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Exploring Golf Legend Arnold Palmer’s Time As a Pilot

Arnold Palmer considers the three smartest things he did to be marrying his wife Winnie, deciding on a career in golf, and learning to fly. Golf legend Arnold Palmer died yesterday from complications...

UPDATE: Arizona’s Grapevine Airstrip Is Open For Use

The Grapevine Airstrip has a limited number of campsites available. The Recreational Aviation Foundation (RAF) is reporting that the latest Phoenix FAA sectional now shows the Grapevine Airstrip...

Flying Without a License: A Look at Three of History’s Pilot Conmen

Pilot conmen such as Tom Salme, Jimmie Lane, and Tom Cook are a dark but interesting side of our pilot fraternity. For the most part, pilots are a pretty straight-laced bunch. Pilots tend to be...

Dealing with Contaminated Runways

When confronted with contaminated runways, all those aircraft performance calculations can dissolve quickly. Sitting next to me right now is a pilot’s operating handbook for a 1978 Cessna 172N...

Why Now Is the Perfect Time To Be a General Aviation Pilot

As a general aviation pilot, I’m taking my flight training seriously because it only improves my safety margins. It seems as if general aviation’s on the decline – or at the very least...

Aviation Safety: The Right Mindset and Attitude Are As Important As Skill

Pilot skills are important but data shows accidents begin in your head, and the right mindset and attitude are a key part of aviation safety. In 2014 a corporate Gulfstream GIV tried to take off from...

What Makes an Effective Certified Flight Instructor?

Being a certified flight instructor is a noble profession and should be treated as such. When I fly I am never alone. Even if I am the only one in the airplane, I am in the company of very special...

Why Give a Pilot a Night Rating and Not Let Them Use It?

Every passenger who flies has had memorable moments while looking out of the window and getting a bird’s eye view of the world. Sometimes, just viewing the clouds from above is all one needs to make...

The Light Twin Cessna T303 Crusader

The Cessna T303 Crusader: Cessna’s Answer to Beech and Pipers Twin Trainers Cessna saw great success with their 1953 Cessna 310 light twin. For decades it rolled off the production line as a...