The devil’s advocate in me thinks the better lesson is: “You want to land and takeoff with a headwind whenever possible. However, there will be times when you find you have no choice but to land or takeoff with a tailwind. This is where your PIC judgment comes into play. It’s up to you to decide if you can make that landing or perform that takeoff safely, or whether you need to land somewhere else, or whether you should put off your trip to another day.”
Opinion
Human Factors: From the frying pan to the fire
What is the takeaway from the Red Bull Plane Swap debacle? While there are many lessons to be learned, a key one is dealing with external pressures.
More pilots in 2023
13,000+ more student pilot certificates were issued in 2023 compared to 2022. That’s a 24% increase.
One more add-on rating
It’s been decades since I took that first flight lesson, but my desire to test myself, to better myself, to experience something new and exciting has not dwindled one bit. There’s a new add-on rating in my future. There’s a new challenge to accept and a standard to meet.
What should I do with an engine that’s making metal?
Our engines expert helps troubleshoot a Piper Pacer’s engine, which just starting making metal.
Noise
“Is it that hard to build a new airport or is it just hard to make a business case for it? The US built airports very rapidly for many decades because it needed them, does it need many new ones now?”
Turnabout is fair play
The unintended consequence of providing sufficient facilities to one group naturally limited the availability of those facilities to another. This is how a woman entering aviation at any level may have found the industry treating her in the past. To some extent, they may find this lack of accommodation happening today, as well.
Explain it to me like I’m 10
This is a great way to explain the force of gravity. Most of us, kids included, can relate to being weighed. Personally, I wish I had a bit less force on the scale.
I’ll never make the front page
I’m not the best pilot in the world. Nobody who flies with me comes away thinking I’ll challenge the memory of Bob Hoover.