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[Editor’s note: This is a special guest column by Bill Weber, an aerobatic pilot and flight instructor, on the perils of inadvertent spins and the lessons we can all learn from his experience.]

Entry from Pilot Logbook #2:

• Date: 11/1/90
• Make and Model: C-188 Agwagon
• From/To: Local
• Remarks: Power on & power off stalls.
• Duration of Flight: 0.7 hours

The logbook entry gives no indication that this flight was a pivotal moment in my flight training. I had 424 hours in powered aircraft and some glider time as well. However, most of those hours were quality hours. I had my commercial single, multiengine, and glider ratings. My weekends were spent flying, and my vacations were centered around aerobatic training at various schools around the country. Continue reading “The Teacher”

By now, just about every pilot has heard about the ill-fated Atlas Air Flight 4241, in which the Boeing Dreamlifter (a modified 747 cargo aircraft), landed at the wrong airport while attempting to land at McConnell Air Force Base (KIAB) in Witchita, KS. The aircraft landed inadvertently at the Colonel James Jabara airport (KAAO) 7 miles to the north of McConnell AFB. To make matters worse, Jabara’s longest runway is only 6101 feet long, not normally long enough for the Dreamlifter, and the aircraft couldn’t maneuver on the narrow runway without help, so Boeing had to send a tug to move the aircraft.
The Dreamlifter was able to depart uneventfully the next day: Continue reading “Landing Dreamlifter at Jabara is Nightmare for Pilots”

Like a lot of other pilots, I’ve acquired a GoPro Hero3 for recording videos of my flights. The main problems most folks have is unpleasant strobing effects, which on rolling shutter cameras like the GoPro produce distortions of the prop; and the “jello” effect, which makes the image appear to deform like a shaking bowl of jello. I’ve been experimenting to get the best results, and I thought I’d share some of my findings. Continue reading “Tips for Recording with GoPro Hero 3”

It turns out almost everything we learned about leaning engines when we learned to fly was wrong.  Mike Busch (The Savvy Aviator) gives a nice webinar on the basics of proper engine leaning, and a bit more advanced advice here.