Checking out in an unfamiliar aircraft is always a challenge. FAA regulation 121.652 for the airlines restricts captains who have less than 100 hours in type to higher instrument landing minimums. Pairing two new crew members has also proven to be problematic. Low situational awareness is compounded in an emergency situation. A second pilot onboard a general aviation flight isn’t technically a crewmember, and any division of responsibilities may be more ambiguous.
July 3, 2015. The sun is cresting over the horizon as André Borschberg approaches the runway at Hawaii’s Kalaeloa Airport (JRF) in the Solar Impulse 2. The crowd below has been waiting all night for the conclusion to the most challenging leg of the solar-powered aircraft’s around-the-world journey, and ground crew begin dancing before the airplane touches down. If an airplane can fly 117 hours and 52 minutes and more than 4,000 miles nonstop on solar power alone, what else is possible using clean energy?
The distinctive trapezoidal canopy bow of a P–51 Mustang frames the broad Texas horizon. The long, thin cowl is encircled by the blurred outline of a four-blade propeller spinning at high rpm. The sewing-machine-smooth, liquid-cooled engine hums at cruise power.
To aviation enthusiasts, airports are more than just infrastructure. They’re intersections of movement, memories, and excitement. Through the eyes of SkyBirdSupply founder Joel Burgess, airports are also a beautiful intertwining of art and design.
My mom said when I was two years old, I would point to the sky at airplanes and say, “See ahthay,” which meant “see airplane!” I then starting building model airplanes at age 4 (we have photo evidence).
On August 9, 1945, the B–29 bomber Bockscar, piloted by Charles W. Sweeney, lifted off from the island of Tinian, bound for Japan carrying a weapon that would change the course of history.
It’s called the “Nomad,” although it was not made to wander aimlessly. It was built—deliberately—to go where roads disappear. Developed by the American Legend Aircraft Co., the Nomad is not your average factory-standard aircraft, nor is it quite the PA–18 Super Cub it’s based on. This one belongs to social media content creator and pilot Trent Palmer, and every inch of it has been reworked, refined, and reimagined.
EAA AirVenture provides a great spot to capture pilots and their airplanes. This year on Wednesday July 23, Senior Photographer David Tulis presents an interactive workshop for those who’d like to send us great photos; these were taken last year at AirVenture 2024.
The Piper Cheyenne is perilously high on a two-mile final approach and the instructor makes things worse by intentionally flying straight and level as the runway drops ever lower in the windscreen. “Let me know when you think we’re too high to land,” instructor Bob Pinto says from the right seat as his student, Lindy Kirkland, monitors the deteriorating situation
New digital autopilots can guide you through IFR flying procedures, even when the tracks to follow are complicated. But understanding which lateral and vertical modes to use—and when to engage them—requires practice and careful monitoring.
Virtual reality and artificial intelligence can improve pilot training as the aviation industry undergoes a generational change that’s bringing large numbers of younger, less experienced pilots into turbine flight decks.
Wine and flying do not mix. That said, you can park your airplane at the very GA friendly Fredericksburg, Texas, airport, stay at the aviation-friendly Hangar Hotel, have lunch at the pilot-friendly Airport Diner, and Uber into historic downtown Fredericksburg, the wine friendly capital of the Texas Hill Country. Here shopkeepers offer wine tastings and glasses full of local wine, and you can stroll down the street sipping and savoring.
Removing failure-prone vacuum-operated attitude indicators (AI) and directional gyros (DG) and replacing them with electronic glass panel units is a popular and straightforward aircraft upgrade.
Adrian Eichhorn is a pilot’s pilot. His career—military aviation, the airlines, corporate aviation, Earthrounder, and restorer—is all about flying. Most of his friends are pilots too. When Eichhorn lost a dear friend recently, he was stunned to learn that his fellow pilot had left his Virginia-area hangars and much of its contents to him.
On June 22, 2012, an Embraer Phenom 100 was conducting a demonstration flight out of Cape Town, South Africa. Because of the high temperatures aloft, the computerized flight plan had the crew leveling off and cruising below the aircraft’s maximum ceiling of 41,000 feet. Unfortunately, the crew overlooked this fact and climbed directly to 41,000 feet, where the airplane steadily began losing airspeed following level-off.
Founded in 1825, Akron, Ohio, is named after the Greek word for “high point” (ἄκρον or akron), describing the summit of the then-developing Ohio and Erie Canal. The “Rubber Capital of the World” was home to such famed companies as Goodyear Tire & Rubber, Firestone Tires, and BFGoodrich Tires. Those were the manufacturers that delivered tires to the burgeoning car industry, connected to Akron by an engineered canal system, and so turning it into an industrial center.
Aviation has been in the news for too many of the wrong reasons of late. I was flying in April when the first radar and radio outage made waves at Newark, New Jersey (EWR). I was working a flight from Houston to Newark when we got a message from our dispatcher to divert to Indianapolis (IND) because of a radar failure. Not a minute later we got another message telling us to press on to EWR. That was followed up with a second request to divert, and this one was for real.
I have a new “smart” watch. I did not want one, but my old one broke. The old watch only tracked location and heart rate, which I used when hiking, biking, and skiing. Those simple watches are no longer made.
The immaculately restored Piper PA–18 Super Cub was a gorgeous, gleaming paperweight. It had just about every conceivable modification including a bigger engine, constant-speed propeller, digital avionics, and long-range fuel tanks for better comfort and performance.
Each year for the past 20 years, pilots gather in Valdez, Alaska, for the annual Valdez Fly-In and Airshow, and more specifically, for the STOL competition. Intrigued by the safety aspects of this niche of flying, I went to Anchorage in mid-May and then made the scenic drive east along the Glenn Highway toward Valdez, on Prince William Sound.
The Endeavor Awards, Angel Flight West’s annual benefit gala at the Los Angeles Science Center, honored outstanding volunteers as well as individuals who have contributed significantly to general aviation. Now in its eleventh year, the event’s three inspiration award honorees included former AOPA President Mark Baker, who attended with his wife, JoAnn. Angel Flight West highlighted Baker’s leadership of AOPA, and especially the development of the You Can Fly initiative, which was established during his presidency.
Roswell, New Mexico will host the National Championship Air Races for the first time this September 10 through 14 at the Roswell International Air Center (ROW). The races, which were forced to leave Reno/Stead Airport (RTS), conducted a yearslong search for a new host city before selecting Roswell.
Pilots always lead some sort of life before they find their home in aviation. Take Rachel Turner for example. I met her when she came to take her commercial checkride with me.
The AOPA media team produces the magazine stories you read here, videos to accompany those stories, fantastic photography, reels, and long-form videos on our Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok accounts.
The Cessna 320 Skyknight and I darted playfully among towering cumulus during an instrument flight over the Rocky Mountains between Denver and Salt Lake City. The passageways separating the cotton pillars were so enveloping and eerily defined that they created a sense of claustrophobia. But as the sun set and the cloud canyons began to close, I noticed ice forming on the wings.