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Home : Air Facts JournalThe online magazine for pilots, written by pilots like you: personal stories, lively debates, and aviation history.Home : Air Facts Journal Write for us Email Sign-up Articles Air Facts Archives Friday Photo Go/No Go History I Can’t Believe I Did That International Interview I was there John’s blog Opinion Technique Weather Geek What I Know About… Young Pilots Air Facts Podcast Most popular Videos Newsletter Write for us What is Air Facts? Search Menu Menu Friday Photo: Howard 500Share Your Spring Flying Adventures with Air FactsFlying and Maintaining Prewar Aeroncas: A Guide for Antique Aircraft OwnersBuffalo Hunting With Airplanes2025 Richard Collins Writing Prize Runner-Up: Tailstrikes and Tiedowns2025 Richard Collins Writing Prize Winner: Cruising Through the Soaring BluesPreviousNext123456I Can’t Believe I Did ThatLearn from the mistakes of othersI Was TherePilot stories from around the worldTechniqueImprove your flying skillsArticles by John ZimmermanArticles by John Zimmerman NEW ARTICLESOUR MOST RECENT POSTS 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. More… Friday Photo: Howard 500Friday Photo I was doing some work at my hangar and caught a glimpse of a twin-tail plane on final. I didn't see it very well, but thought it would be worth a closer look. I finished up at the hangar and drove over to the Signature ramp, where I beheld this beauty. It was good luck as there are only two of these still flying.Read more0 Comments/April 4, 2025 https://media.airfactsjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/20085608/Howard-500-2-scaled.jpg 1920 2560 John Graham https://media.airfactsjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/03140241/AF_Logo_24.png John Graham2025-04-04 08:54:012025-04-04 09:13:42Friday Photo: Howard 500Share Your Spring Flying Adventures with Air FactsMy Adventure At Air Facts Journal, our Travelogue series is built on real stories from pilots like you—stories that capture both the joy and the challenges of personal air transportation. Tell us about your route, the airports you stopped at, the weather you encountered, and those unexpected moments that made your trip unforgettable.Read more0 Comments/April 2, 2025 https://media.airfactsjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/14144333/air-facts-travelogue.png 1000 1250 Air Facts Staff https://media.airfactsjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/03140241/AF_Logo_24.png Air Facts Staff2025-04-02 08:55:032025-03-14 14:47:19Share Your Spring Flying Adventures with Air FactsFlying and Maintaining Prewar Aeroncas: A Guide for Antique Aircraft OwnersWhat I Know About... The Stick Chief refers to the aircraft controls that employ a stick as opposed to a yoke. And why would anyone do that, you ask?  In the late 1930s, then President Rosevelt, put the country on a war footing and declared the US would need 25,000 pilots. He was informed by the Navy and Army Air Core that they had neither the aircraft, personnel nor facilities to undertake the effort. To that end, civilian flight schools were pressed into service with several military officers overseeing civilian flight instructors. This was the beginning of the cadet pilot program.  Read more1 Comment/March 31, 2025 https://media.airfactsjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/27112520/care-and-feeding-of-prewar-aircraft-1.png 1000 1250 Skip Stagg https://media.airfactsjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/03140241/AF_Logo_24.png Skip Stagg2025-03-31 08:55:162025-03-31 09:54:42Flying and Maintaining Prewar Aeroncas: A Guide for Antique Aircraft OwnersBuffalo Hunting With AirplanesI was there The most likely threat I would face was 23MM and 37MM Triple-A, which would be fired in streams of 25-50 rounds at a time. If the gunners were harassing you, they might fire only 25 rounds. If they were intent on you not destroying something of value (like themselves!), you could expect hundreds of rounds to be fired at you.Read more0 Comments/March 28, 2025 https://media.airfactsjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/24130232/buffalo-hunting.png 1000 1250 Dale Hill https://media.airfactsjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/03140241/AF_Logo_24.png Dale Hill2025-03-28 08:55:192025-02-26 12:22:17Buffalo Hunting With Airplanes2025 Richard Collins Writing Prize Runner-Up: Tailstrikes and TiedownsI was there, Young Pilots As I banked into my final approach, my heart sank. I had fully cut power and had flaps at twenty, but I was still far too high. Because I had let my airspeed get so low, I hadn’t lost enough altitude on downwind. I knew I should go-around, but panic gripped me. I did the worst thing possible and tried to lose altitude by steepening my approach.Read more0 Comments/March 26, 2025 https://media.airfactsjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/20084311/Tailstrikes-and-Tiedowns-1.png 1000 1250 Kathryn Breidenthal https://media.airfactsjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/03140241/AF_Logo_24.png Kathryn Breidenthal2025-03-26 08:55:392025-03-24 10:12:122025 Richard Collins Writing Prize Runner-Up: Tailstrikes and Tiedowns2025 Richard Collins Writing Prize Winner: Cruising Through the Soaring BluesYoung Pilots My landings were respectable, and my decision-making occasionally less respectable. Even after flying at cross-country camps, learning soaring theory, having the best possible mentor and breaking the proverbial apron strings at home, flying in my first competition that week was the hardest thing I’ve done yet as a pilot, but also the most satisfying.Read more4 Comments/March 24, 2025 https://media.airfactsjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/24085735/Cruising-Through-the-Soaring-Blues-1.png 1000 1250 Katia Van Horn https://media.airfactsjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/03140241/AF_Logo_24.png Katia Van Horn2025-03-24 08:55:052025-03-24 08:57:442025 Richard Collins Writing Prize Winner: Cruising Through the Soaring BluesPage 1 of 432123›» John’s Blog Pilot’s Bucket List: 11 Must-Do Adventures After Earning Your LicenseJohn's blog Everyone's dream list will vary, but let me suggest 11 things that every pilot should do with their license. Call it a bucket list if you want, but I consider it a flight plan for a fulfilling life in the cockpit.Read more54 Comments/March 14, 2025 https://media.airfactsjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/20101002/11-things-to-do-with-your-license.png 1000 1250 John Zimmerman https://media.airfactsjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/03140241/AF_Logo_24.png John Zimmerman2025-03-14 08:55:252025-03-23 14:20:58Pilot’s Bucket List: 11 Must-Do Adventures After Earning Your LicenseWho is the pilot in command of your aircraft?John's blog FAR 91.3 is one of the simplest and best known federal aviation regulations, and it clearly defines the most essential job as a pilot: to be the boss for the entire flight. But as obvious as this sounds, it’s surprisingly hard to do in the real world. Little by little, your authority as PIC can be eroded until no one is actually in command.Read more17 Comments/February 10, 2025 https://media.airfactsjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/04185816/whos-the-pilot-in-command.png 1000 1250 John Zimmerman https://media.airfactsjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/03140241/AF_Logo_24.png John Zimmerman2025-02-10 08:55:162025-02-05 20:55:45Who is the pilot in command of your aircraft?The pros and the cons: Cirrus SR22John's blog Cirrus had a controversial reputation early on, and to this day it’s the butt of some jokes. But it’s also the best selling piston airplane in the world for 20 years straight, a lone bright spot among small airplane companies who otherwise seem to be surviving on a few big flight school orders. And as I’ve repeatedly observed, the most vocal Cirrus critics are usually the ones who have never flown one.Read more48 Comments/January 13, 2025 https://media.airfactsjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/06095512/cirrus-sr22-pros-cons.png 1000 1250 John Zimmerman https://media.airfactsjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/03140241/AF_Logo_24.png John Zimmerman2025-01-13 08:55:422025-01-18 19:05:31The pros and the cons: Cirrus SR22 View John’s Blog I Can’t Believe I Did That I Am UNSAFE Checklist—Lessons Learned on a Fateful NightI Can't Believe I Did That Very soon I was on the approach and thought I could still make 06C.  The ATIS called out the overcast at 800’ AGL, the minimum I needed (mistake #5—not mine, but it counted anyway.)  I held at 800’, assuming I’d see the runway lights below me and then I could continue to 06C.  As I crossed the runway threshold, it was solid IMC and I had to go missed.  I asked the Tower what the current ceiling was, and the response was that the ATIS was old and the ceiling was actually 400’ and you’ll have to go around. Read more19 Comments/February 28, 2025 https://media.airfactsjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/14102325/unsafe-checklist.png 1000 1250 Bob Hamilton https://media.airfactsjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/03140241/AF_Logo_24.png Bob Hamilton2025-02-28 08:55:512025-02-14 10:24:30I Am UNSAFE Checklist—Lessons Learned on a Fateful NightThe Arrogant PilotI Can't Believe I Did That On one early Monday morning, I took things for granted. I cut corners. I made certain assumptions about a departing fuel truck and an obscured fuel gauge—no substitute for pilot responsibility. Thirty minutes later, barely clearing the redwood ridge tops of the Santa Cruz mountains, I would dive for the first straight section of road I could find in the Silicon Valley. Read more26 Comments/February 14, 2025 https://media.airfactsjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/10120531/the-arrogant-pilot.png 1000 1250 Peterson Conway https://media.airfactsjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/03140241/AF_Logo_24.png Peterson Conway2025-02-14 08:55:132025-02-14 12:27:35The Arrogant PilotHow I failed my IFR Practical Test TwiceI Can't Believe I Did That I decided after two attempts to not take the Instrument practical again. The examiner was gracious and realized that, being over 55, I did not have plans for commercial flying and certainly not airlines (ATP). He reminded me it is not easy to stay current with an Instrument Rating and flying IFR by yourself can be challenging even for the most proficient pilot, especially if you do not have an autopilot. Read more54 Comments/January 22, 2025 https://media.airfactsjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/22091633/Copy-of-failed-IFR-checkride.png 1000 1250 Carl Smith https://media.airfactsjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/03140241/AF_Logo_24.png Carl Smith2025-01-22 08:55:282025-01-23 14:06:30How I failed my IFR Practical Test Twice View ICBIDT Opinion In Defense of the Paper Nav LogOpinion The typical mid-lifers are accomplished overachievers. The way they see it, they could easily learn the Rubik's cube of a paper nav log if they were made to do it. But why require them to spend hours mastering a process that in the real world of EFBs, they'll never have to use again? For a mid-life pilot, this seems like a criminal waste of time.Read more10 Comments/March 10, 2025 https://media.airfactsjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/20150707/in-defense-of-the-paper-nav-log.png 1000 1250 Evan Schaeffer https://media.airfactsjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/03140241/AF_Logo_24.png Evan Schaeffer2025-03-10 08:55:582025-02-26 11:35:47In Defense of the Paper Nav LogWhy Crash Videos and Social Media Don’t MixOpinion I get that we all speculate in private on crashes since we have a natural tendency to try to understand tragedy after it unfolds. But when we speak publicly on social media or even to our friends and family at home, we become ambassadors for aviation. And as ambassadors, I firmly believe we need to steer these conversations toward supporting our fellow pilots who were involved in the incident as well as understanding how we can prevent it from happening again. And any online content that goes against these tenets should be strictly avoided or even better, unsubscribed.Read more36 Comments/March 3, 2025 https://media.airfactsjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/26121830/Why-Crash-Videos-and-Social-Media-Dont-Mix.png 1000 1250 Alexander Sack https://media.airfactsjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/03140241/AF_Logo_24.png Alexander Sack2025-03-03 08:55:462025-02-26 12:19:45Why Crash Videos and Social Media Don’t MixChecking The Checklist ChecksOpinion Checklist usage shouldn’t feel like a chore, nor should it feel mandatory (and from a regulatory standpoint, it isn’t), but rather an act of habit. And the quality of checklists you use is directly responsible for how often you use them! Because once checklist usage feels natural instead of premediated, you don’t have to think about it anymore.Read more11 Comments/February 19, 2025 https://media.airfactsjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/04175514/checlists.png 1000 1250 Alexander Sack https://media.airfactsjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/03140241/AF_Logo_24.png Alexander Sack2025-02-19 08:55:282025-02-04 17:55:44Checking The Checklist Checks View Opinion More Articles I Can’t Believe I Did ThatLearn from the mistakes of othersTechniqueImprove your flying skillsGo Or No GoTest your weather decision-makingYoung PilotsThe next generation writesFriday PhotoUnforgettable cockpit viewsI Was ThereSharing pilot stories Recent Posts Friday Photo: Howard 500 Share Your Spring Flying Adventures with Air Facts Flying and Maintaining Prewar Aeroncas: A Guide for Antique Aircraft Owners Buffalo Hunting With Airplanes 2025 Richard Collins Writing Prize Runner-Up: Tailstrikes and Tiedowns Email newsletter Sign up for our free email newsletter, packed with tips, tricks and news for pilots. Sign Up Write for us! Did you know that most of the articles at Air Facts are written by readers like you? You do not have to be Richard Collins or Ernest Gann – simply a GA pilot with a story you’d share with friends sitting in the hangar. Here’s how to contribute. Terms of Use Privacy Policy ©COPYRIGHT 2011-2025, SPORTSMAN'S MARKET, INC. All Rights Reserved. Scroll to topenusen-US1771446603https://airfactsjournal.com

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