Piloting

Besides making airplanes look cool, designers also want to make them fly well. To do this, they work hard to make airplanes that are stable. Many little things keep an airplane pointed in the direction you want it to go, some of which you may have never thought about or noticed. Keel effect is one […]

Turning an airplane seems very easy, even when you’re sitting in the cockpit. Move the control yoke or stick to the left or right, and the plane will follow. Planes are designed to be stable and easy to fly, after all. But when you take a deep dive into the aerodynamics of what keeps a plane […]

Knowing how high you are is an essential part of a pilot’s job, right? But did you realize that pilots are concerned with many different types of altitude, not just how high off the ground they are? Pressure altitude is one such example. So what exactly is pressure altitude? Instead of referencing something physical, like sea […]

Few things strike more fear into the hearts and minds of pilots than the dreaded flat spin. But what exactly is a flat spin, what causes it, and how do you recover from it? A flat spin is a dangerous flight condition that can be impossible to recover from. Thankfully, it’s not likely to happen […]

There are many types of pilot license issued by the FAA. Many people are familiar with the private and commercial licenses, but you might not realize that there are several others you can get, such as the sport pilot certificate. The sport pilot license was created to provide an easy and less expensive way for […]

In the simplest terms, human factors are all about how the pilot’s body and mind work in an airplane. This article takes a deep dive into aeromedical and psychological factors, as well as the 12 human errors in aviation. Pilots spend time learning how the engine or wings are built and how all the electronics in […]

Have you ever wondered if you have what it takes to be a pilot? There’s a lot to learn and a lot of skills to master. But if you think you have these skills, you can learn everything else you need to with ease.  When you think of the skills a pilot should have, you […]

Airports can be complicated places. They’re generally flat, with no easy to identify visual landmarks. There’s no standard layout or design–no usual way things are organized. Pilots visiting unfamiliar airports are at a considerable disadvantage, especially if the visibility is low or the weather is bad. To help them navigate safely, airport markings and signs […]

Landing an airplane is a complex task that is made up of many smaller flight maneuvers. Pilots have terms for each phase of the landing approach, from the legs of the airport traffic pattern to the last runway rollout. What is the Landing Flare? The landing flare, which is sometimes called the roundout, is when […]

Flying involves moving the aircraft in three dimensions, which makes turning it significantly more involved than turning a car. To turn a plane, the pilot uses all three primary flight controls to move the airplane around its three axes. How Do Airplanes Turn? To turn a plane, the pilot uses all three primary flight controls […]