The home of Air Facts, the online journal for private pilots and aircraft owners, founded by Richard L. Collins and edited by John Zimmerman.
Air Facts was first published in 1938 by Leighton Collins, dedicated to “the development of private air transportation.” It’s a different world now, and it’s a different Air Facts. Relaunched in 2011 as an online journal, Air Facts still champions, educates, informs and entertains pilots worldwide with real-world flying experiences. No aviation topic is off-limits. Nothing predictable about Air Fa
cts. We’ll tackle any topic, analyze any situation and have our readers weigh in with their input. And the speed of the Internet makes covering current subjects immediate – no waiting three months for an opinion to appear in print. Air Facts needs you. Here’s the amazing difference in Air Facts. It’s primarily reader-written. Yes, aviation icon Richard Collins leads the Air Facts team and continues to share his unbelievable wealth of information on flying, technique, weather and a host of other topics, but the majority of articles are supplied by you, the reader.
https://airfactsjournal.com/2023/05/pilots-are-not-smarter-they-are-just-better-prepared/
Ask any group of pilots to raise their hands if still a student, and you will be surprised at how many hands go up. The pace of progress for aviation instruments requires pilots to be lifelong students, and they know it.
Flying like a pro doesn’t have to involve compensation.
Flying like a professional doesn’t mean you get paid to fly, it doesn’t mean you wear epaulets, and it doesn’t mean you burn Jet A. More than anything, it means you understand the responsibility you have as a pilot and you take pride in how you conduct every flight. Here's how to approach flyi...
https://airfactsjournal.com/2023/05/general-aviation-accessible-aviation-museum-directory/
I eventually compiled a list of 176 on-airport aviation museums in the U.S. and some in Canada – all of which can be accessed without the need to rent a car or pay for a ride. I contacted most of the museums to confirm that a pilot could land at the airport and either park at the museum or walk to...
I loved my time in the air. But after having my son, I found I feared flying. I was afraid to leave him without a mother. I would think about flying once in a while as I focused on working and raising him. I was busy, for sure, but I was also afraid. I accepted that bad things might happen when I fl...
I happened to look out the left side window and was amazed to see the airplane’s shadow perfectly silhouetted against the cloud deck.
We were beginning a descent into a lower overcast with the late afternoon sun slightly behind and on the right side. I happened to look out the left side window and was amazed to see the airplane’s shadow perfectly silhouetted against the cloud deck.
https://airfactsjournal.com/2023/05/multiple-mistakes-were-too-much-to-overcome/
The airplane suddenly was blown to the right of centerline by a strong gust. I immediately put in left aileron and worked the rudder to get back to centerline. Just as abruptly the gust was gone, and I felt a sensation that I had not felt before in an aircraft. The left wing simply stopped flying .....
Learning to fly takes time, dedication and commitment. But the reward can serve you in life far beyond flying an airplane. Welcome to Sporty’s Learn To Fly Month!
Learning to fly takes time, dedication and commitment. But the reward can serve you in life far beyond flying an airplane. You probably know the benefits of flight - speed, saving time, maximizing productivity - but have you considered the benefits of learning to fly?
There are many lessons that can be learned from this event. What was the biggest takeaway for you?
As I dialed in the tower frequency, the cockpit fell silent. Prop-loafing, heart stopping engine failure. My training kicked in (thank you, Tom Davis). I added carb heat (late, I know), checked the fuel selector (should have an hour's fuel still in the tanks), flipped through the left and right ...
With three young adults, baggage and fuel to fly to Colorado Springs, it didn’t take much thought to realize they were going to be on the cusp of performance capability as the density altitude was more than 9,000’.
I lost sight of them before liftoff as they passed behind the fuel island tanks. They had passed over the dam and were following the river drainage to the south. At this point, they still had not climbed above pattern altitude. After what felt like an agonizingly long time, they finally reached thei...
The Chart Supplement can spell out the huge words “waterfowl” or “jack rabbits,” but can’t spell out the word “airport,” but instead uses “arpt?” Or “invof” versus “in the vicinity of?” Why not abbreviate bears, to “brs?” Or “buffalos” to “bfflo?” Reason?—beca...
“It was such a joy for me as a photographer to capture the “Whale Tail” on this stellar day as we circled 1,000 MSL overhead.”
My husband and I discovered flying in Costa Rica last year. We had the pleasure of exploring the land of Pura Vida by renting an airplane based at the Pavas (MRPV) airport, along with a local instructor. Through researching options available for GA opportunities, we found an excellent flight school....
Whoa, what’s the big deal with a 360 camera? Well, they capture imagery all around them. Up, down, front, back!
For me, the most important attribute of these 360 cameras and their capabilities (most of which I haven’t even touched on here) are the game changing effects on my pleasure flying that I mentioned early in this report. I have literally re-opened my backyard (local) flying areas to a new excitement...
Are you going through the motions during your preflight inspection?
Maintenance-related problems are one of the most deadly causes of accidents in general aviation. Contributing to this is a pilot’s failure to identify maintenance discrepancies because of a lack of knowledge and improper techniques used during the preflight of the aircraft.
Synopsis- It is midday on Thursday 12 March 2015. A Premier I business jet is descending to its destination, Blackpool (EGNH), UK.
Synopsis It is midday on Thursday 12 March 2015. A Premier I business jet is descending to its destination, Blackpool (EGNH), UK. The aircraft experiences
What would you do?
Sometimes it feels like Mother Nature has access to your Flights tab on ForeFlight: it sees your planned trip and places a front right across your route. That's what today looks like a first glance, as a solid line of rain stretches from Maine to Texas—right in the middle of your planned Atlanta (...
WAIT! I’m supposed to be flying, not sleeping! Where am I? Where am I going?
WAIT! I’m supposed to be flying, not sleeping! Where am I? Where am I going? I checked the instruments and saw I was now heading west at 10,500 feet. I glanced around and knew exactly where I was, so I turned back to a northerly heading.
Airline Travel in the DC-3. Those were the days!
My Dad wanted us to experience airline travel in a DC-3 before they were replaced with Convair 580 turboprops. I still remember the flight as it was my first in an airliner. We sat on the left side, towards the back.
Editor’s note: This article was award second prize in the fifth annual Richard Collins Writing Prize for Young Pilots. We hope you’ll agree that Grace’s description of a multi-airplane camping trip to a remote island in Lake Michigan with weather moving in is a fine tribute to a great writer and pilot.
A wall of clouds quickly advanced from the west. Lightning flashed, illuminating several shocked faces in the dark. Before I ducked into the small backpacking tent Niki and I were sharing, I glanced at the Cessna 177 parked next to us. It was snugly tied down, chocked, and ready to weather the storm...
This article was the winning entry in the fifth annual Richard Collins Writing Prize for Young Pilots. We hope you’ll agree that Harry’s account of competition aerobatics is a fine tribute to a great writer and pilot.
Pitching 20 degrees nose down to build the energy before the first manoeuvre I was ready for the loop. Gently twitching the stick back, 3.5g pushes me into the seat. I subtly relieve back pressure at the top of the loop to ensure a perfect “sky circle” is drawn, the nose gradually dropping back ...
Just another day in the life of a professional pilot
At about 175’ AGL, we entered the clouds. As we reached the 50’ AGL point, I announced “Landing”. I re****ed the throttles when the flying cues in the HGS called for me to “flare” (ease the power off and pull the nose up for touchdown) and the mains settled-on the runway right where they...
When the worst case scenario becomes a reality it comes down to our training and ability to stay calm in order to make decisions quickly.
We had eaten up a lot of the 6,600’ runway by the time the airplane was ready to fly, so I rotated and up we went. Barely. The tach bounced between 2100 and 2200rpm, barely into the green arc. I watched the last bit of runway disappear under us at 200 feet per minute.
https://airfactsjournal.com/2023/03/returning-to-the-air-after-a-suspended-medical/
In September 2020, a letter landed on my doorstep inviting me to the Cardiac Surgery Unit to discuss my aortic valve replacement. Time stood still for a few minutes. My most recent scan had determined that, in much the same way it is advisable to change a timing belt before it breaks, it was time to...
The mission: Enroute from Vancouver (CYVR) to Brisbane (YBBN)
Oahu, HI and Honolulu International Airport (PHNL) shot from FL380 aboard a B787-9 Dreamliner enroute from Vancouver (CYVR) to Brisbane (YBBN).
Less than 200 feet above the deck, we were precariously skirting the bases over the highway at 180 knots with car license plates easily readable.
It was a dreadful sickening feeling, flying ever so close to the tower with the supporting guy wires clearly visible. The tower pulsed strobe lights, meaning it poked menacingly into the sky to at least 500 feet unseen in the daunting gloom.
Have you ever wondered what would happen if that little tail rotor thingy on the back of single rotor helicopters were to fail?
I was performing sling loading operations in the Bell and was picking up my external loads from within a corral that was situated right next to an 800', sheer cliff. On that particular hook-up, right as the loader signaled that I was good to go, and as I added power and anti-torque pedal to rise to....
On takeoff, the pilot also neglected to observe the airspeed indicator as the airplane accelerated and rotated. Only then did he discover his error.
On takeoff, the pilot also neglected to observe the airspeed indicator as the airplane accelerated and rotated. Only then did he discover his error. Looking out the left window, the pilot saw the white pitot tube cover still in place underneath the white Cessna wing.
Have you ever wondered what is involved in flying the President of the United States?
Air Force One, as the Presidential plane is identified when the Chief Executive is aboard, is a swept-wing Boeing VC-137C, basically the same design as the 707-320B, an intercontinental jetliner flown by many airlines. Delivered in late 1962, it has a top speed of 620 miles-an-hour, and a non-stop r...
The new generation of Autopilots offer a different level of technology that makes them extremely reliable, accurate, and in some cases, life saving.
It’s time to add the much-maligned autopilot to this list of life-saving technologies—and retire some old myths in the process. The latest generation of digital autopilots are nothing like the “mechanical brain” of 1947 or even the analog systems of the 1970s and 80s. They are the first mode...
Pitch for airspeed, power for altitude?
There’s an old story about an insane asylum in which nobody ever thought up any new jokes, so all the old jokes were given numbers. This meant that telling a joke only required giving its number. In that same spirit, here is a list of arguments as to whether pitch or power controls airspeed or alt...
“We came to Idaho looking forward to a challenge for both the airplane and ourselves. The mission was accomplished exponentially”
We expected the “Frank” to be wild, majestic, and to have amazing vistas. We expected it to teach us lessons. We expected to see some neat airplanes. We expected it to be a place to meet wonderful people. We expected it to provide memorable hangar tales. It did all that, and much more.
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