In a small GA aircraft, in which phases of flight will you normally use mostly trim to adjust pitch, and in which phases will you normally mostly use the yoke?

My daughter innocently asked that question the other day, and I gave her the usual "because white reflects heat better" answer -- but that really doesn't add up, does it? Automobiles, motorcycles, boats -- you name it -- all come in a rainbow of colors. Why are 99.5% of all planes (except for...

I ran into an old client today and we stumbled on to the flying topic. Turns out he got his PP a couple years ago and bought a plane. He said with a completely straight face that he's thinking of getting an instrument rating because he "flies in IMC a lot." He does OK but would like to be able to...

Fixed-wing aircraft taxi because their wheels reduce friction as they move forward on the ground. :-) I am feeling profound today...

Here's the average age of pilots, comparing 1993 to 2003: .....................1993 -- 2003 Student ........ 33.7 - 34.0 Rec ..............45.5 - 51.3 Private ..........42.7 - 46.5 Commercial ...41.9 - 45.6 ATP ..............44.1 - 47.0 Here are the number of private certificates issued:

You've been cleared into Class B VFR, and you've been assigned a heading. After a while you see that your heading will take you through some clouds, and you asked to be cleared on a different heading, 40 degrees to the right. ATC says unable and gives a plausible reason why. What do you do?

Mary and I have given rides to dozens of people over the years. I usually like to let a newbie ride in the right seat with me, and will usually let them "take the wheel" once we're safely at altitude. Most people love their new-found freedom, while others are tentative and not quite sure what to...

Story on Yahoo: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080318/ap_on_re_us/obit_van_meter I'm aware of three people I've known in my life that attempted suicide, and sadly one was successful. None of them were attempting to escape physical pain or fiscal trauma. Sometimes the worst enemy a person has is...

Hello Everyone, I am 23 years old and I have been convicted of 1 DUI for smelling like alcohol pratically in New Hampshire, do I still have a shot at being a commercial pilot? -- Ceaser

On the first leg of our flight to Washington, D.C., we only made it as far as Rantoul, Illinois, due to thunderstorms. We were utilizing VFR flight following, starting with Cedar Rapids Approach (CID)and being progressively handed off until we were talking to Chicago Center. As we approached...

Hi all. I'm a 39 year old guy who has loved flying and dreamt of being a pilot for a long time. This year I finally realized that I had more than enough money to start and figured I owed it to myself to book a discovery flight with every intention of seeing it through to my private pilot's...

Casual debate he Something like .1% of the pilots randomly tested for alcohol and drugs (one was .5%, I believe) tested positive in 2004. That's one in a thousand. As a result of this percentage, the random test rate will stay at 25% for drugs and something similar for alcohol. Meanwhile,...

I'm kind of curious - does anyone with more than 100 hours do a flight plan, with winds and all, before they fly cross country? Most of my planning is of the fuel stop, or occasionally detour for weather variety - but it is rare for me to include more than one or two waypoints in my "plan", and I...

I see in the local paper a plane "crashed" over at Mt Pleasant (MOP). There's not a lot of information available, but we had thunderstorms throughout the area with winds varying from calm to gusting over 40 along with hail and torrential rains. Here which is about 16 miles east of the MOP runway I...

What is your method for handling weight and balance when you are piloting a small aircraft alone? Do you just trim to adjust for the lateral imbalance, or do you put something on the other side of the plane (ballast, luggage, etc.) to balance it out, or what?

I got the following link to this video via the Matronics Zenith e-mail list. What's interesting and fascinating about it is that it contains video from a cockpit camera that shows the impending mid-air collision and the cockpit view when the aircraft hits the ground under the...

Everywhere, every day on the radio, television, and in the newspapers, all I hear is how the "Record Price of Oil" is killing America. Yet, strangely, Americans keep driving *more*. And I don't see anyone flying less. How can this be? Here are some encouraging stats from the current issue of...

Back when Andrew came through, the damage created tremendous and lasting shortages of building materials. Plywood became unobtainable in the northeast for a short period of time and scarce for nearly a year after that. Prices went up and stayed there. A few years later, manufacturers reduced the...

http://tinyurl.com/24og9o Read about the bewildering details of a number of long-suffering non-resident pilots who have been caught in the FL tax trap, (otherwise known as the "Florida Landing Fee"). It starts like this... you buy a new or used aircraft and sign the bill of sale... which starts...

(Necessary Aviation Content: Weight) (Necessary Aviation Content - Part Deux: Piper entrance and egress) Anyone looking to shed 'a few' pounds this year? If you've succeeded it in the past, want to share your story? Montblack If food is my cocaine, I'm the Darryl Strawberry of weight loss...