Recent content by zaitcev

Yes, it's common. In some countries, it is mandatory, and emigrants are used to it. In the U.S. it is only required to wear parachute if you fly aerobatics. However, many pilots wear them anyway. Remember that gliders often fly in close proximity to each other and the risk of mid-air collision...

My tent flooded on Saturday too, but not because of the fabric. The reason was, I sucked at tenting. The secret is to fold the tarp fully under the tent, about 5 inch away from the edges. Other campers set me straight and it was no problem thereafter. Kinda comfy listening to the rain in the...

I also took a cellphone photo of Doc, it was nice to see it flying.

Old Bo's are cheap. I once looked a well-kept model that was based in Vegas since 1953. The asking price was $23k on an 800 hour E-225 with electric prop. It had a swamp cooler - a luxury item in the 50s! Unfortunately, I simply cannot fit into them. Weirdly enough, Mooney is smaller, but much...

I have seeing it so much. Every time a nincompoop pilot bellies a Mooney, my insurance creeps up.

Leaving Mooney aside, C152 offers a significantly better performance than any comparable airplane: Piper Tomahawk, Beech Skipper, or Ailon-made Ercoupe. I kinda can see where Grumman AA1 may compare on speed, but it loses in payload and short-field performance. The only competition really is...

Oh you wish. The 175 fleet is all spoken for by people who fly backcountry. On average, they are more overpriced than Cardinals.

I think I would like one of those square bags, although mine has to be large enough to accommodate a dispatch folder for rentals. I have a backpack currently and it's not terribly convenient, even with the pockets it has. The biggest downside is that I still have to dig for some of the things...

Flare? Nyet! Approach iz fine! This is the first flight of Yak-152 with the chief test pilot of OKB Yakovlev, Vasily Sevastyanov at the controls.

Piper Cherokee also has direct connection to nosegear. Its pilots learn quickly to straighten it momentarily as nose comes down and then immediately dial that rudder back, to avoid an uncomfortable side jolt as the moment of contact. But that's all there is to it. I don't have any time in...

Yes, but my factory manual does not account for it. Instead, it says: "To allow for a safe margin above stall speed throughout approach, hold airspeed above 90 MPH until flaps are lowered." "On final, trim the aircraft to fly hands-off at an approach speed of about 80 MPH." And that's it.

I don't know how you read any danger into these metars. Looks like just one cell that was a concern, and the rest was almost still air and light drizzle. 10 miles viz, jeez. I'm a little further up north but the weather was perfect outside of rare storm cells, we had a fly-in breakfast. This...

I was unable to find a better deal for the owner insurance than AOPA. The sticking point is that everyone else flat out lie about future rate drops. I heard it about 50 hours in type, about 100, about 150. I suppose it may be wages of flying a retract. But so far I'm unable to find any place...

EAA made massive inroads at the AOPA turf during the times of "AOPA Wine Club" scandals, and Jack Pelton came onboad to oversee a transition from the organization dominated by homebuilders and warbird restorers into a more general aviation (heh) oriented society. There was a concern voiced in...

In many places, pilots keep gliders in their trailers at the glideport. It typically costs nothing if they stay within the area that belongs to the club. The only exception I know is Fault Line Fliers in Texas, who for some reason have no trailers whatsoever, and those gliders that are...