The Turbine Pilot edition includes all of the stories in AOPA Pilot, plus a few additional articles written specifically for pilots and owners of turbine-powered aircraft. If you fly a turbine aircraft, or will transition into one in the near future, call Member Services at 800-USA-AOPA for more information.
It’s somewhat ironic that one of country music star Dierks Bentley’s most acclaimed songs (nominated for 2014 CMA song of the year and winner of the video of the year) is the heartbreak ballad of flying alone to a canceled honeymoon.
Wave to the adoring crowds below as you land at Lordsburg Municipal Airport, as Charles Lindbergh did in 1927, or strap on your six-shooters and arrive by stagecoach like John Wayne in the 1939 movie, aptly named Stagecoach. You decide, partner.
Jerome Stanislaus is not your typical general aviation pilot. From his tattoos that share a story about his love of flying to his enthusiasm for jumping out of perfectly good airplanes, Stanislaus exudes a passion for aviation. And he is dedicated to improving the lack of diversity throughout aviation.
On Sunday, July 5, I answered my cellphone from the backyard. Summer had finally arrived in northern Idaho, and I was enjoying a sunny afternoon under a cloudless sky.
They are at the top of their respective industries: one an award-winning country music superstar, entrepreneur, and pilot; the other a renowned airshow performer, aerobatic champion, and 13-year Red Bull Air Race World Championship pilot.
Embraer’s Pulse Concept somehow reminds me of the dropship in the 1986 movie Aliens. The dropship lands vertically, a vehicle loaded with marines and weapons drives out of it, and the ship then does a vertical takeoff.
If airplanes could talk what would they say? Well, they can talk if we learn how to listen and pay attention. Sometimes the language is subtle, as in a new sound or vibration. Sometimes they scream, as when my friend’s number 5 cylinder unexpectedly dropped a valve resulting in a broken piston, complete oil loss, and prompt engine failure.
When it comes to piston aircraft engines, the role of engine oil is complicated. It lubricates moving parts to reduce friction and wear, but that’s only one of six key functions it performs, and perhaps not even the most important one.
Atmospheric modeling is a big reason for the increasing accuracy of weather forecasts. So much so that today’s 10-day forecasts are often as accurate as the three-day forecasts of 10 years ago. How does this accuracy come about?
It was the sort of call no aircraft owner ever wants to get: “There was an incident with your airplane. Everyone is OK,” AOPA Live Executive Producer Warren Morningstar told me.
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