AOPA Pilot Magazine

AOPA is excited to bring pilots back together with a new take on our regional fly-ins—introducing The Hangout: An AOPA Fly-In.

Italians, well known for their sense of style and fashion, carry that cultural asset into their automobiles, clothing lines, and, yes, airplanes.

Aviation is full of characters—those with inspiration, creativity, courage, guts, determination, and, yes, a touch of fantasy. There are those who would place Kermit Weeks, the owner of Fantasy of Flight near Orlando, Florida, smack into those categories.

A philanthropic couple—both pilots—returned from Coeur d’Alene, Idaho (COE), to their home airport, North Las Vegas Airport (VGT) in Nevada after a public benefit flight.

Five things you hope to never need, but that you'll be so glad to have if the time comes.

By Chris Rose

AOPA Pilot Editor at Large Dave Hirschman's flight bag essentials include a high-end cushion for your low end that makes any long trip more enjoyable.

Sharing your flying experience

Keep your smallest passengers happy (with resulting happiness for adults on board) with protection for their eyes, ears, and a car seat suited for airplanes.

Readers respond to airport staffer and student pilot Alton Downer’s surprise flight in an Extra 300L with AOPA Pilot Editor at Large Dave Hirschman (see “New Video Captures Excitement”)

You’ve earned all your desired certificates and you own an aircraft. So, what is the next step? Purchasing your own hangar?

Several years back, I had a more individualistic approach to my flying. I arrived at VFR patterns in whatever fashion suited my personal situation. I’d flow into existing traffic, but also didn’t hesitate to fly a straight-in or an unorthodox entry if I thought I could work it in. My approach worked out OK.

My boss at the flight school recently came in and slumped into the chair beside my desk with a worried sigh. “These young women in the office are saying some of the male pilots around here make them feel uncomfortable. You don’t get treated like that, do you?”

Aircraft accidents are valuable object lessons. Some, of course, teach more than others. One of the most fascinating involved Avianca 052, a Boeing 707 passenger flight that departed Medellín, Colombia, on January 25, 1990. The aircraft ran out of fuel 6 hours and 26 minutes later and crashed in the village of Cove Neck, 18 miles northeast of John F. Kennedy International Airport, its destination.

The treadless tundra tires on the AOPA Sweepstakes Cessna 170 kissed the runway at Felts Field (SFF) in Spokane, Washington. As I taxied to Western Aviation—the FBO on the field with impressively modern facilities—I reflected on being the vanguard of aircraft, pilots, and families who would soon gather at this historic airport to enjoy the first AOPA fly-in in three years.

What a fantastic year it has been for our community. We’re enjoying this passion for flying in numbers we haven’t seen for some time. We’re staying safer than ever, we’ve been seeing thousands of our members at fantastic events across the country, and we are making real progress on our pledge to make general aviation totally lead-free.

Stephen Elop joined AOPA’s board of trustees in 2022. He has been an AOPA member since 1994.

Legends of the Sky: The Liberty Plane profiles the development of the United States’ first war aircraft, the de Havilland DH–4 Liberty, and the enormous contributions the aircraft made to aviation history.

Tune your GPS to KVDF and get ready to join AOPA in the Sunshine State November 4 and 5.

Questions for aviators

Lightspeed Aviation’s newest Delta Zulu headset is an ambitious product that seeks to redefine its market. Instead of just a communication device, it’s a safety tool with a built-in carbon monoxide sensor that provides aural warnings if cockpit CO levels rise to threatening levels.

The Spanish christened it Ojo Caliente de las Palomas, then it was shortened to Palomas Hot Springs, and then simply Hot Springs because of the naturally occurring hot springs along the Rio Grande, which runs through the center of this town in southwest New Mexico.

A bronze statue of Amelia Earhart was unveiled recently during a congressional ceremony in National Statuary Hall at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. Earhart is now one of only 11 women represented among 100 statues (two from each state) that comprise the National Statuary Hall Collection.

By Julia Levitina

I’m aware that wars exist and have existed, but I’ve only ever known peace. I never did think there could be such a thing as peace in the time of war.

By Luc Zipkin

Since its founding in 1957, the Commemorative Air Force (CAF) has grown to a giant in the warbird scene, with 181 aircraft and 89 units. But the former Confederate Air Force, headquartered in Dallas, is a Southern organization, right? Not so, says 18-year-old Nick Infantino of Manchester, New Hampshire.