuring U.S. general aviation continues to be the safest in the world, the creative work of our media teams, the protection of your rights as pilots, as well as the immense responsibility to build the pilot community, AOPA, the AOPA Air Safety Institute, and the You Can Fly team are proud of what we accomplished in 2024.
I recently had the privilege of joining AOPA Editor at Large Dave Hirschman on a mission to ferry the AOPA Sweepstakes 1958 Cessna 182 Skylane across the country, from San Martin, California, back to AOPA headquarters in Frederick, Maryland.
Four T–6 Texans slowly take the active runway at Williston Municipal Airport (X60), with the leader on the downwind side of centerline and “Dash 2” on the upwind side and slightly behind the lead’s wing line.
The possibility of fainting is a concern in the cockpit environment. Fainting, passing out, or collapsing, called syncope medically, in simple terms is a self-protective mechanism the brain uses to prevent damage to its tissue.
Have you ever started something new with really low expectations and then been wildly surprised by the results? We recently implemented a safety reporting system at our flight school. I thought people would report things such as cellphone usage on the ramp or risky weather decisions for student solos. And while those are valid safety concerns, the reports I received were a much bigger wakeup call.
It was about 1981 or ’82, and I had owned my 1964 Mooney for a couple of years. Keen for any excuse to fly, I volunteered to pick up a couple of workmates at Norfolk International Airport (ORF) and ferry them back for a business meeting in Richmond.
Dr. Rick Roth was an infectious disease director in Savannah, Georgia, when a pilot he flew with lost his medical certificate. The pilot spent months trying to get his medical back and then asked Roth for help.
Over the past couple years, there have been several high-profile midair collisions. An airshow accident in Dallas, a traffic pattern crash in Denver, a collision in Arizona, and a Blackhawk and CRJ collision in Washington, D.C., among others. While the average number of these accidents per year hasn’t gone up despite how it may seem, this heightened awareness of midairs is an opportunity to examine how we can avoid them.
I once read an FAA study dealing with accidents resulting in controlled flight into terrain (CFIT). One bullet point stood out: “The majority of such accidents involving flight into mountainous terrain occur surprisingly close to the peak of a mountain or barely below a ridge.”