Guy Leitch The pilot shortage will hasten the move, which many see as inevitable, to single pilot cockpits. And here’s a thought – single pilot flightdecks are much the same as no-pilot flightdecks. To deal with the shortage, airlines are making profound changes to pilot employment contracts. In South Africa,Read More →

Iris McCallum [intro] January 1981 started off excitingly which would portend how the year would turn out for me. On 2 January I took off out of Nairobi Wilson, heading for Keekorok in the Mara, where shortly after I had a left engine failure on the C401, reg N65175. IRead More →

Peter Garrison Ah, to fly like a bird – but which bird? Every afternoon my partner Nancy and I walk around Echo Park Lake. Two miles from downtown Los Angeles, Echo Park Lake is not Walden Pond. It is man-made, cement lined, shallow, and ringed by a paved walk onRead More →

This discussion contains extracts from a report by the Air Transport Safety Board of Canada. It’s to promote safety and not to establish liability. Piper PA-28-180, C-GGOR 2 NM W of Brisco, British Columbia, Canada. 24 November 2023 History of the flight The aircraft took off on a recreational VFRRead More →

Enhancing Pilot Readiness in a Changing Aviation Landscape The first quarter of 2025 has started with several notable accidents globally. Within the first two months of 2025, three plane crashes occurred in the United States – these incidents highlight a concerning trend in aviation safety and the resultant fatality riskRead More →

Jim Davis What’s the big deal about a steep turn? Hell it’s only 15° more than an ordinary 30° banked turn – and 15° is nothing – right? Now I’m not good at sums so it took me a while to understand that it depends where you put that 15°Read More →

Hugh Pryor I have had a lot of fun during this past few years of flying. I have sneaked a Twin Otter out of Algeria, over Libya, to Tripoli and thence, across the Mediterranean, to the historic twinkling jewel box of Malta, at night. It was an exciting start toRead More →

Peter Garrison Forget it. You haven’t got a chance. So I muttered to myself as I closed a fascinating book called, The Enigma of the Aerofoil. The author, David Bloor, is an emeritus professor at the University of Edinburgh whose field is the sociology of science: how cultural and personalRead More →

Iris McCallum I remember back in 1960 being in Nairobi West (where Wilson Airport is situated) standing with my mother watching a train pass by, filled with refugees from the Belgian Congo. The train was full, with many of the people dressed in pyjamas, or whatever they could find toRead More →