Pilot's Life Blog

JANUARY 5, 2025

Clear communication with air traffic control (ATC) is essential at this stage to receive landing clearance and avoid conflicts with other aircraft. Proper coordination of throttle, trim, and rudder inputs are critical during this phase of flight. Additionally, configure the aircraft for a stable descent.

Descent

Flying Magazine

JUNE 30, 2025

In general, tailwheel airplanes do well on unimproved airstrips because of prop clearance and, with larger main gear tires, the ability to handle ruts and uneven ground. There are gap seals between the elevator and horizontal stabilizer, and the rudder and vertical stabilizer. However, they are not magic. Tailwheels break off in ruts.

Gross Weight

Flying Magazine

JULY 25, 2025

They need to not only understand things like airspace boundaries, cloud clearance requirements, and surface visibility minimums, but must also be able to coordinate their turns, manage their altitudes and headings, and work the radios while putting that knowledge to use. What equipment do I need for a flight simulator setup at home?

Cockpit

Photographic Logbook

JUNE 1, 2025

Paula and Gilead requested a pop-up IFR clearance and flew at an intermediate altitude between those of us up high and the others down low. I earned my tailwheel endorsement in a beautifully-maintained 1946 J-3 Cub and had a wonderful time flying low and slow with the door open, a true stick and rudder experience. So many Cubs!

Airplanes

Plane and Pilot

JULY 1, 2025

Probable cause(s): The pilot’s failure to maintain clearance from trees after takeoff, during high density altitude weather conditions. The pilot applied right rudder in an attempt to correct this, resulting in a ground loop. While attempting to control the speed to prevent stall, the airplane veered to the left of the runway.

Density Altitude

Photographic Logbook

JUNE 29, 2025

I departed the Williamson-Sodus Airport solo at 8:00 am and picked up my instrument clearance in the air from a Rochester Approach controller with a familiar voice. The glider pilot danced on his rudder pedals to signal his readiness to the Pawnee pilot. Geneva, NY and the north end of Seneca Lake. Oh, so, you too, then?"

Runway

Aerotime

NOVEMBER 22, 2024

At this point, the pilots will contact ATC for push and start clearance , allowing the plane to be pushed back from its parking position (if applicable, depending on the airport) and to start its engines in sequence.

Cabin Crew

AV Web

JUNE 23, 2024

My dad had recently retired as a senior officer in NORAD and had the kind of security clearances that ensured he took secrets about that test and many other aspects of the alliance’s nuclear capabilities to an early grave a few years later. Who would want that, you ask? Well, me and perhaps more importantly, my wife.

Rudder

AV Web

JUNE 23, 2024

My dad had recently retired as a senior officer in NORAD and had the kind of security clearances that ensured he took secrets about that test and many other aspects of the alliance’s nuclear capabilities to an early grave a few years later. Who would want that, you ask? Well, me and perhaps more importantly, my wife.

Rudder

Flying Magazine

MAY 15, 2024

READ MORE: Cirrus Adds Second Vision Jet Simulator In this scenario, the options are a 180-degree turn using only rudder to avoid overbanking—common when you lose the outside horizon reference—to get back to VFR conditions or contacting ATC to ask where the nearest VFR is. You may even put the learner in and out of the clouds.

Crosswind

Plane and Pilot

NOVEMBER 19, 2024

The 172 has a steerable nosewheel, much heavier than the rudders on my RV-9A with a castering nosewheel. The plan was to shoot an instrument landing system (ILS) at the military airport next door, but clearance delivery told us they were landing the other direction. Taxiing out, I experimented with the turn radius without using brakes.

Pitot Tube

Vintage Aviation News

DECEMBER 15, 2024

The X-4 had no horizontal stabilizer in order to avoid interaction of shockwaves between the wings but had a vertical stabilizer and rudder. For better maintenance access, the small tail of the aircraft could be removed to work on or remove the engines. Today, both X-4s remain in existence.

Stability

Photographic Logbook

SEPTEMBER 16, 2023

Beating the Odds I called for and received taxi clearance to the museum and started rolling. Dan received the same clearance. Dan received his taxi clearance, then offered that the whole process works better when the chocks are removed before engine start. Mere recollection of the incident was enough to make me blush.

Torque

Vintage Aviation News

NOVEMBER 8, 2024

image via AirCorps Aviation) Wooden spacers hold the vertical stabilizer in position as the assemblies are checked for proper fit and clearance. (image via AirCorps Aviation) The horizontal stabilizer mounting area almost looks like a piece of furniture.

Horizontal Stabilizer

Air Facts

OCTOBER 30, 2024

After startup, I’d record a VOR check in the aircraft log while waiting for our clearance. Rolling down the runway with reference only to my DG, I’d make minor heading corrections with the rudder to remain centered. Then came the long taxi to the runway. Centerline,” Charlie barked as I taxied out during my first lesson.

NDB

Plane and Pilot

OCTOBER 29, 2024

I filed IFR , mostly so that I could get the altitude I wanted without having to worry about cloud clearances, and so if some little squirt cumulus popped up, I could blast through it or just nick the side of it. The next leg, and the two after it, followed my standard cross-country plan.

Weather

iPad Pilot News

MAY 29, 2024

To complement the Honeycomb setup, we would recommend either the Thrustmaster Flight Rudder pedals or the Thrustmaster TPR Flight Simulator pedals , depending on your budget. For users looking for a less expensive alternative, the Logitech Flight Simulator Yoke and Rudder Pedals kit still offer a feature-packed experience.

Rudder

Plane and Pilot

OCTOBER 2, 2024

By doing so, a recognizable, firm input demonstrates that using all the aileron travel wasn’t the answer—those rudder pedals are not footrests. Straying from the runway centerline is normal for a beginner, but when the deviation grows with no sign of correction being attempted, the instructor has to step in before the wheel reaches the edge.

Wind Shear

Plane and Pilot

OCTOBER 2, 2024

By doing so, a recognizable, firm input demonstrates that using all the aileron travel wasn’t the answer—those rudder pedals are not footrests. Straying from the runway centerline is normal for a beginner, but when the deviation grows with no sign of correction being attempted, the instructor has to step in before the wheel reaches the edge.

Wind Shear

Air Facts

APRIL 10, 2024

Rudder stomping landings in the Cessna 180 that hated to stay in a straight line on the ground. I was beginning to make small mistakes when copying clearances or even remembering frequencies-an incorrect digit, a readback that faltered or wasn’t perfect. First cross country to California from Illinois. First loop in the Citabria.

VOR

iPad Pilot News

MARCH 27, 2025

Improve your stick and rudder skills as a private pilot go beyond the instrument checkride with these advanced courses. PlaneEnglish This training app offers a variety of scenarios to learn and perfect your aviation communication skills.

Weather

Pilot Institute

MAY 4, 2024

This can greatly impact landing performance and obstacle clearance. Use the rudder to keep the aircraft in line with the runway and apply aileron into the wind. These stick and rudder skills will help you with crosswind landings. If a runway has a downslope, you see less of the runway ahead of you, making the aircraft feel low.

Weight-Shift-Control

Air Facts

SEPTEMBER 27, 2024

In 1998, I joined a venerable flying club, Stick and Rudder Flying Club of Waukegan National Airport (KUGN). I requested permission to land, and received a clearance to land “any runway, any direction, any time.” Hopefully you can acquire that experience without injury or damage.

Pilot

Professional Pilot

NOVEMBER 14, 2024

Additional safety tools such as Smart Glide , Smart Rudder Bias, Electronic Stability Protection (ESP ), Emergency Descent Mode (EDM) and Garmin Autothrottle further ensure confidence in every flight. Garmin’s terminal safety solutions add even more capabilities to G3000 PRIME-equipped aircraft. G3000 PRIME has received FAA TSO certification.

Flight Deck

Photographic Logbook

JANUARY 25, 2025

Gilead and I, both trailing Ed, ran into dramatically lowering visibility and requested pop-up IFR clearances. I countered with aggressive right rudder and barely succeeded in keeping the plane on the runway. Syracuse advised of lake effect snow creating a wall between us and Sodus. These were immediately granted.

Runway

Plane and Pilot

DECEMBER 16, 2024

With the F2, the rudder and vertical stabilizer are changed, with the rudder becoming a much smaller surface than before. You can sit there with full back stick, full aileron one way and full rudder the other, and its perfectly controllable. You might ask what happens with crosswind landings when you take away rudder authority.

Rudder

Plane and Pilot

OCTOBER 3, 2024

An elegantly simple rope system inside the fuselage raises and lowers the Gweduck’s water rudder mounted inside the base of the main rudder (right). The only unconventional thing I noticed (as did the folks in back) was the rudder has a dead spot mid-travel. Overall, the controls were wonderful. So what would I fix?

Airplanes

Vintage Aviation News

MAY 2, 2025

The bulge in the back side of the firewall provides clearance for the oil tank. image via AirCorps Aviation) This photo of the rudder pedal support tube shows the left and right brake master cylinders – the two green, vertically oriented objects in the upper center with the gray parking brake compensator between them.

Rudder