Just when you thought they could not stuff more, ah, stuff into the D2 watch series, Garmin has managed to up the ante with the Mach 1 Pro. The new multifunction tool includes an LED flashlight, night modes, and an ECG app among other features in a serious—and seriously hefty—wrist-born device.

FLYING had the opportunity to preview the D2 Mach 1 Pro at NBAA-BACE last week in Las Vegas, and we’ve also brought one home to test further for a full report. Our first impression? Improving upon the substantial feature set was a challenge, but a few key elements make it compelling to consider. Among these are:

• An LED flashlight incorporated into the case—and positioned so that you can wield it, communicator-style, during all phases of flight, from preflight to postflight. A red lens makes for safe use in night ops.
• A red shift mode for the display itself, also supporting night flight use.
• Improved battery life, which varies with the type of use, but can last up to 46 hours in pilot mode, and 25 days as a smartwatch.
• An ECG app adds to other health and fitness features to allow users to record heart rhythm for any signs of atrial fibrillation (AFib), up to a 30-second recording that can be viewed on the watch as well as on the Garmin Connect app.

READ MORE: Garmin D2 Mach 1 Aviator Watch: Why You Want One

“This year marks 10 years of the D2 series—a smartwatch line that pilots have relied on to combine aviation tools with the latest smartwatch technology,” said Carl Wolf, Garmin”s vice president of aviation sales and marketing, in a statement. “The D2 Mach 1 Pro provides an extensive set of advanced capabilities that pilots use every day, all while touting battery life that can withstand even the long-haul commercial pilot trips. Features like the LED flashlight and large AMOLED display, combined with the high-end materials, make this the most premium-built D2 smartwatch yet.”

The striking 51 mm case is crafted with a titanium bezel and five-button stainless steel design to access features quickly. It can be worn with a wide range of bands, from metal to leather to nylon fitness versions.

Pilot Modes

The D2 Mach 1 Pro builds on the pilot applications launched with earlier models, including the ability to plan, execute, and record flights through each stage. The watch allows access to a worldwide aeronautical database, a horizontal situation indicator (HSI), direct-to navigation, and a moving map display—all while offline. Aviation weather data and custom reports and alerts are available as well as fuel planning. A wrist-based pulse oximeter allows you to monitor oxygen levels, and a barometric altimeter provides altitude alerts.

The watch begins flight tracking and logging on takeoff, and it will sync the flight data to the user’s flyGarmin.com logbook. Flight plans can be uploaded directly using the Garmin Pilot app—and those pilots flying aircraft with PlaneSync can view the aircraft dashboard for fuel, electrical, database, and location information while away from the airplane.

The D2 Mach 1 Pro comes standard with a vented titanium bracelet with carbon gray DLC coating as well as a black silicone band for a suggested retail price of $1,399.99.

Editor’s note: This story originally appeared on flyingmag.com.

The post Garmin Updates D2 Watch Series with Mach 1 Pro appeared first on Plane & Pilot Magazine.

FLYING and Plane & Pilot have been the top two independent aviation magazines for decades. While the brands have been viewed as competitive at times, the focus of the two magazines has also differed. 

FLYING is an aspirational brand, featuring the latest and greatest in general aviation, spanning the most advanced light sport models to the fastest business jets. Plane & Pilot, on the other hand, has had deeper coverage of the piston community and the world of recreational and private pilots.  

Craig Fuller, the CEO of FMG, said, “The piston market, once thought to be dying out, is now making a robust comeback with new aircraft models, avionics, gear, and many new pilots. Plane & Pilot has developed an incredibly strong following over the past 50 years among pilots that fly piston aircraft and experience their love of aviation through the cockpit. We plan to build on this and dive deeper into the specialized segments of the piston market with expanded investment in Plane & Pilot.”

Plane & Pilot will continue as a monthly print magazine and will be available via subscription and on the newsstand. Current subscribers to Plane & Pilot will receive their magazine and membership benefits, without interruption. 

“Our goal is to keep Plane & Pilot focused on its roots, while expanding the depth and quantity of content that serves the piston community,” Fuller explained. “Therefore, FLYING and Plane & Pilot will continue as separate brands, with differentiated coverage and editorial teams. While there is an overlap in their audiences, our data shows it is quite small. Plane & Pilot goes far deeper into the piston and recreational aviation market than FLYING does. FMG plans to keep Plane & Pilot’s focus on pistons and recreational flying, while FLYING magazine will remain an aspirational brand, covering all aspects of general aviation.”

Fuller added that FMG plans to expand the Plane & Pilot print and digital platforms with deeper coverage of the piston market. FMG is also exploring ways to offer bundled subscriptions for Plane & Pilot and FLYING. “Our hope—especially among the piston community—is that subscribers will see the value in subscribing to both FLYING and Plane & Pilot.”

This is the second acquisition announced by FMG in a week. On March 27, FMG announced the acquisition of ByDanJohnson, the leading source of news and content serving the light sport aircraft (LSA) category. 

The LSA market is poised to see an explosion in investment, innovation, and new products over the next decade, as the FAA overhauls its regulatory standards for light aircraft  through its Modernization of Special Airworthiness Certificates, or MOSAIC. 

ByDanJohson will be rebranded as Affordable Aviation, with LSA content featured throughout FMG’s brands, including FLYING, Plane & Pilot, and FLYING’s new classified aircraft listing brand and marketplace, Aircraft for Sale. 

The post FLYING Acquires Plane & Pilot Magazine appeared first on Plane & Pilot Magazine.

Coming out on top was Philip Johnson for his “Jolley Roger in the Sky,” a brilliant shot of a North American F-86 Sabre, flown by Steve Hinton. Taking home second prize was Adrien Penhoet, for their photograph entitled “Evening at KGAI” (Montgomery Country, Maryland). It’s a really compelling shot of airplane silhouettes behind a long line of chain link fencing—we’ll let you work out all the symbolism on your own. Finally, in third place was Kristina Rosenfeld for her shot, “West Coast Sunrise. “We like sunrises in general, but this one is fantastic.

As it has been in the past, the idea behind the theme of this year’s Your Flying World Photo Contest was to open up entries to any part of this amazing activity that we all love—aviation! And this year’s winners and finalists show the breadth of scope of this flying world we share and on which we spend so much time.

Here are our 2023 Your Flying World photo contest finalists!

Jolley Roger in the sky by Philip Johnson

This was an air-to-air mission with the F-86 Sabre from the Planes of Fame Museum with Steve Hinton as the pilot. We were flying along the Pacific coastline near the Santa Maria Airport.

Sony a1 with 24-70 f/2.8 GM lens     

1/3200sec at f/8 with an ISO 800

Evening at KGAI by Adrien Penhoet

I came in from flight training and noticed the beautiful silhouettes of the aircraft. I didn’t even realize that I caught the moon, too, until much later.           

iPhone 10s, Automatic

West Coast Sunrise by Kristina Rosenfeld

My husband and I flew out of our north coast California airport (KFOT) very early one summer morning to surprise my dad in Coeur d’ Alene for his birthday. The sunrise was absolutely spectacular!         

Phone camera – Samsung SM-G960U, focal length 4.30 mm         

Shutter speed 1/1167 s, aperture F2.4, ISO 50        

No flash, auto WB, no filter, photo not edited.

The post We Proudly Announce the Winners of the 2023 Your Flying World Photo Contest! appeared first on Plane & Pilot Magazine.

The idea behind the theme Your Flying World was to open up entries to any part of this amazing activity that we all love—aviation! And this year’s finalists show the breadth of scope of this flying world we share and on which we spend so much time!

Congratulations to all of the finalists! And be sure to keep your eyes open for our coming announcement of the prize winners of the Plane & Pilot 2023 Your Flying World Photo Contest!

Seven Mike Golf by Steven Hayes

I was attending a Fly Day sponsored by the Flying Heritage Collection (FHC).  The main attraction were the warbirds but this DC-3 in Pan American Airways System livery caught my attention.  Both engines roared into life and it taxied to the active runway at Paine Field.  As the pilots did their engine run up that is where I grabbed this photo.  The black and white image was fitting for this truly legendary aircraft in the aviation world.  I was happy to get the photo and it has become one of my personal favorites.      

Canon EOS 60D, Canon EFS 18-135MM Lens       

1/500, 5.6, 100

Between Layers by Andrew Niemyer

I was returning to Fargo, ND (KFAR) from Denver, Co (KAPA) last September in hard IMC. As I flew into north-central Nebraska, the clouds began to dissipate and I found myself perfectly sandwiched between two cloud decks, with the promise of better conditions to come.  

Apple iPhone 11 ProMax      

1/8; f/1.8; ISO850      

Focal Length 4.25mm; Metering set to Pattern         

Evening at KGAI by Adrien Penhoet

I came in from flight training and noticed the beautiful silhouettes of the aircraft. I didn’t even realize that I caught the moon, too, until much later.           

iPhone 10s, Automatic

West Coast Sunrise by Kristina Rosenfeld

My husband and I flew out of our north coast California airport (KFOT) very early one summer morning to surprise my dad in Coeur d’ Alene for his birthday. The sunrise was absolutely spectacular!         

Phone camera – Samsung SM-G960U, focal length 4.30 mm         

Shutter speed 1/1167 s, aperture F2.4, ISO 50        

No flash, auto WB, no filter, photo not edited.

Towhead Twins Excited by the Tow! by Daniel Spitzer MD

Towhead twins excitedly point to the Pawnee towing the glider as they depart 1N7 Blairstown NJ on an idyllic summer afternoon.  The 13-year-olds’ late grandfather was a pilot; I suggested to their grandmother that she gift to them some aviation magazine subscriptions, and then sat each of them in the pilot seat of my plane. They were enthralled!   11 July 2022

iPhone 11 pro max, auto, mild image correction in Photoshop        

Heavy Hitter by Steven Hayes

I attended a Fly Day sponsored by the Heritage Flight Museum at the Skagit Regional Airport.  I wasn’t sure exactly what would be there. I was thrilled to see, and hear, this big warbird. The smoke at engine start really captured my attention.  It was the first time I had ever seen one fly.  It was the highlight of my day!  

Canon EOS 60D        

1/160, 4.5, 500           

Long Shadow by Maryan Tooker

I was attending an event at the Pacific Aviation Museum in Honolulu, Hawaii. Knowing it was approaching the afternoon golden hour, I went outside and began looking around. Parked nearby was this vintage World War II aircraft that caught my eye. As I slowly walked around it, the golden light got better and better.  When I rounded the tail, I saw this shot…the long wheel strut and propellor’s shadow, the puffy tropical clouds, and golden sunlight drew me right into the moment.            

iPhone 13 Pro Max    

1/1900   f/1.8.  32

Wheels Up! by Steven Hayes

The Flying Heritage Collection (FHC) at Paine Field had always put on great events and I expected this photo shoot of Pacific Theater warbirds to be just as good. During a pause in the aerial performances of their Grumman F6F-5 Hellcat and Mitsubishi A6M3-22 Zero, this An-124 commercial freighter operated by Volga-Dnepr was a complete surprise, coming out of nowhere.  It was not part of the event.  What an amazing sight to suddenly see this huge airplane taking off as the wheels were just coming up. It was a sight I will never forget.  Sometimes, it’s better to be lucky than good.   

Canon EOS 60D, Canon EFS 18-135mm Lens       

1/400, F10, ISO100

Vanishing Act by Jenna Kitchings

In 2021 I attended the CIAS Toronto airshow for the first time. The F-35 Demo Team put on one heck of a show! The conditions were perfect for producing vape all of us photographers wish for. This photo has been a staple shot for my aviation photography journey, and I can’t wait to capture more this year!          

Canon EOS R, 150-600mm lens      

1/1,000 | f/6.3 | ISO 100 (focal length 435mm)         

Edited by Jenna Kitchings

“KayLee” 1941 Waco UPF-7 First Flight by Lisa Turner

1941 WACO UPF-7 Serial #5593, First Flight after Frame Up Restoration

My husband and I bought this airplane in 2014 as a rusted fuselage frame along with boxes of parts. After working for 7,000 hours over eight years, we flew it for the first time May 6, 2021, the day I took this photo of the airplane and test pilot Joe Brinker. We named the airplane “KayLee,” a combination of family names.

We made numerous upgrade modifications as we were building, including right-side console with electric panel and radios, Cleveland wheels and brakes, and a metal fuel tank cover with engineering approval. The engine was also modified to the roller bearing STC.

Canon Powershot G3 1/160 sec exposure, max aperture 4.96875, f/5.6, ISO 125, focal length 80mm.

Sunset Over East Texas! by Jon Hicks

Flying over Canton, Texas, near First Monday Trade Days at Sunset.       

Apple iPhone 14 Pro Main Camera   Auto – 24 mm ƒ1.78   

Taken from an Aviat Husky A-1C.     

Jolley Roger in the sky by Philip Johnson

This was an air-to-air mission with the F-86 Sabre from the Planes of Fame Museum with Steve Hinton as the pilot. We were flying along the Pacific coastline near the Santa Maria Airport.

Sony a1 with 24-70 f/2.8 GM lens     

1/3200sec at f/8 with an ISO 800

Golden Light by Philip Johnson

While at a private airfield outside Sawyer, ND I was able to capture Warren Pietsch lifting off. Sony a9, Sony FE 100-400 f/4.5-5.6 +1.4 teleconverter zoomed out to 284 mm.          

1/125sec at f/10 ISO 400

The post Proudly Announcing our 2023 Your Flying World Photo Contest Finalists! appeared first on Plane & Pilot Magazine.

The idea behind the contest was simple, for readers to submit a story about their flying experience and what important lessons about flying (and about life) they learned from it. It’s often said that every pilot has one of those stories, but I’ve always thought that an absurd notion.

When we launched our monthly Lessons Learned about Flying (and about life) column almost seven years ago now, it wasn’t revolutionary. A handful of aviation brands feature a similar piece in their magazines. The oldest one is at Flying, where I worked for 20 years. That magazine popularized the first-person pilot story genre, and while I was there, I compiled and edited a couple of book-length collections of those stories.

Those stories are reader-submitted and usually tell a tale of a flying challenge that gave the writer an insight about flying safety. For decades, that column was illustrated by legendary aviation artist Barry Ross, who for the past couple of years has been illustrating for Plane & Pilot’s Lessons Learned about Flying. Barry’s work is the best in the business, and their loss was our gain.

The Winners!

Without further ado, the winners of our inaugural Lessons Learned about Flying essay contest are, first-place, Jim Magner with his terrific “Nothing To Read Here At All” story of a tragic accident that never happened.

In second place is talented writer and photographer Ryan Lunde for his excellent essay entitled “An Unplanned Visit to Little Buffalo,” in which he flies an owl in need of rescue to a stormy destination at a recovery center.

Our third-place winning entry was a delightful tale by Mary Margaret McEachern titled “My Failed Engine Taught Me How to Trust Myself,” in which she recounts her adventure with an engine failure at 400 feet shortly after takeoff in her Mooney M20 she calls Ladybug.

Here’s a snippet from Jim Magner’s top-prize-winning piece:

So, I read all the accident reports, not with a macabre voyeuristic curiosity but with a purpose. Whenever I read one, I put myself in the cockpit. I imagine that the passengers are my wife and kids or business associates. I imagine what it might feel like to have to cancel the trip; one that I’ve been talking up and that they have been excitedly looking forward to. I imagine sitting there, perfectly fine one minute, only to discover that something very unexpected has just happened.

Look for Jim’s excellent story in the March edition of Plane & Pilot and the other prize winners in the months to come. Congratulations to all!

The post We Announce our Lessons Learned Essay Contest Winners! appeared first on Plane & Pilot Magazine.

Earlier this year, the Board of County Commissioners for Santa Clara County, California, home to two popular San Francisco Bay-area GA airports, announced that it was discontinuing all sales of 100 low-lead aviation gasoline at both airports. The decision, the board said, was based on the findings of an environmental study it had commissioned that showed elevated levels of lead in the neighborhoods surrounding the larger of the two airports, Reid-Hillview, one of the busiest airports in the country. The commission failed to disclose that elevated levels of lead were found elsewhere in the county, unrelated to the use of aviation gasoline, or that the levels found were within federal guidelines. Even so, the decision stood.

FAA‘s Approval of 100UL

In a move that surprised everyone, the FAA this fall approved the use of GAMI’s 100UL fuel essentially fleetwide for piston-powered light planes. The approval was a godsend, as the window for developing and delivering a new sufficiently high-octane unleaded fuel was closing fast. And with the Santa Clara decision still clearly in the rearview, the availability of 100UL will provide a safety cushion at airports where low lead becomes unavailable. The approval is not by any stretch an immediate fix, as it will take years for the company, working with AvFuel, one of the largest avgas distributors in the United States, to roll out the fuel nationwide.

Oshkosh AirVenture 2022

With the pandemic waning but surely not gone, EAA’s Oshkosh AirVenture was back to business as usual, and the event was a huge coming out party for aviation, with record attendance and perfect weather for the week. The airshows were spectacular; EAA celebrated the AirVenture unveiling of its impressive Education Center, which will help train pilots and inspire young people all year long; and the industry news was great, too, with vendor after vendor reporting strong sales and high interest.

Tom Poberezny Passing

A sad note at EAA happened on Day One, when news came out that former longtime EAA president Tom Poberezny, son of EAA founder Paul Poberezny, passed away unexpectedly following a short illness. EAA responded with a weeklong tribute to Tom’s tremendous contributions to the organization and the event. He was a champion aerobatic performer and a member of the world-renowned Eagles aerobatic performance team— this in addition to running EAA. During his tenure, Tom was in charge of the Fly-In and attracted a world-class level of demonstration aircraft, including Concorde. He also founded the EAA Aviation Museum, started the wildly successful Young Eagles youth flight initiative and much, much more.

Nebraska STOL Fatality

Tragedy struck the opening day of a STOL in Wayne, Nebraska, when a popular backcountry flyer, Tom Dafoe, was killed when he lost control of the 1946 Cessna 140 he was flying. The crash was witnessed by dozens of people at the Wayne MayDay STOL event. The remainder of the competition, which was scheduled to run through the weekend, was canceled following the crash. Dafoe, who worked at jetAviva and who had worked for Textron Aviation for many years prior to that, was 45. He is survived by his wife, five children and one grandchild. The crash happened in an ad hoc event that was more like a conventional short takeoff and landing than the planned STOL Drag event, in which the participating aircraft compete in a low-level out-and-back drag race.

Van‘s RV-15 Confirmation

Even before Oshkosh ’22, where the new model was supposed to have been unveiled, the existence of the first Van’s high-wing plane, the RV-15, was no secret. Rumors had been floating around for years that the Oregon kit giant was considering a high-wing model, in part, people assumed, to capitalize on the great interest in backcountry flying. Then, a couple of weeks before AirVenture, a spy video emerged of a high-wing plane flying around Van’s home airport, Aurora State in Oregon, and everybody assumed, correctly, as it turned out, that the plane in question was the much-rumored new highwinger from Van’s. With the cat effectively out of the bag, Van’s came clean in advance of the Oshkosh AirVenture fly-in and revealed the existence of the RV-15. Few details are public yet, other than that it will be a kit-built, noexcuses backcountry plane built tough and with plenty of power.

CubCrafters Goes Public

At Oshkosh AirVenture, Yakima, Washington-based backcountry aircraft manufacturer CubCrafters announced that it would go public, making a stock offering through a program designed for smaller companies. Plane & Pilot spoke with CubCrafters’ Brad Damm at AirVenture, and he told us that the offering’s early days were the hottest such opening its management company had ever had. Damm said that following the death of founder Jim Richmond in 2021, CubCrafters wanted to keep the company’s interests close to home, and it weighed all of its options before deciding on this route. Among other possible plans for the funding that’s to come, Damm said increasing production capacity for the maxed-out Yakima factory is tops on the list, with new plane development being another priority.

FADEC for Turboprops

When Textron Aviation unveiled its engine plans for its single-engine turboprop, the Denali, the chosen powerplant, the GE Catalyst engine, was still a work in progress. Its targeted much lower fuel burns coupled with a first for a turboprop—automatic digital power control—made a splash. After delays, the engine was finally FAA approved this year, but in the meantime, Pratt & Whitney has unveiled automatic power control, known as FADEC (full authority digital engine control) on a couple models of its ubiquitous PT-6 turboprop engine. And Daher announced that it was, indeed, using just such an engine on its brand-new Daher TBM 960, which was unveiled at Sun ’n Fun in April.

Textron Buys Pipistrel

Textron Aviation purchased Slovenian aircraft maker Pipistrel for $236 million. In announcing the deal, Textron described Pipistrel as “an award-winning pioneer and global leader in electrically powered aircraft.” It is widely believed that the company plans to introduce an electric trainer model based on the all-electric Pipistrel Velis Electro, which is certified in Europe. There has, however, been no news from the Wichita planemaker about its emerging plans for the trainer.

Steve Dickson Resignation

In an unexpected move, early this year FAA Administrator Steve Dickson announced he was stepping down from the FAA’s top job, he said, to spend more time with his family. Appointed by then-President Trump in 2019, Dickson took the reins from Michael Huerta, who was at the helm of the agency for five years. Dickson’s tenure at the FAA was arguably the most challenging in the history of the agency. He inherited the Boeing 737 Max crisis in full swing but successfully shepherded the return of the controversial airliner to commercial service. The original certification process for the 737 Max was rife with irregularities from Boeing, which pushed through certification despite known issues, and the FAA, which did a poor job of overseeing the process.

Findings Released on Dale Snodgrass Fatal Crash

Airshow performer and former Naval aviator Dale “Snort” Snodgrass died in the crash of a light plane at the Lewiston-Nez Perce County Airport in western Idaho in 2021. Snodgrass was flying an SIAI-Marchetti SM.1019, an Italian liaison plane with a turboprop conversion that was developed based on the design of the Cessna L-19 Bird Dog. An NTSB investigation completed over the summer found that Snodgrass had failed to remove a gust lock before taking off that day, and it detailed the design of the gust lock mechanism, which makes it very difficult for the pilot to see that it is in place.

Airline Hiring Binge

Who knew that the coronavirus pandemic would be the best thing to happen to airline hiring ever, but it has been. With the pandemic on the decline in 2022, airline travel picked up, to record numbers, in fact, and it quickly became clear that the airline pilot shortage analysts had been predicting for several years was happening, now. The effect was not only a record level of hiring for entry-level pilots but also record enrollment at airline pilot flight schools and universities with professional pilot programs. One unanticipated result was a huge increase in starting pay for new pilots, as majors and regionals alike went head to head for new talent, which translated into increased salaries for seasoned pilots. There was also what was surely a record amount of airline hopping, with pilots jetting from one carrier to another for bluer (or greener) horizons, which made captain upgrade opportunities all the more available. At this point, there’s no end in sight, as the public continues to make clear that it has an almost unlimited thirst for air travel.

“Top Gun,”Too

After years of delaying the release, Paramount finally gave the go-ahead for its high-dollar sequel to the original flick, the new one called “Top Gun: Maverick,” with A-lister Tom Cruise reprising his now-titular role of Maverick, the authority-bucking, uber-talented fighter jock. To the surprise of just about everyone—the first movie was super popular but critically panned—the sequel got rave reviews all around, and pilots went nuts for the flying sequences, many of which were filmed in-cockpit. After making nearly a billion and a half dollars in theaters worldwide, it was released to streaming services, where it is expected to rake in the dough for years to come.

Trevor Jacob Aftermath

It was actually in late 2021 that YouTuber Trevor Jacob caused a stir with a video showing him bailing out of his airplane after, he said, it had developed engine trouble over a remote area in California. Jacob, who was wearing a parachute, was unhurt, though it did take many hours for him to hike to safety. From the start of the saga, however, observers suspected that Jacob had faked the whole thing, and this spring, the FAA weighed in, revoking Jacob’s pilot certificate, calling the stunt egregious and reckless.

Red Bull Plane Swap

Speaking of stunts gone wrong, a pair of Red Bull demonstration pilots, cousins Luke Aikins and Andy Farrington, attempted a stunt in which each pilot bailed out of his identically equipped Cessna 182 aircraft with the intent of flying into the vacated cockpit of the other plane. It didn’t quite go off as planned. Aikins made it into Farrington’s by-then empty 182, but Farrington was forced to deploy his parachute after the plane he was aiming for failed to stabilize in its descent. The plane crashed and was destroyed, but Farrington was fine, as was Aikins, who safely landed the 182 he managed to fly into. The FAA, however, was not amused, and in the succeeding weeks, it came to light that the pilots had not gotten a waiver from the FAA for the flight. Aikins took responsibility, though the FAA yanked both pilots’ certificates regardless.

Trent Palmer Suspension

In April, popular backcountry aviator Trent Palmer revealed via a YouTube video that the FAA had suspended his certificate for 60 days after he made what he calls an “inspection pass” of a friend’s would-be landing strip in rural northern Nevada, but which the FAA saw as a buzz job. In a YouTube video that Palmer released, he explained the suspension dates back to late 2019, when he made the low pass and ultimately chose not to land at the friend’s potential landing site—it is not an airport, Palmer admitted. The low pass was captured on a surveillance cam, and, presumably, a homeowner in the sparsely populated desert area alerted the FAA, which started an investigation. After a meeting with Palmer, that inspector chose to suspend the pilot’s Private Pilot certificate for seven months, the administrative charges being, in part, that Palmer flew too close (closer than 500 feet) to people or structures or vehicles while not landing.

Passenger-turned-Pilot

It’s the stuff of both dreams and nightmares, a scenario where the pilot is incapacitated and a passenger needs to take control, but it happened in real life earlier this year when Darren Harrison, a passenger in a Cessna Caravan, was returning from a fishing trip in the Bahamas. As the plane flew along, Harrison saw that the pilot had become incapacitated, and the plane quickly went into nosedive. Harrison instinctively knew he needed to act quickly or perish. It wasn’t a miracle, but it was darn good airplane wrangling by someone with no experience doing any of it. He had to reach over the body of that pilot to wrest the controls from him and then get himself into the seat where the pilot had been and take control of the plane. Harrison did do a great job, but he likely wouldn’t have been around to do the talk show circuit had it not been for controllers Chip Flores and Robert Morgan, who knew exactly what to tell Harrison by way of instruction and what  not to tell him. Their coaching and Harrison’s natural talent resulted in a safe landing in Palm Beach. The pilot, who suffered a life-threatening cardiac event, has recovered.

Antonov An-225 Destroyed

Another one of the top stories in 2022 was the destruction of one of Ukraine’s national treasures, the giant Antonov An-225, by many metrics the world’s largest plane. Built to transport the Soviet Union’s Space Shuttle, called Buran, the An-225 was nicknamed Mryia (for Dream). But when Russian forces invaded Ukraine earlier this year, they hit the airport where the plane is housed. Whether or not the giant was intentionally destroyed or not is not known and maybe never will be. And early on, there was hope that the plane somehow escaped with repairable damage, but later photographs show that it was destroyed where it sat in its hangar. Most of the tooling used to originally build the plane 40 years ago still exists, reportedly, but the billion-dollar effort to build another An-225 at this point is also merely a dream.

Ghost of Kyiv

One of the most compelling aviation-related news stories of the year was only slightly less compelling when it became clear that it wasn’t true. The Ghost of Kyiv was the nickname given by Ukrainians to a fighter pilot flying courageously to stave off Russian fighters that were attacking the capital city of Kyiv during the early days of an unprovoked invasion by Russia. Stories abounded of the fighter pilot’s exploits, and grainy footage of an aerial dogfight emerged, but none of it was true, at least in the literal sense. Still, the myth of the Ghost of Kyiv provided Ukrainians a much-needed boost in morale in a war their aggressors figured would be quickly over but wound up showcasing Ukraine’s fierce spirit of independence. 

A STOL Fatality and Why We Should Never Ask the FAA for More Regulation

The post The Top Aviation Stories Of 2022 appeared first on Plane & Pilot Magazine.

For those in the world of vintage military aircraft, known universally within aviation as “warbirds,” the event was nothing out of the ordinary. And the tragedy notwithstanding, there were precautions in place that helped prevent the tragedy from being worse that it was.

What is a warbird?

Warbirds are retired military aircraft that have been restored, largely by civilian owners who purchase the planes on the open market, almost always after the military has retired the model. With hundreds of thousands of American planes built for World War II, following that global conflict, most of those planes were soon either no longer needed, obsolete in the wake of new technology or both. There’s no official definition of a warbird. Most warbirds are maintained in non-flying condition as museum displays, but thousands of them are kept in flying condition, part of a commitment by aviation historians to keep the planes flying and not just part of a static display.

Everything from training aircraft to executive transports can be flown as warbirds. The cost of restoring, operating and maintaining these aircraft, many of which are more than 70 years old, is high, and when it comes to larger planes, like the B-17 that was lost in Dallas, those costs are astronomical. The engines alone, large, multi-row radial piston models many out of production for more than 50 years, are prohibitively expensive to fly behind and to care for. Aviation gas costs by themselves are staggeringly high. So while regular (though reasonably affluent) owners can operate small, single-engine, trainers and observation aircraft, like the military version of the Piper Cub, it takes larger organizations with fundraising capabilities to successfully operate larger, more complex aircraft, like the Boeing bomber that crashed in Dallas.

Can older military planes carry paying passengers?

The short answer is, yes, they can. The longer answer is that the FAA allows operators of older planes to charge fees for these flights through an exemption. Most older ex-military planes operate under an FAA exemption—few have normal operating certificates, instead flying under one of a few rules that allow them to be flown for exhibition purposes. When carrying paying passengers, the FAA makes organizations jump though even more involved hoops, requiring, for example, operators have documented and FAA-approved operating procedures. The Boeing B-17 that crashed in Connecticut in 2019, killing seven of the 13 aboard, was operating as such a living history experience flight. Ten of those aboard the plane were passengers. At airshows, however, rules generally prohibit operators from carrying passengers during the official air show portion of the event, and the B-17 that crashed in Dallas did, indeed, have only required crewmembers aboard.

How do planes keep from hitting each other at such events?

The midair collision at the Wings Over Dallas air show was an exceptionally rare instance. The movements of planes at such events are closely controlled and monitored by air traffic controllers. In fact, the main question that investigators into the Dallas tragedy will be trying to answer is, “How did the collision happen in the first place?” And the answer to that question might be far more involved than most people would imagine, as they will look into the mechanical history of the planes, the pilots’ history and condition, pre-flight briefing, ATC communications, operating rules used by the owners of the planes and the organization that put on the air show, and the past performance of the aircraft involved at previous air shows, among many other potential sources of information. That’s why such investigations take a long time.

Was it just luck that kept people on the ground from being killed or injured in Dallas?

It was anything but luck. For decades, airshows have had federally mandated rules that prevent planes from flying over the crowds of people who are watching them fly. The catastrophic, mechanical failure-caused crash of a highly modified North American P-51 race plane into the crowd at Reno in which the pilot and ten spectators were killed—69 more spectators were injured—caused the FAA to tighten up the regulations further. The two planes that collided and crashed in Dallas were flying where they were supposed to flying. The real question is why one flew into the other.

Dallas Midair Disaster: Authorities Identify Victims

The post Understanding the Dallas Midair Disaster appeared first on Plane & Pilot Magazine.

Continue scrolling below to learn about all of the products. 

Arctic Air Portable AC

When filled with ice, Arctic Air blows ambient air across a coil cooled by ice water. It’s able to be powered by the 12 volts that run from a plane’s cigarette lighter (POH must be consulted to confirm your aircraft’s voltage) with a power cord that’s 7.5 feet long. It has two settings, high and low, and it can cool a plane’s interior for three hours on the low setting with flexible tubing. An included drainage tube can pump the water out when on the ground. Measuring 17x17x10 inches, it weighs 14 pounds empty and about 34 pounds full weight. No STCs are required. 

Price: $815. Available at: www.sportys.com. 

uAvionix tailBeaconX

The tailBeaconX is a Mode S Extended Squitter ADS-B transponder and WAAS GPS integrated into an LED rear-position light. It includes a certified SBAS GPS receiver and antenna; no additional GPS is required. It’s compatible with the Aireon ADS-B satellite network. The 20,000-hour-rated LED-position light draws less power than a traditional incandescent bulb, and it mounts in place of your existing rear-position light. Combining the tailBeaconX with the AV-20-E and AV-30-E upgrades your system with transponder control functionality to meet current and future mandates. 

Price: Starts at $2,499. Available at: www.aircraftspruce.com.

X-Naut Active Cooling Mount

This cooling case is compatible with iPad mini versions 1 through 5 and prevents overheating and shutdowns. It includes 26 DBA low-noise fans and offers two power options: through a Micro USB charging port or by battery (4 AAs). A test button indicates battery life, and it has a spring-loaded latch to secure the iPad mini. Measuring 8.3×5.6×1.7 inches, it weighs only 7 ounces (not including the batteries or iPad mini). A kneeboard accessory attaches the Active Cooling Mount to your leg. Compatible with RAM Mounts, it also fits MGF Mounts when used with an MGF Amp or Puck Adapter. 

Price: $179.95. Available at: www.aircraftspruce.com. 

PowerVolt Charger

The PowerVolt PD32 Charger from Scosche offers both a USB-A and a USB-C port for compatibility with most charging cords. The USB-C port provides up to 20 watts of power and is able to charge iPhones up to 50% in 30 minutes. It has fold-out prongs that allow it to plug close to wall outlets. 

Price: $29. Available at: www.sportys.com.

Stratus 3 ADS-B Receiver

Stratus 3 is a subscription-free portable and wireless receiver that provides weather, WAAS GPS information, backup attitude and dual-band ADS-B traffic on your tablet. It’s programmed to work in conjunction with ForeFlight but also with Open ADS-B Mode that’s compatible with popular iOS and Android-based apps. Other features include a pressure altitude sensor, smart WiFi, auto shut-off and an eight-hour battery life. 

Price: $749. Available at: www.marvgolden.com 

The post uAvionix tailBeaconX, Stratus 3 ADS-B Receiver, and More Gear for Pilots appeared first on Plane & Pilot Magazine.

We’re still awaiting final word on the numbers at HSF for this year, but then again, today is event organizer and starting flag-man extraordinaire Kevin Quinn’s birthday, so he can be forgiven for taking an extra day to get them out.

In the short time it has been in existence, the fly-in has gotten to be one of the can’t-miss events of the flying year, we’d argue second only to Oshkosh and maybe Sun ‘n Fun. And because it’s so different from anything anyone had ever done before, and because the setting is so remote, there’s little chance that its legend will do anything but grow.

So, keep your eyes peeled for those numbers, which we expect based on participant reports, to be one of the biggest Dead Cow gatherings ever, and while you’re at it, check out some great photos of the event from Tony Cruz and Paul Ruschman.

Orange Haze Afternoon Departures

Airplane Camping Playa Style

The Paramotor Golden Hour

Early Morning Watch on a Perfect High Desert Day

Happy Hour at Dead Cow Tap Room

Racers Lined Up and Ready to Roll

The post High Sierra Celebrates Another Great Event appeared first on Plane & Pilot Magazine.

Despite these built-in challenges, designers in decades past succeeded in creating a handful of excellent family planes; that is, ones that are roomy enough for everyone in the modestly sized clan, are fast enough to get somewhere and have good enough range to cover a lot of ground between fuel stops.

Here’s our list of some great used planes for pilots looking to fly the fam.

Grumman Tiger

This is one plane you probably didn’t expect to see here, but it is a great family plane—so long as the kids are still little, that is. It’s easy to fly, has fantastic visibility, has room for bags (so long as the packing planners are prudent), and is both fast enough, around 135 knots, in my experience, and comfortable enough to make a good cross-country platform. This type was, in fact, the first family plane I ever flew, and I flew it a lot. For our typical missions, which were to take two grownups up front and two little kids in back, on trips of 500 to 750 nm for vacation or a quick trip to see relatives, the Tiger was ideal. The visibility is to die for, the fuel economy with a Lycoming O-360 is just fine, and the interior is plenty roomy. Plus, the Tiger is a relatively affordable buy in today’s high-priced used plane marketplace. Alternatives: Cessna 172RG; Diamond DA40.

Piper Cherokee Six/Lance/Saratoga

Piper’s six-seater, introduced in the 1960s, looked pretty much like what it was, a stretched-out version of one of Piper’s wildly popular, four-seat PA-28s. And then some. The “then some” part is critical here because Piper designed the plane right. Instead of merely giving it a stretched fuselage and a couple more seats, Piper’s designers gave the PA-32 a big double door in back, which made loading passengers and gear that much easier. They also added the club seating option, so the second and third row of seats faced each other instead of all facing forward, which is ideal for hauling stuff around, even without removing the rear row of seats, or for an adult in one of the rear-facing seats to keep an eye on the young’uns. The PA-32 was a popular plane and one that came in a variety of flavors over the years. There was the original 260-hp, all-forward-facing-seats version; the 300-hp model with and without club seating; a retractable gear model; and a T-tail version, too. The retractable gear models are fast, around 160 knots, compared with closer to 145 for the 300-hp fixed-gear Cherokee Six, and as is the case with many Piper models, the production run of the PA-32 spanned the era of the fat, squared-off wing (the Hershey bar wing) and the later, tapered airfoil. Regardless, all of them are excellent family flyers, which, again, I know from experience, as we flew PA-32s for years (including one that we owned with a couple of partners) and traveled far and wide with it as the kids got bigger. Alternatives: Beechcraft A36 Bonanza; Cessna 206.

Cessna 182 Skylane

So much has been written about the Skylane, and for good reason. It is one of the most popular planes in the history of aviation, both in terms of numbers built and capability. There’s very little the Cessna 182 can’t do, and one of the things it excels at is hauling a good load, doing it with decent speed and excellent flying manners. While Cessna introduced the stretched, six-seat 206 Stationair for those who needed even more room and hauling ability, for many families (ours included), the Skylane was plenty of airplane. It’s not the fastest plane out there—I used to flight plan for 135 knots and be pleasantly surprised if it was closer to 140—and so long as the load was balanced, it handled like a charm even when loaded to right around max takeoff weight. Earlier Skylanes were outfitted with the six-cylinder Continental O-235, and later ones are powered by six-cylinder Lycoming IO-540; they’re both great engines. If you can make do with four seats instead of six, the Skylane is a tough plane to beat for economical family flying. Alternatives: Piper PA-28-235 Dakota/Pathfinder; Beech V35 Bonanza; Maule MX-7.

Beechcraft A36 Bonanza

For many years, Beechcraft singles were the epitome of high-end personal flying, and with the introduction in the mid-1960s of the six-seat A36 model, Beechcraft (today owned by Textron Aviation) created what might be the perfect piston-powered family transportation plane. The A36 Bonanza simply checks all the boxes. Like the Cherokee Six, it features a sizable side door for rear-seating passengers to get into and back out of the plane. Club seating is standard; it’s roomy for the first four seats and passably roomy for the back two, and it’s both fast (around 170 knots) and long-legged, with a max range with the larger fuel tanks topping 800 nm. And the Bonanza just exudes a sense of high style while putting in the work. The A36 was never a cheap option for those looking for six-seat family cruisers; it just might have been the best one. Alternatives: Piper Saratoga, Piper Malibu.

Cirrus SR22

Even though not many pilots think of the Cirrus SR22 as a family plane, a lot of Cirrus pilots do, and their missions back up the belief. This is well known to the company, which markets its planes through its “Cirrus Life” brand initiative. The idea is that when you buy a Cirrus, you’re not just buying a plane but also a lifestyle. The program clearly resonates. The SR22, after all, has been the best-selling plane in the world for many years in a row now, and part of that is that it gets flown a lot. Just listen on center or approach frequencies for the small planes flying about; a lot of them are Cirrus SR22s. The plane is fast, remarkably roomy and sophisticated to beat the band. It also, and this should not be underestimated, features a whole-airplane recovery parachute system, a feature that clearly gives other family members enhanced confidence in the experience. SR22s are not, however, cheap. With brand-new ones going for around a cool million, they are a premium product, but they make good on that purchase price by delivering a premium experience. Alternatives: Cessna TTx; Mooney Ovation.

TBM

While we’re talking high-end singles here, we’d be remiss to not mention the TBM series of pressurized, single-engine turboprop planes. These are extremely expensive planes, both to buy and to operate. But the rewards are breathtaking. The configuration of the TBM series is very much like an upsized version of the Bonanza A36 or Piper Cherokee Six, with two seats in front and four seats in back in a club-seating configuration. But apart from the basic layout, the TBM is a whole other animal. It is a much more complex aircraft to fly, with systems that don’t exist on any of the other planes in this roundup. Those include (but are not limited to) pressurization and a turboprop engine, and the cost of upkeep and fuel is much greater than the priciest piston single. But the rewards again. A cruise speed, depending on the model, of between 285 and 335 knots, the ability to tool along at the flight levels in pressurized comfort, luxurious interiors and, in later models, sophisticated electronics. If you can handle writing those checks, what’s not to love? Alternatives: Piper Meridian; Piper M600.

Valuable flying lesson learned: Pilot Experiences Engine Failure on Family Vacation

Going Direct:  The Future of The Light GA and The Four-Seat Family Plane

Our Top 25 Planes Of All Time: Is yours on the list?

The post The Best Family Planes appeared first on Plane & Pilot Magazine.