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Here's another "real-world IFR" flight from October, taking me to the Twin Cities (St. Paul Downtown airport) on a "beautiful" day for instrument flying: low ceilings, no icing, and no convection. As usual with ATC closed captions and close ups of the avionics, so you can see exactly how I deal...

"Mr. Mulligan" (a.k.a. the Howard DGA-6) is one of those airplanes with quite a story. It was purpose-built in the 1930s to win the prestigious Bendix Trophy. Not just it win the Bendix Trophy in 1935, it also won the Thompson Trophy a few days later. In this video, Doug Rozendaal (a.k.a...

Doug Rozendaal and I sat down yesterday to chat about different training approaches. Airlines these days teach pilots how to work the airplane, using a QRH with checklists and guidance to troubleshoot. Why that doesn't work well in our typical light GA aircraft, and what we can do about it is...

Stunningly beautiful views of the Cascades, of Mount Rainier, and of the larger Seattle area - what's not to love?

This is a conversation I recorded with Doug Rozendaal about stalls, stall speed and its relationship (or lack thereof) with bank angle. As Doug says, "sacred cow hamburger tastes best", so in that spirit we try to explain what is fact and what is myth. - Martin

I'm riding my bicycle to Fisk again to see the controllers at AirVenture in action. It's an easy 9-mile ride (each way) from Camp Scholler. We did this in a small group in 2021 and a few more people joined in 2022. Sunday July 23, 2023 at 1:00 PM If you'd like to join, details (and RSVP) are...

My flight home from the Beech Bash 2023 was into a stiff (40+ knots) headwind, which not just slowed me down but also required a strategy for avoiding icing (a bit unusual this time of year). Still, it was a fun flight concluding a fun weekend in Madisonville, KY (2I0).

I started a thread over on BeechTalk trying to get insight into what the best way is to pick up an IFR clearance on the ground at KSSI (St. Simons Island). JAX Center doesn't like people to call the published phone number, but their antenna is in Brunswick, not KSSI, so radio reception is hit or...

My panel upgrade is complete - the FAA has approved Aspen's new software for the Evolution PFD, and with that the avionics shop could reinstate the digital autopilot interface between the Aspen Evolution MAX PFD and the Garmin GFC 600 autopilot. At last, I have arrived at the end of this upgrade...

Recently I flew to Falcon Field (KFFC), just south of the Atlanta Class Bravo airspace, and I was itching to find out if I could get a chance to enjoy scenic aerial views of downtown Atlanta and Hartsfield International airport. My plan was to fly the Tango route T319 which crosses KATL north to...

I stopped in Nashville, TN on the way to Falcon Field (FFC) last Sunday. I had flown over BNA many times, but never landed there before. So I wanted to check it out. Here is the video of that flight. Later today I'll be flying home to Iowa, with the benefit of the full digital autopilot...

I recorded this conversation with Dr. Brent Blue last summer during the Antique Airplane Association fly-in in Blakesburg, IA. He is credited for introducing pulse oximeters and digital CO detectors into general aviation cockpits. I learned a few new things in this conversation.

A few days ago, before the arctic cold hit much of the US, we had a mild day in Iowa with low clouds - a great day for flying approaches in actual IMC with my new avionics panel, after practicing thoroughly in good weather. It's always a great feeling when I break out of the clouds with the...

Doug Rozendaal and I recorded another chat - this time about the downwind turn - specifically the myth that one loses airspeed when turning from upwind to downwind. - Martin

The Eisenhower transition is a VFR shortcut from the lake shore to the west, between the surface areas of O’Hare Class B and Midway Class C. Here’s a video showing how it can be used.

A long journey is coming to an end - my Bonanza N70TB is back home in the hangar after ten months of upgrades and development/certification work. Let me give you a tour of the new setup, which is centered around the Aspen Evolution MAX flight displays and Garmin's GFC600 digital autopilot. The...

Just before Oshkosh, I had the opportunity to fly in the cockpit observer seat of "DOC", one of the two remaining B-29 aircraft in airworthy condition. This was in Mason City, IA at their monthly airport BBQ - specifically, the one in July, the one just before Oshkosh. It was a fantastic (and...

After my autopilot (Century III) died last year, I am taking the plunge - I'm doing an all-new instrument panel for N70TB. I'm getting the Garmin GFC 600 autopilot, including the yaw damper. Only downside is I'll have to drive to Oshkosh this year in the car. Here is how the project started:

Last year, a few of us had a great time riding our bikes to Fisk to visit the ATC outpost there. Most of the ride is on Fisk Ave - which many have flown over as part of the famous Fisk Arrival. I'll do the same again this year on Sunday afternoon - would be great to have others come along. It's...

After talking with students a few times about what makes an airplane climb, I decided to make a video about it, with some graphics to hopefully help bring things across. Here it is.