Innholdsfortegnelse for October 2025 i Flying

LIKE MANY of you, one of my favorite sections of FLYING is “I Learned About Flying From That” (ILAFFT). This reader-submitted column has been a fixture in the magazine for nearly nine decades, blending storytelling with real-world mishaps that happened to pilots just like us. Sure, there may be a bit of schadenfreude going on, but we learn valuable lessons that make us better aviators. In this month’s ILAFFT, reader Tim Thompson, a former F/A-18 Naval aviator and later a Boeing 767 captain, recounts a harrowing moment—a near head-on collision after landing, when another aircraft, unannounced, touched down on the opposite runway. His story is a sharp reminder that even at familiar fields, clear communication and constant vigilance are essential for safety. For me, Thompson’s story is also a reminder…

ON A brisk night over the Potomac River near Washington, D.C., a decades-long streak of no fatal accidents involving a U.S.-based scheduled carrier abruptly ended. Just southeast of Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (KDCA) on January 29, an Army Black Hawk helicopter collided with a PSA Airlines CRJ-700, killing all 67 on board both aircraft. The regional jet was operating flight AA5342— a daily service from Wichita, Kansas, to Washington. PAT25— the Black Hawk’s call sign—was flying a continuity of government training exercise around the capital region. In the wake of the accident, the families of those lost have pushed for swift safety reforms. Perhaps none have been as outspoken as Tim Lilley, whose son Sam was the first officer on the PSA flight. Lilley is uniquely positioned to understand…

MOAB, UTAH lies nestled in a bend in the Colorado River, a green dot in a Martian landscape of ochre plains and low rocky outcrops that resemble the protruding vertebrae of buried monsters. Sixteen miles northwest of Moab is Canyonlands Regional Airport (KCYN). Its runway, 100 feet wide and 7,360 feet long, is oriented 03/21. All of the airport’s buildings are at its north end, alongside the highway that leads to Moab. At 5:45 on an October evening in 2023, a Cherokee 140 landed at Canyonlands. The pilot bought 27 gallons of fuel and parked the airplane. He and his family—wife and two young boys—used an FBO’s courtesy car to go into town. It was a Sunday, and they were on their way back to their home field of Mandan,…

For many people, the best part of EAA AirVenture is heading down to Warbirds to see the airplanes that helped the Allies win World War II. Adjacent to the rows of trainers, liaison aircraft, fighters, transports, and bombers, you will find what appears to be a WWII U.S. Army Air Corps (USAAC) base. And that’s exactly what it is supposed to be, as you have just entered the world of the Warbirds Living History Group (WLHG). Kevin Wisniewski from Milwaukee is the cochair of the group. During AirVenture, you’ll likely find him in a USAAC officer’s uniform, including the leather A-2 jacket, 50 Mission crush cap, and creased slacks, interacting with visitors in the camp that represents the 57th Bomb Group, which operated in North Africa, Sicily, Corsica, and Italy. According…

“ITS LIKE they don’t know how to look out the window!” lamented a DPE of my acquaintance, describing private pilot applicants who, when deprived of their preprogrammed tablets or panel-mounted GPS, lose situational awareness faster than you can drop a checklist to the floor. Other DPEs joined the conversation, noting how often they see pilot applicants who can create flight plans with Garmin Pilot, ForeFlight, and other apps. But when those tools are taken away, they often struggle and sometimes fail, as pilotage and its close friend dead reckoning are not skills that are being taught at flight schools and practiced by many pilots these days. While it’s true that the electronic flight bag (EFB) is a necessary tool in many cockpits, we are seeing the outcome of “too much…

THE INTRODUCTION of electric, vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL), and other advanced air mobility (AAM) aircraft into U.S. national airspace has raised plenty of questions, not least of which is how they will be certified and operated. The FAA is finally beginning to answer them. The publication of a final Modernization of Special Airworthiness Certification (MOSAIC) was a highlight of this year’s EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. Sport pilots will likely be familiar with the rule’s major changes—namely, the replacement of rigid weight and seating limits with performance-based criteria, and expanded privileges, such as flying at night. MOSAIC expands the light sport aircraft (LSA) category beyond ultralights and basic trainers to include popular general aviation (GA) craft, such as the Cessna 172 Skyhawk and Cirrus SR22. But it also opens…

You’ve arrived. You’ve climbed the “dizzying progression of steps and ledges” to reach the top of Tom Wolfe’s towering, intimidating aviation ziggurat described in his classic book, The Right Stuff. You have joined the select few who regularly fly single-pilot, passenger-carrying jets. And, yes, although every one of you FLYING spoke with honestly downplayed what you had accomplished, we envy you. We all wish it were us pushing the power levers forward and feeling sheer exuberance of the hard-to-comprehend-rate-of-takeoff acceleration before easing back on the yoke and launching—because no other word adequately describes a takeoff in a small jet—into the sky and watching the rate of climb read out in thousands of feet per minute. Flying a jet single pilot in weather and today’s complicated airspace isn’t for just anyone…

LOOKING BACK for the past couple of years, artificial intelligence has been one of the hottest topics in the news and on social media. If you had any idea that AI was just another fad like the hula hoop, well, it’s not anymore. Whether you like it or not, in the decades to come it will only continue to dominate our daily conversation and politics. It has the potential to change how we communicate, create, and even govern. Coupled with the rapidly emerging technology of quantum computing, advancements in weather prediction will greatly benefit from AI over the next decade. Even so, it’s still in its infancy, with the road map still being defined, and there are many challenges before it will significantly help GA pilots make routine operational decisions.…

IT’S BEEN a volatile love affair beginning in 1968 when “Oshkosh” still happened at Rockford, Illinois. Ebby let us use one of his Midwest Airways DC-3s with friend and Proctor & Gamble pilot Will Adams up front. Early in the morning, with a full load of local pilots fortified with a bunch of sweet rolls and coffee, we arrived about 10 a.m. I was overawed with everything, especially watching for the first time Bob Hoover fly that piston Aero Commander, disappearing into low clouds at the top of his vertical maneuvers. Later, those clouds morphed into a genuine thunderstorm with wind and heavy rain. Thanks to my sister Mary, a former Lake Central Airlines flight attendant, for running to the DC-3 and buttoning up the cockpit windows. When the weather…

44.3876° N, 68.2043° W WHEN YOU THINK OF FALL, cool weather, crisp air, and vibrant foliage come to mind. Maine, particularly Bar Harbor, is the poster child for a stereotypical New England autumn. In its early days, Bar Harbor was an economic center of the Northeast, but its many visitors began seeing the seaside town more as an attractive tourist destination. In the late 1800s, hotels began popping up en masse, and soon more people were only staying temporarily rather than living there on a full-time basis. One of the biggest draws to the area is Acadia National Park, which is known as “The Crown Jewel of the North Atlantic Coast.” Acadia is not a hidden site by any means, as more than 4 million pass through it each year, and…

SPEED AND efficiency go hand in hand with the Mooney M20-series airframe. But bolt on a high-flying turbocharged engine, and the performance gets kicked up several notches. These days there is tight competition in the used turbocharged single market—mainly from Cirrus, a company that’s been hugely successful with the fixed-gear turbo SR22T. Though Mooney has stopped cranking out new airplanes, and the future is unknown, owners love their 231 and 252s for the same reasons they always have, accepting the potential for more upkeep than normally aspirated 201 models. It took a bit for Mooney to get the M20K worked out. It didn’t get the turbocharging system right on the first try, and the model developed a reputation as a maintenance hog. At this point that standing has been mostly…

I SPENT three full days listening to the National Transportation Safety Board hearings into the midair collision of an Army Black Hawk helicopter and a regional jet over the Potomac that killed 67 people. There was over 30 hours of testimony, with the final day wrapping up at 10 p.m.. I then pulled the most interesting audio clips from each day and posted them on my new NTSB News Talk podcast that I cohost. After listening to the testimony, one thing was clear. The accident wasn’t just caused by the mistakes of a couple of people on that night. It was a system failure hiding in plain sight. It was the proverbial accident waiting to happen. And, sadly, it did. The hearing highlighted numerous issues, some visible and some invisible,…

IN THIS issue, FLYING contributing editor Rick Durden profiles six owners in the distinguished single-pilot jet category. Each praised the versatility of their jets, noting how the speed, range, and payload elevate both their flying and their lives. Back in 2006, FLYING published an in-depth flight review of the Citation Mustang (inset at bottom right) ahead of its market debut. That story comes full circle this month with an interview featuring Citation Mustang serial number 510-0001 (pictured above), owned by Jim Kaas since 2009, when he moved up from a Beechcraft Baron. Three years ago, Kaas worked with Textron Aviation to create a striking new paint scheme, giving this milestone aircraft a distinct personal touch.…