Pilot Institute

OCTOBER 16, 2024

Landing an airplane can be one of the most nerve-wracking tasks for a student pilot. Getting an airplane to fly is easy. Brief that you will use the right rudder to align the aircraft straight with the runway and the left aileron to counteract drift. In most general aviation aircraft, we tend to initiate the flare at 10 feet.

Airplanes 52

Airplanes Descent Approach Crosswind 52

Air Facts

SEPTEMBER 13, 2024

What NTSB Reports Say About Impossible Turns and Angle of Attack—Part 2: Analysis, Questions Raised, and Next Steps The current emphasis in general aviation (GA) safety is on visual angle of attack (AOA) indicators and impossible turns (return to the airport following engine failure). The engine problem was unaddressed carburetor ice.

Gross Weight 98

Gross Weight Runway Airplanes Pilot 98

Pilot Institute

JANUARY 27, 2025

When you first laid your eyes on the instruments inside an airplane, they probably went wide with a mixture of joy, confusion, and slight apprehension at the thought of having to learn how to read them. For example, when the ball is displaced to the left, this informs the pilot that left rudder input is required.

Pitot Tube 52

Pitot Tube Altimeter Instrument Flight Rules Descent 52

Plane and Pilot

AUGUST 3, 2024

Is it to perfect the maneuver for the next check ride, learn how to recover the airplane after an inadvertent stall, or just avoid the whole thing in the first place? Initial Buffet How do you train for stall avoidance in an airplane that you should not stall? Why do we practice stalls? Each plane stalls a bit differently.

Airplanes 87

Airplanes Horizontal Stabilizer Approach Pilot 87

Jetwhine

DECEMBER 25, 2023

Each year for as long as I can remember, Sporty’s Pilot Shop has sent its annual crystal airplane ornament with the Christmas card it sends to members of the aviation media. The Champ was one of the few taildragger airplanes that could be flown solo from the front seat, which greatly improved the visibility for the pilot in command.

Rudder 52

Rudder Airplanes Tail Pilot in Command 52

Plane and Pilot

NOVEMBER 19, 2024

When I had the endurance to drive 20 miles to an appointment, had good situational awareness of all the cars around me on the freeway, and when driving didn’t take 100 percent concentration, I had passed the first challenge before getting in the airplane. A week later it was off into the blue with new Garmin radios in the elderly airframe.

Pitot Tube 89

Pitot Tube Approach Aileron Instrument Landing System 89

Flying Magazine

MAY 14, 2024

In general, the SR22 is faster than many trainers and a bit less forgiving than something like a Cessna 172, particularly when it comes to approach and landing speeds. If you’re stepping up from a slower airplane, beware of falling behind the aircraft. This isn’t the one for you. The post Dream Aircraft: What Can You Fly?

Knot 105

Knot Pilot Cockpit Flight Deck 105

Pilot Institute

FEBRUARY 20, 2025

Or how do modern airplanes reduce dangerous effects like aileron flutter or adverse yaw? From simple mechanical linkages in small aircraft to high-tech fly-by-wire systems in airliners, ailerons have evolved with aviation itself. Adverse yaw is a side effect of aileron use, countered by rudder input. What Is an Aileron?

Aileron 90

Aileron Weight-Shift-Control Rudder Longitudinal Axis 90

Air Facts

JANUARY 29, 2025

The squadron now has two newly minted naval aviators, one retread and no airplanes. We know that our new airplanes will be the F2H-3 Banshee night fighter. Without any squadron aircraft available yet, the challenge was revised to renting an aircraft at the local general aviation airporta Piper Cub!

Runway 52

Runway Airplanes Pilot Pilot in Command 52

Pilot Institute

SEPTEMBER 18, 2024

It’s as close to “evasive action” as you can get while flying a general aviation aircraft. To learn all the maneuvers you’ll need to perform on your practical test, check out Airplane Maneuvers Mastery for more. Proper rudder use is required to counter adverse yaw to maintain coordinated flight.

Lift 52

Lift Aileron Drag Pilot 52

iPad Pilot News

MARCH 27, 2025

Airbus FlySmart Airbus offers a collection of apps for pilots to assistwith performance planning, maintenance and other operational guidance when flying these airplanes. Bombardier Aerospace This collection of apps provides eLearning, operating procedures and maintenance utilities for operators of Bombardier jet airplanes.

Weather 91

Weather Pilot Flight Plan Airplanes 91

iPad Pilot News

MAY 29, 2024

Tips for using aviation apps with home flight simulators iPad Pilot News Are you stuck at home and separated from your airplane or just experiencing an unlucky stretch of bad weather? The good news is that you can still fly at home and stay current with your favorite aviation apps using the latest flight simulators.

Rudder 52

Rudder Firewall Approach Airplanes 52

Pilot Institute

NOVEMBER 23, 2024

PARE: Power idle, Ailerons neutral, Rudder opposite, Elevator forward. Flat spins are particularly hazardous because the level attitude and reduced airflow over the control surfaces make it difficult to regain control of the airplane. Rudder: Full opposite input to the spin direction. Ready to become a safer pilot?

Center of Gravity 98

Center of Gravity Weight-Shift-Control Aileron Rudder 98

Pilot Institute

APRIL 12, 2025

Application of Newton’s Third Law in Aviation When we talk about airplanes, we focus primarily on two forces: Lift (how the aircraft stays aloft). High camber generally promotes more airflow deflection, thanks to something called Bernoullis Principle. This generates a downward force on the tail ( reaction ).

Lift 52

Lift Torque Thrust Aileron 52

Plane and Pilot

NOVEMBER 22, 2024

Another surveillance video camera recorded the airplane now in a nose-down, left-wing-down attitude, then fully rolling left and impacting the ground inverted. In the accident airplane, the left engine fuel valve assembly was found in off position. Most twin-engine airplanes will roll and yaw in the direction of the dead engine.

Knot 94

Knot Pilot Airplanes Lift 94

Pilot Institute

JANUARY 8, 2025

This can happen to any airplane type. Critical Angle of Attack As the AOA increases, the wing generates more lift, but only up to a specific point known as the critical angle of attack, typically around 15-20 degrees for general aviation aircraft (though this can vary depending on the wing design).

Lift 98

Lift Accelerated Stall Pilot AGL 98

Plane and Pilot

MAY 28, 2025

Theres something about a little yellow tailwheel airplane that has always ignited my soul. After all, a Cub sitting on a hangar pad was what initially drew me to walk into the Ron Alexander Youth Aviation Program , an experience that changed the course of my life at just barely 16 years old. It can hold the extra gross weight.

Rudder 96

Rudder Airplanes Pilot Gross Weight 96

Air Facts

SEPTEMBER 9, 2024

The current emphasis in general aviation (GA) safety is on visual angle of attack (AOA) indicators and impossible turns (return to the airport following engine failure). The current emphasis in general aviation (GA) safety is on visual angle of attack (AOA) indicators.

General Aviation 98

General Aviation Pilot Approach Airplanes 98

Plane and Pilot

JUNE 4, 2025

After building only a handful of airplanes, Morrisey then sold the construction and design rights to Shinn Engineering Inc., Tale of the Tailwheel Recognizing the more challenging characteristics of taxiing a taildragger, why would an aircraft owner go to the trouble of converting a tricycle gear airplane into a taildragger?

Airplanes 88

Airplanes Pilot Airfoil General Aviation 88

Plane and Pilot

SEPTEMBER 20, 2024

Alongside a nearby highway, some recognizable bits of airplane, the vertical stabilizer and rudder, a horizontal stabilizer and elevator, fell separately to Earth. The sole probable cause was the pilot’s ‘improper aerobatic maneuver…that exceeded the airplane’s design limits. The breakup started with rudder flutter.

True Airspeed 95

True Airspeed Indicated Airspeed Horizontal Stabilizer Aileron 95

Plane and Pilot

SEPTEMBER 20, 2024

Alongside a nearby highway, some recognizable bits of airplane, the vertical stabilizer and rudder, a horizontal stabilizer and elevator, fell separately to Earth. The sole probable cause was the pilot’s ‘improper aerobatic maneuver…that exceeded the airplane’s design limits. The breakup started with rudder flutter.

True Airspeed 95

True Airspeed Indicated Airspeed Horizontal Stabilizer Aileron 95

Vintage Aviation News

APRIL 26, 2024

I want it because I want to travel through time and I want to fly a difficult airplane and I want to feel the wind when I fly and I want people to look, to see, to know that glory still exists. Donner told us aviation is in his blood. He was heavily involved in general aviation, so the aviation bug is genetic for me.

Airplanes 105

Airplanes Aileron Tail Hangar 105

Plane and Pilot

SEPTEMBER 8, 2024

With the introduction of the Cirrus SR22T in 2010, general aviation had a truly modern, high-flying, personal airplane that could fly at over 200 mph and make reliable long-distance travel a reality for the single-engine piston set. Fifteen of the 20 surviving examples of this airplane are in the U.S.

Rudder 89

Rudder Stability Airplanes Aileron 89

Plane and Pilot

NOVEMBER 22, 2024

Another surveillance video camera recorded the airplane now in a nose-down, left-wing-down attitude, then fully rolling left and impacting the ground inverted. In the accident airplane, the left engine fuel valve assembly was found in off position. Most twin-engine airplanes will roll and yaw in the direction of the dead engine.

Knot 96

Knot Pilot Airplanes Lift 96

Photographic Logbook

JANUARY 25, 2025

I urged all participants to be airborne by 7:00 am if we were to have any chance of securing limited airplane parking spots on the ice of Alton Bay. He grew up near Lake Winnipesaukee, had watched airplanes landing on the ice as a kid, and never dreamed that he would someday arrive in one. Photo by Ed. Is he moving?!"

Runway 75

Runway Threshold Airplanes Approach 75

Pilot Institute

NOVEMBER 11, 2024

If you’ve ever been on a flight and felt the airplane swaying side to side, you might’ve experienced a taste of what’s known as a Dutch roll. Learning about the Dutch roll can make your next flight feel a little more grounded, even when the airplane isn’t. Once the yaw dampens, gradually reduce rudder input to neutral.

Stability 52

Stability Center of Gravity Aileron Rudder 52

Pilot Institute

JANUARY 15, 2025

VS Stalling speed or minimum steady flight speed at which the airplane is controllable. As we go through them, use the Pilots Operating Handbook (POH) for the airplane you fly, and make a note of the speed for each V-speed. In most General Aviation (GA) aircraft, VR is usually the same regardless of conditions.

V Speed 98

V Speed Runway Knot Pilot 98

Photographic Logbook

AUGUST 11, 2023

The Warrior was already subjected to hail on my watch during a stop in Kennesaw, GA in 2011 when I watched helplessly as tiny chunks of ice pummeled my airplane. No one wants the skin of their airplane to resemble a dimpled golf ball, Pollyanna commentary about drag reduction aside. Fortunately, the hail was small and the damage minor.

Descent 52

Descent Approach Airplanes Runway 52

Pilot Institute

AUGUST 2, 2024

One of the leading causes of fatal general aviation accidents is the loss of aircraft control. Use rudder to check balance. Imagine you’re stuck in a spiral dive, hurtling toward the ground. Completely disoriented and unsure of which way is up. How did you find yourself in this dire situation? Then, restore cruise power.

Altimeter 52

Altimeter Descent Turbulence Lift 52

Plane and Pilot

OCTOBER 3, 2024

Since then, the team has advanced the airplane into a kit, one made out of carbon fiber and incorporating more than 1400 hours of the prototype’s operation. Now available for general sale, the first two production Gweduck kits are under construction at the program’s build facility in Prineville, Oregon. Sea state matters, too.

Airplanes 80

Airplanes Rudder Knot Aileron 80

Plane and Pilot

DECEMBER 16, 2024

General aviation is driven by myriad forces. A strong or soft market overall can dramatically influence any given airplanes success, quite apart from how it looks or performs. Plus, you know, the airplanes were pretty OK. Literally overnight we got eight semitruck loads of equipment outtooling, molds, and even airplanes.

Rudder 98

Rudder Airplanes Aileron Crosswind 98

Photographic Logbook

SEPTEMBER 22, 2024

With a collection seeded by purchase of six WWI era aircraft from the former Roosevelt Field where Charles Lindbergh launched on his historic flight to Paris, ORA is a tribute to founder Cole Palen's (1925-1993) fervent belief that an airplane is only an airplane if it still flies. Over time, he built an extensive flying menagerie.

Airplanes 59

Airplanes Runway Pilot Aileron 59

Plane and Pilot

NOVEMBER 13, 2024

The aging fleet flown by many operators is steadily racking up hours, imposing more and more maintenance burdens on 50-year-old airframes while production of new airplanes has slowed to a trickle, and the cost of the few available is high. A two-seat dedicated IFR training airplane hadn’t been certified since the Cessna 152 of 1978.

Knot 98

Knot Rudder Airplanes Gross Weight 98