Innholdsfortegnelse for June 2025 i Flying

WELCOME TO the second Ultimate Issue—our annual celebration of general aviation and the passionate community that surrounds it. When we originally conceived of the idea for an all-encompassing issue, we had one goal in mind—to bring together the best voices from across our Firecrown family of aviation brands and showcase the breadth and depth of what GA has to offer. From aircraft and avionics to training insights and personal stories, this edition reflects the full spectrum of flying—not just as an industry, but as a lifestyle. You’ll find original stories from some of the most talented aviation journalists in the business—names you’ll recognize, and others we hope you’ll come to follow. Some pieces may speak directly to your own flying journey. Others might introduce you to a perspective or passion…

FOR this year’s Ultimate Issue, I wanted to push myself out of my comfort zone into an airplane worthy of the Ultimate title. I was inspired by Ernest Gantt’s seminal work, Fate Is the Hunter, which chronicles his adventures of flying the line when round-engined DC-2s, -3s, -4s, -6s, Boeing 307s, and Lockheed Constellations were the primary people movers during the golden age of airliners. In what follows, I will share my experience of getting acquainted with the Douglas DC-6B Cloudmaster, built by PMDG—a popular production studio known for highly detailed study-level aircraft available for purchase in the Microsoft Flight Simulator (MSFS) marketplace. At $69.99, the DC-6 is one of the most expensive aircraft available in-sim, but like other aircraft in the same pricing tier, it offers a level of…

DESTINATIONS GRANT BOYD THE BAHAMAS OFFER A PILOT THE unparalleled opportunity to choose their own adventure. The country’s 700 idyllic islands are a tropical playground and cater to a wide variety of interests—with a heavy emphasis on rest and relaxation. The clear blue waters that surround these diverse land masses are best seen from above. When flying from southern Florida, most of the popular places to land in The Bahamas are within one fuel stop from the American mainland in a single-engine piston. Whether you decide to make a quicktrip to Bimini, the island closest to the U.S., or stretch your aircraft’s legs for an overnight in Great Inagua or Acklins Island, The Bahamas are paradise at every turn. Some of the most pilot-friendly options to begin your aerial exploration…

OUR TRAINING for the instrument ticket focused on flying by reference to instruments, how to shoot approaches, holds, etc. By that point pilots were presumed to have mastered the art of landing, so who needed any more instruction on that? (Or, so the argument goes.). Your approach speed is an essential precursor to a good landing, even—or, perhaps, especially—for an instrument pilot. More specifically, fast (aka high-energy) approaches, can be requested by ATC and become a trap and possibly lead to a bent airplane or, worse still, a fatal outcome. Let’s start by looking at that trap. High-Energy Trap Do you fly into busy airports frequented by fast-moving, heavy iron (usually in class C and B airspaces)? Ignoring skyhigh avgas prices and fees for everything, there are some advantages to…

IF you haven’t shopped for an aircraft paint job in the past decade, you’ll be surprised by the eye-watering price quotes for finishing even the most basic piston single. While high-quality aircraft paint projects have always been premium priced, these days there’s almost no end to what you can do to spiff up an aging bird—and that means a big investment, long downtime, a lot of disassembly, and a critical planning process. Plan It Right That might seem like basic advice, but in the current world of interesting modern paint schemes, shortchanging the planning is a setup for remorse. You have one shot at it. Thankfully, there are professionals who can help get you started in the right direction—and even step up your ideas to a higher level. One well-respected…

It was too good to pass up. CubCrafters offered to bring FLYING the first of the kitbuilt NXCubs to north Idaho and turn us loose with it for two weeks to fly into the backcountry—introducing pilots of all experience and skill levels to the airplane. They told us to get it muddy and grass stained. We did. The adventure began with a checkout with CubCrafters pilot David Blake, along with orientation around its STOL capabilities. Over the next two weeks we made one long cross-country, several short ones, and had some 19 pilots of all skill and experience levels fly it. Bottom line, we were seriously impressed by the NXCub. Every person who flew it had a ball and came away with 1,000-watt smiles. With its excellent ground handling and ability to…

EXTENDING CLOSE to the length of a football field, U.K.-based Hybrid Air Vehicles’ (HAV) Airlander 10—dubbed “The Flying Bum” by the British public due to its double-ellipsoid airframe—is designed to be the world’s longest aircraft. Eventually, though, the 10-ton payload model could be the smallest in the Airlander family. “We’ve always looked at larger Airlanders,” George Land, executive sales director for HAV, told FLYING, “and we’d always thought that probably a 50-ton aircraft was the next step up.” The Airlander 10’s 302-foot length equals that of the Soviet Union’s experimental Caspian Sea Monster—the longest fixed-wing aircraft in history. It would surpass Boeing’s 747-8, the longest in operation today. Another company, Google-backed startup LTA Research, is designing a proof-of-concept airship spanning more than 400 feet. But HAV is already working with…

For buyers stepping up into the world of turboprops and jets, a significant part of the transition might be learning an unfamiliar avionics suite. And for many aging aircraft that never had avionics upgrades, it means spending big on repairs and dealing with downtime, while sacrificing modern capabilities and automation that can increase workload. This means buying the airplane right so there’s money—lots of it—left in the budget for major panel upgrades. But the choices for avionics in many aging turbines are generally more limited than for pistons because of fewer STC approvals. Still, the market for avionics systems for turbine airplanes is dominated by Garmin, which earns regulatory approval at impressive rates. From a capability standpoint, Garmin’s full-suite avionics that are now standard in many new jets and turboprops…

ANYONE WHO paid attention to news coverage during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic likely is familiar with personal protective equipment (PPE). In the medical profession, PPE can include masks, gloves, gowns, booties, and more. But PPE isn’t only for doctors and nurses. Construction workers wear hard hats, steel-toed boots and Day-Glo vests. Many motorcyclists have adopted the initialism ATGATT, standing for “All The Gear All The Time”—helmets, boots, gloves, leathers, whether riding on the street or off-road. No shorts, flip-flops, or tank tops, even if it’s only a quick trip to the corner store. Motorcyclists refusing to wear helmets often are referred to as “organ donors” behind their backs. What does any of this have to do with flying? A lot actually, since the machines we operate aren’t…

WHEN I was thinking about listing and describing, as nearly as possible, every aviation Hall of Fame in the country, I had no idea what I was getting into. And it was obvious the editor wouldn’t give me that much space or that anybody would read it. You’ll be glad to know I abandoned the project, so keep reading. See, nearly every state (curiously, not Ohio), plus every military service, every organization of sport pilots, aerobatic pilots, glider pilots, warbird pilots, helicopter pilots, black pilots, women pilots, and maybe even drone and RC flyers annually elect and celebrate people they want to honor as worthy of note. The nominating and electing processes are a little obscure. Some names are submitted by members of the organizations and then selected by a…

Unlimited. Now there’s a word for you. What unfettered freedom it connotes, such exuberance for the future, an almost naive sense of limitless possibilities. Fittingly, I was but a lad in 1970 when I first came across unlimited in an aviation context. The editors of FLYING had published an annual titled Air Racing Aerobatics, with “racing” and “aerobatics” differentiated by different colors. It cost $1.95, a sobering $16.04 today, and was a thick 132 pages of tightly written personality profiles and technical features. Not incidentally, longtime FLYING contributor Peter Garrison expertly wrote many of these, and he’s still here in this issue. I was all of 14 at the time, and yes, I had heard of the Reno Air Races (then only six years old), but the inside cover of…

WHEN IT first appeared in the mid-1980s, the PA-46 Malibu was a head turner. Aside from its ramp appeal, pilots were intrigued with its high-flying pressurized cabin, 200-knot cruise speed, and impressive range. There was nothing quite like it, and Piper soon found a loyal market for its new flagship product, mostly among well-to-do owners who could afford to sink a half-million bucks into a new single and flew the kind of missions where the Malibu shined. Pressurizing a single isn’t easy—Mooney’s Mustang was a bust. Cessna pulled it off using a proven airframe in the P210, but it had its growing pains. Piper’s execution left something to be desired. Although owners generally raved—and still do—about the Malibu’s impressive capabilities, it gained a reputation as a problem airplane. The engine…

IF you have ever seen an aviation magazine cover that looks more like a carefully composed work of art rather than an image of an aircraft in flight, you may have seen the work of Paul Bowen, a commercial aviation photographer based in Wichita, Kansas. Bowen’s career as an aviation-photographer began in the 1970s. “As a commercial photographer in Wichita, eventually you’ll see an airplane through your camera,” Bowen quipped. Bowen is not a pilot himself, although he did log hours many years ago. When he determined he didn’t have the time to maintain proficiency, he quit, saying, “You either commit to flying or don’t do it. The world is much safer with me in the back of the plane.” Bowen’s first air-to-air shoot involved a Beech Baron. It was…

AT MIDDAY on a Monday in March 2024, a family of five, with children aged 12, 10, and 7, set out from Brampton, Ontario, in a Piper PA-32 Turbo Lance. They were bound for Nashville, Tennessee. Perhaps to calm the impatience of his children, the father, who was the pilot, broke the 540 nm trip into three segments. The first leg, of just one hour, brought the family to Erie, Pennsylvania. The distance is less than 100 nm, which the Lance would normally cover in 40 minutes, but they may have made a dogleg rather than fly directly across Lake Erie. At Erie he added 22 gallons of fuel, and they continued to Mount Sterling, Kentucky, a 300 nm hop. At Mount Sterling he added 52 gallons and departed in…

I’M NOT sure what’s gained by putting rideshare drivers out of work, but driverless cars have become a common sight in Los Angeles. I seldom drive any distance without encountering one of Waymo’s white Jaguar SUVs, its roof and fenders barnacled with spinning sensors and its front seats empty. I’ve followed them in traffic for miles—they drive well. I've tried to book a ride, but the hilly neighborhood of narrow, winding streets in which I live lies just outside their comfort zone. Give them another six months. A few years ago, a survey found almost 80 percent of respondents unwilling to ride in a driverless car. I don’t know what the fraction would be today, but I’ll bet it’s shrunk. One of my least adventurous friends reported that after a…