Pilot Institute

JULY 11, 2025

Key Takeaways Mach number is a dimensionless ratio of true airspeed to local speed of sound. Mach number is simply a ratio of your true airspeed to the local speed of sound. Air density drops with altitude, so for a given true speed, dynamic pressure (and thus IAS) will be lower at high altitudes. Here’s why.

True Airspeed

Flying Magazine

JUNE 30, 2025

CubCrafters offered to bring FLYING the first of the kitbuilt NXCubs to north Idaho and turn us loose with it for two weeks to fly into the backcountry—introducing pilots of all experience and skill levels to the airplane. CubCrafters said its goal was to build an airplane with a 1,000-pound useful load. That got our attention.

Gross Weight

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 pilot died instantly.

True Airspeed

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 pilot died instantly.

True Airspeed