Blog

Given the dozens of forest fires burning out of control in southeastern Canada, mainly in Quebec and Nova Scotia, I have received many inquiries from my followers about how to deal with smoke from an aviation perspective. First and foremost, smoke can present a hazard to all pilots, but especially those flying under VFR. Smoke […]

On June 1, the National Gay Pilots Association (NGPA) announced the commencement of the most generous scholarship cycle in its history. The NGPA is offering over $500,000 in scholarship funds to its membership this year, honoring its 25-year anniversary milestone in supporting the global lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and other (LGBTQ+) members of the […]

Like many parents, after the last of their four grown children left home, Betsy and Shane Miller went house shopping. What they ended up with, however, is a home away from home for other aviators located in a Diamonhead, Mississippi, aviation community. “When we looked at this house, it was way more than we needed,” […]

It’s going to be a busy, crowded Memorial Day weekend, especially for those traveling by air, according to forecasts. The FAA said it expects nearly 313,000 flights during the seven days it counts as the holiday period. This would surpass last year’s total for the same period but fall several thousand flights short of pre-pandemic […]

Brian Shul—SR-71 Blackbird pilot, inspirational speaker, photographer, author, and gifted storyteller has flown west. He was 75. According to a social media post from his sister, Maureen Shul, on Monday, Shul was speaking in front of a large military group in Reno, Nevada, on Saturday night. As was his custom, he ended the event by […]

Pat Ackerman wants pilots to fly more. “I think that one of the biggest travesties that I see in general aviation is that people spend the time and money to get a pilot certificate and then not fly on a regular basis,” said Ackerman, who owns North Omaha Airport (91NE). “They use their resources to buy a […]

Barbie Brunson has been involved with nearly all of the operations at Hicks Airfield (T67) since first learning to fly there in the early 1990s. As Brunson recounts, she has worn “a lot of hats” over the years. One of the more memorable exchanges between her and her husband, Kevin occurred shortly after they purchased […]

Yesterday I flew our Cessna Citation CJ1 single pilot from Austin, Texas, to Tampa, Florida. The weather was good at both ends, but a cold front with thunderstorms reaching upwards of 45,000 feet into the sky lay in wait across the route. At FL 390 only a minor deviation was required and our flight time […]

The aircraft fleet at Southern Illinois University Carbondale is expanding this month. University officials announced they would be taking delivery of seven glass cockpit Cessna 172s earlier this month. The aircraft were slated to be ferried from Independence, Kansas, to Southern Illinois Airport (KMDH). Several SIU aviation program officials, including director José R. Ruiz, chief flight […]

Peter Mastropieri is trying to put his grass strip airport back on the map. “The interesting thing about Keymar Airpark (MD42) is that right now, we are actually not on the sectional chart because there is a Camp David text box over the airport. Hopefully that gets removed in the April revision of the sectionals, […]