Meg Godlewski has been an aviation journalist for more than 25 years and a CFI for more than 21 years. If she is not flying or teaching aviation, she is writing about it. Meg is a founding member of the Pilot...
The windsock whipped back and forth above us as we completed the external preflight and checked the cowl fasteners one last time. Climbing into the bright yellow 1940 Piper J-4 Cub, one of my longtime flying friends, David Wilkins, and I...
Acquiring flying time is not the same as accumulating flight experience. Simple repetition of acts of aviation teaches us very little about the art of flying. It’s only when we meet varied and challenging conditions that we acquire a sense of...
When faced with a quandary in aviation, we often seek resolution by consulting some trusted sources. Opinions and advice, however, are usually worth what you pay for them. After all, I grew up hearing the phrase, “Opinions are like navels; everybody’s...
The relatively low-horsepower, red-and-cream, clipped-wing Taylorcraft glides slowly down the flight line. It wasn’t the flashiest airplane flying that day, and it wasn’t the fastest, but the pilot sitting at the controls was perhaps one the greatest in the world when...
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. However, if we turn...
Ask the front porch gang at the local airport which is better, a “six-pack” full of traditional round dial instruments or a bright new glass cockpit screen, and the answers will be all over the map. The more experienced aviators...
The captain, a seasoned ATP with a Top Gun level of confidence, was at the helm of a Boeing 737NG. With over 10,000 hours of experience, he was prepared for anything. Or so he thought. The takeoff proceeded as usual, V₁...
Every now and again, the concept of “energy management” comes up. But is that something a pilot would actually think about in flight? Does this concept allow the pilot to fly more precisely or more safely? To make better decisions? Does...
Waiting in a desert canyon outside Las Vegas, photographers stood ready to capture the adrenaline rush of high-speed, low-level aerobatics. Instead, they became eyewitnesses to a fatal crash. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has released its final report on the...
