Ground Effect Lift Pilot 
Pilot Institute
MARCH 28, 2025
Pilots avoid vortices by maintaining safe separation and adjusting flight paths. This is called lift. Wingtip vortices are a byproduct of lift. Once the wing stops producing lift, the vortices dissipate instantly. Wing spoilers drastically reduce the lift generated by the wing. How Are Wingtip Vortices Formed?
Plane and Pilot
JULY 10, 2025
A pilot friend and I decided to fly my 1976 Cardinal over to Sedona Airport (KZEZ) for a late lunch. First, the runway had a marked upslope after the intersection, and second, my trusty Cardinal was not climbing away from the ground like I planned. So, what was a pilot new to the high and hot world of density altitude flying to do?
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Fear of Landing
JANUARY 17, 2025
This was done early in the program (737-100/200) because it was discovered the 737 was prone to float in ground effect enough that it could prevent WoW from going true after touchdown – same with wheel speed. In other words, it’s highly unlikely that pilots were attempting a go-around after touchdown.
Plane and Pilot
JULY 1, 2025
The pilot said he refueled the airplane the day before the accident and checked the fuel level during his preflight inspection the following morning. The pilot made a forced landing in the ocean just offshore of the beach, resulting in substantial damage to the fuselage. Probable cause(s): A loss of power due to fuel exhaustion.
Air Facts
MARCH 17, 2025
Later, Air Classics, Plane & Pilot, Private Pilot, Wings, Airpower, and a few other such titles were added to my list. Air Progress, Flying, and surprisingly a British magazine called Flying Review (with William Green as editor-in-chief), showed up monthly and with admirable regularity. A section of the magazine collection.
Pilot Institute
OCTOBER 2, 2024
It’s not magic—it’s ground effect. When you’re flying near the ground, within one wingspan, the aerodynamic forces start to change. Your wings don’t create as much drag as they would at higher altitudes, which gives you extra lift. Ground effect is a phenomenon that every pilot must master.
Flight Training Central
MAY 6, 2024
Because birds were designed by God and he created them with high wings”- quote by the late John Frank, Cessna Pilots Association. You don’t have to hang around airports, airplanes or pilots very long until someone will crank up the high wing versus low wing debate. “Low wing airplanes were designed by the very devil himself.
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