What Does a Pilot Look Like? By Alice Speri Although it's not uncommon to see a female pilot on the flight deck, the front office is hardly representative of the gender and racial diversity of the U.S. York College students in New York are out to change that. The current class in the college's Aviation Institute is 60 percent female, and most of the aspiring pilots are women of color. Alice Speri takes a look at the program and the students.
Jump For The Cause (JFTC) just set a record on Saturday, Sept. 26, 2009, for the largest female-only formation parachute jump of 181 women. Not being female and not being a skydiver, Dr. Brent Blue decided to tag along anyway. Good thing, too, since Brent learned quite a bit logging air time with several dozen parachuting women and one talking lamb.
Just Ask Talley By Jeff Van West and Talley Kingston What was it like training pilots to fly on instruments in the Link trainer during wartime? Here's an inside view, complete with the cheap tequila.
IFR by the Sun and Stars By Bill Castlen Not that long ago, crews flew thousands of miles with no navigational aids except the sky itself. It's such an elegant solution.
Spark Plugs By Kim Santerre It doesn't get much more essential for getting rated engine performance than a properly functioning set of spark plugs.
Flying the PAR By Jeff Van West It can best the ILS for minimums and requires no fancy equipment, yet this approach is becoming a thing of the past.
VFR For IFR Pilots By Frank Bowlin Sure, you can fly an ILS to minimums in a summer hurricane without breaking a sweat, but can you fly a VFR traffic pattern on a clear day?
Vague Vectors By Tom Gilmore When the rules say to fly a procedure turn, ATC may have other ideas. Here's why you should stand your ground and do the right thing.
RANS S-19 By Marc Cook Randy Schlitter's latest design is purpose built for Light-Sport rules but intended to be one of the easiest-to-build kits around.
EGT and CHT Interpretation By Light Plane Maintenance Staff We go beyond the basics in this article on getting the most out of your digital engine-monitor system.
Safety Pilot in IMC By John McCloy We all agree the real learning happens when you take it into the clouds, but no one says the guy in the right seat has to be a CFI.
Panel Replacements: Metal vs. Overlay By Larry Anglisano If you're sinking $30,000 into new avionics, that old, cracked, Royalite panel has got to go. Here's a look at some options. FAA approval may be the tricky part.
Can I Land On That? By Meredith Saini Urban areas present few open areas for emergency landings when we need them. Do mall parking lots and warehouse rooftops offer safe alternatives?
Why Pilots Lose Their Edge By Tom Gilmore It doesn't take many weeks of sitting on the ground for an instrument pilot to get rusty. Foremost, staying current is one big balancing act.
Barefoot Flying By Dave Higdon Sport Air Aviation's Corsario delivers wet and wild fun.
Battery Basics By Kim Santerre Here's how to get the most out of all that money you paid for your last new battery.
The Lost Art of Heading By Doug Rozendaal Even in the modern world of airplane symbols on magenta lines, sharp heading and CDI skills are still golden tools.
A Pilot's History: Chap. 10 -- Aircraft Conversion, Part 1 By Carl Moesly Surplus airplanes were cheap after the war, and everyone had ideas for how to turn them into aviation "gold." Carl Moesly just had to fly them to their new owners.
Ragwing Repair Choices By Mike Gugeler Each system has its pros and cons, but our top pick is Poly Fiber. However, the shop's skills may matter more than the material itself.
Around the World in 70 Days, Weeks 6 & 7: Asia By Mary Grady "We've been gone over 50 days now, and had just one weather-related delay," says Thierry Pouille, organizer of Air Journey's unique round- the-world GA tour, now in Asia. "It's just chance, really!," he admits, noting that several times weather would have been a factor if they had planned to fly just a day before or after. "We've been lucky." Part of the group's luck stems from Pouille's work ethic. Back in Florida now, he is staying up nights and sleeping during the day, to manage the needs of his group of five world-spanning aircraft.
Cruise Dynamics By Joseph E. (Jeb) Burnside We spend most of our time in cruise flight, yet little training time is devoted to the finer points of savvy straight and level.
Learning From Mistakes By Bo Henriksson Our writer cleanses the soul about some of his flying misadventures. He obviously walked away from them, but not before learning some valuable lessons.
Around the World in 70 Days, Weeks 4 & 5: The Middle East By Mary Grady In the last two weeks, Air Journey's group of general-aviation pilots flew up the Nile to Luxor, visited Dubai and Oman, and now prepares to launch for Asia.
Around the World in 70 Days, Week 3: The Mediterranean By Mary Grady The RTW pilots left Paris behind them and took off for Marrakech, in Morrocco, on the northwestern coast of Africa. The distance of about 1,100 nm meant only the PC-12 and the Cessna Conquest could fly nonstop. The TBM 700 and Cessna Mustang crews planned a stop in Gibraltar, near the southernmost tip of the Iberian Peninsula.
Annual Inspections By Mike Berry You don't have to get your hands dirty to save money, but it helps.
Aeromedical Articles about preserving your health and keeping your medical.
Airmanship Flying techniques for the serious pilot.
ATIS AVweb's editorial and op-ed pages. Position papers and opinion pieces by the staff and guest commentators.
Aviation Law Articles about protecting yourself and your certificates.
Avionics Choosing, using, and maintaining those black boxes.
Careers Articles of interest to pilots and others planning careers in the aviation industry.
Homebuilts Articles about homebuilt, kit-built, and experimental aircraft.
Insurance Articles about insuring your aircraft (and yourself) against loss and liability.
Maintenance Information about maintaining your aircraft.
New Aircraft Articles about aircraft presently in production.
News Features Expanded coverage of aviation news, including supporting documents and in-depth reports.
Places to Fly Ideas for that flying vacation or $100 hamburger.
Profiles Conversations about lives enriched by flying. Some will be names you know, and others will be new faces, but all will give you insight into the hearts and souls of people who choose to fly.
Reviews Our in-depth reviews of the newest and niftiest products and services for pilots and aircraft owners.
Safety Aviation safety articles, plus reports on noteworthy accidents and incidents.
Skywritings Articles, stories, and fiction about flying, the joy of aviation, and some of the things it means to be a pilot.
Training Articles of special interest to aeronautical students and instructors.
(P.S. All serious pilots consider themselves students, no matter how many hours they've logged.)
Used Aircraft Articles by industry experts to help you choose, locate, appraise, and buy a used aircraft.
