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Adventures in Flying: Crete to Capetown

I’m always puzzled by the awe with which so many people — some of them pilots themselves — regard those of us who regularly fly to other continents. From Day One, there was clearly nothing superhuman...

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Why Choose Business Aviation?

Iâ€m often asked: why pursue a career in business aviation? Most professional pilots measure their career with two metrics: compensation and quality-of-life. If scheduled airlines provide more of one...

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Bearing in Mind

There’s a school of thought out there which tells us that the Non-Directional Beacon and it’s cockpit counterpart, the ADF, are things of the past with nothing to offer today’s pilot. With all due...

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Paranoia Pays Off

Normally, paranoia is considered unhealthy. As it pertains to flying, however, in my experience a moderate dose can keep the doctor away much like the proverbial apple. It’ll keep the FAA, NTSB, and...

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A Dream Deferred

The latest post from Airscape Magazine landed on my computer screen this morning. Always a welcome respite from the flood of Monday morning email, this one was a loving tribute to a Lockheed...

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Alone, Overseas–and Clueless?

When it comes to the ease and freedom of flight, itâ€s hard to beat the United States. We can obtain an IFR clearance moments after filing a flight plan and operate pretty much anywhere at anytime...

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Radiation Exposure in Business Aviation

Itâ€s long been known that flight at high altitudes exposes flight crew and passengers alike to greater levels of radiation than they normally experience on the surface, but a recent Harvard study on...

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The Chicken or the Egg?

It seems to me we’re at a bit of a tipping point with the GA ecosystem. There simply aren’t enough instructors around to solve the pilot shortage. And without enough pilots, we certainly won’t have a...

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Connecting the Dots

A friend was searching far and wide for a first officer to fly an exquisite Falcon 2000EX EASy, but couldnâ€t fill the position despite the six-figure starting salary accompanying it. The company...

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Uneven STARS

I’m often surprised at the widely varying quality of domestic Standard Terminal Arrival procedures. The name makes for a good acronym (“STAR”), but from an aviator’s perspective there’s precious little...

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Flights to Remember

I’ve been writing about general aviation for… well, let’s not count the years, shall we? It would be a bit distressing, and age is just a number anyway. (I wish.) For the most part, my output has been...

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Instructional Techniques: Reinventing the Wheel

A fellow CFI recently asked my thoughts on whether instrument flying is more art or science. Long story short, I’m of the opinion that it’s a bit of both. While ruminating on our conversation later...

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A Pilot’s Best Friend

If I had to put together a “top 10” list of work-related questions fired at me by friends and family, many of the queries would be unsurprising: “Flown anywhere exciting lately?” (Does home...

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Stupid Pilot Tricks

Iâ€ve been flying turbine aircraft for more than a decade now (jeez, time flies!), and with few exceptions, those with whom Iâ€ve shared the cockpit have operated in the consistently safe and...

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NBAA Interview

I normally try to stay away from politics, especially on the internet. I’ve lost quite enough hair, thank you very much. Unfortunately, H.R. 2997 definitely falls into that category. Could there be...

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The Big Lie: ATC Stuck in the 1960s

The debate on so-called “ATC privatization” is not a new one. A Google search of the phrase yields 171,000 results, many of them news articles going back more than a quarter century. AOPA, EAA,...

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Know Thyself

Iâ€ve met so many people on my journey in aviation. Some of them were ridiculously happy, thankful every day for the ability to go to work as a pilot. Others were jaded and surly, giving the distinct...

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When Things Go Sideways

I canâ€t determine who first said it, but flying has been described as “hours of boredom punctuated by moments of sheer terror”. The phrase may have been adapted from a description of trench...

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Fuelish Decisions

Non-pilots are usually surprised to learn that the most involved and challenging part of flying sometimes takes place on the ground rather than in the air. Preflighting the aircraft, making weather...

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The Longest Day

Pilots donâ€t always get much of a chance to interact with passengers, but when we do thereâ€s a good chance I can anticipate some of the questions theyâ€ll ask. Among the more popular queries are:...

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