This is part one in a series of stories about flying to Alaska. Read about Bill’s Flying to Alaska, Flying the Alaska Highway and Return from Fairbanks. Recently a friend asked me to help him prepare for a flying trip to Alaska. I said I would, using notes taken from my own 3,500-mile journey in a Cessna 172 from […]
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Tips for safe winter flying
Recently published by AOPA Insurance were several tips to help pilots get into air during the coldest time of the year: Winter. “Pilots who enjoy winter flying acknowledge that while your preflight might be a shiver-inducing experience, you will likely not face thunderstorms, one of warmer weather’s traditional hazards,” the report begins. “The cold air also provides […]
Tip: Daily drills pay off
Paul Tomascik, a CFI from Ottawa, Ontario in Canada, shares this idea: “One of the easiest and most effective ways to practice system transitions in a plane that you are unfamiliar with or one that you’re rusty in is to take a picture of the panel with your iPad and chair fly with the screen-shot […]
Video: Head-to-head comparison of inflight cameras
Our friends at The HD Pilot recently uploaded this video, explaining: “Up until now, all of our HD Pilot videos have been made with a GoPro camera. But recently, we were given the opportunity to evaluate a Drift Ghost-S HD camera and compare it with the top of the line GoPro 4 Black.”
Tip: Fly it or sell it
Herb Harney of Jenison, Michigan submits this pilot tip: “The best method of keeping your airplane and engine in top shape…fly it! At least weekly, raise the oil temperature to 185° or max that you can. Your engines will love you for it. If you don’t fly it, then sell it.”
Video: Professor develops ‘drone catcher’
When Michigan Technological University Professor Mo Rastgaar was watching World Cup soccer, he heard about snipers protecting the crowd from drones — not a good idea, he thought. “I thought, ‘If the threat is a drone, you really don’t want to shoot it down — it might contain explosives and blow up. What you want […]
Tip: Patience is a virtue
Ray Winslow of Laughlin, Nevada, notes: “If you are a hobby pilot like me and live outside very congested airspace, do not do anything about ADS-B until this all settles out. This is especially true if your plane is like mine and only losing value every day because flying is becoming a rich man’s game.I have an […]
Video Tip: Find something unique to attract airshow crowds
Don & Nicole Gutridge from Oakdale, California offer this tip for creating a great airshow: Find something unique to offer for entertainment and/or education.The Oakdale Airport O27 Open House, held in October, found this jaw-dropping performance to showcase. You can view our 2015 Oakdale Flying Display with Greg Milosevich here: Something memorable or safety related […]
Tip: Keep training consistent
Dan Vandermeer submits this “simple tip to help keep flight training consistent: I advise student pilots to routinely schedule three lessons ahead. The most common reasons training sessions are cancelled are: The student or CFI has a last minute schedule conflict; The weather is not good; The aircraft has a mechanical/avionics problem. Just a few […]