The latest crop of long-range business aircraft have the ability to traverse most of the world’s routes non-stop. For those which remain out of reach, I muse about whether the added range is worth pursuing in an environment of diminishing returns. Read more →
Flying is fun — that’s why we got hooked in the first place. But flying for a living can easily suck the life out of your aviation passion… if you let it. Read more →
When GA pilots are finishing training, they often look around and say “what now?”. The structured environment is gone, the goal achieved. A friend recently published a book that provides some suggestions for that situation. Read more →
“Who’s the best pilot you ever saw?” That famous line from The Right Stuff inspired me to ask what constitutes a great pilot in the real world. Read more →
A Los Angeles-based news outlet asked for my thoughts on how to “fix LAX”. Many Angelinos are probably wondering how to do that, too. Unfortunately, the real problem with the airport isn’t the airport at all. It’s much larger and has been half a century in the making. Read more →
While the FAA employs many quality individuals, as a whole, the agency seems to be falling apart on us. Here are several examples of how FAA policies are hurting GA and how the trend can be reversed. Read more →
A fellow pilot recently wrote about teaching a homeless man to fly. His post reminded me that I once did the same thing, and in the process learned a valuable lesson about how we can be our own worst enemy when it comes to achieving long-held goals. Read more →
NATS, the British ATC entity, recently published a video modeling a day’s air traffic over southern England. It’s an impressive technical achievement, but it left me feeling sad about what’s missing from the skies over there. Read more →
You probably remember that scene from Top Gun where Tom Cruise scans a briefing room full of hot-shot pilots during his first day at the famous Naval Fighter Weapons School and wonders “who the best is”. Top Gun was a fictional tale, of course… but I know the real-life answer to Maverick’s question. I’ve met the best aviation has to offer, and their names most certainly do not occupy a plaque in the ladies room. Read more →
Liability concerns are a major expense and motivator for many industries. That’s why Superman costumes come with warnings that “the cape does not enable the wearer to fly”, Zippo cautions the user not to ignite the lighter in your face, and irons are sold with tags advising against ironing clothes while they’re being worn. But for general aviation, this sort of thing is dragging the lot of us down as surely as a cement block tossed into the murky waters of the East River. Read more →