Table of contents for October 2023 in Plane & Pilot

IT IS RUMORED that the town of Telluride, Colorado, got its name in the 1800s from the phrase “to hell you ride,” alluding to the treacherous journey required to reach the remote mountain destination by horseback. When flying into this high-altitude airport, the name is as fitting now as it was then. Situated at a breathtaking 9,078 feet msl with the density altitude frequently gracing the high 11,000s, it’s no surprise Telluride Regional Airport (KTEX) has the distinction of being the highest-altitude commercial facility in the United States. Although I’ve been flying for more than 20 years, I only recently received my commercial certificate, and shortly thereafter, my very first assignment to fly a family from San Antonio to Telluride in a beautiful Piper Turbo Saratoga, a PA-32-301T. The aircraft…

I thought I was prepared for my first EAA AirVenture experience in Wisconsin. By mid-July, I had a dance card filled, with interviews and media events blocked for every one of the seven days I would be in attendance. I had read everything I could about what to pack and wear to stay comfortable walking from one end of the venue to another in search of the next story. I had talked to my sister and other friends who had been there. I was ready. I knew I would have some time between events and interviews, so I planned to take in the daily air shows and spend some time visiting the museum to get out of the heat. I had starry-eyed visions of leisurely conversations with the owners of…

Etiquette is defined as a “customary code of polite behavior among members of a particular profession or group.” Pilots understand that adherence to professional standards is nowhere more critical than during approach to the airport and landing. Fighter pilots instinctively understand this. When they return to the airfield or aircraft carrier, the formation gets a little tighter and the radio calls are more concise. They follow the rules partly because they understand the cost of making a mistake is high, and they know everyone is watching. The Super Bowl of traffic pattern operations is Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (KATL) during rush hour. Hundreds of flights coordinated into an aerial ballet, a series of machine-gun-like radio instructions, carrying thousands of passengers safely to their terminal just in time so they can…

Across 1 Early stunt pilots7 The E in ELT10 Small drop in altitude12 Shape of some flight formations13 Evaluations for pilots, for example15 Try out for again18 ____ drag: aerodynamic drag produced by an airfoil as the inevitable byproduct of producing lift21 Records23 World clock std., abbr.24 Took off25 Aviation watch brand29 Reduce friction between surfaces30 Friend32 Media handler33 Device used to raise or lower the angle of the horizontal part of the plane’s tail Down 1 952 ____ Navitimer watch2 Coral areas3 Temporary downturn4 Person who holds title5 Month of the 2024 Vero Beach Air Show6 Part of an engine8 Electric vehicle, for short9 Middle grade11 Write a check for14 Small time increments16 Scheduled each year, like inspections17 Device measuring airspeed aboard aircraft in flight, 2 words19 Completely clean…

It’s all over—EAA AirVenture Oshkosh, the world’s largest-attendance airshow and convention. It’s a delicious, if somewhat overwhelming, drink out of a firehose for an entire week at the end of July. Oshkosh offers something for every pilot and more than any one person can see. I’ll mention this news briefly as I wish to pay respect to fellow pilots. Two accidents on the weekend after we departed resulted in four fatalities, reportedly including one passenger. My sincere condolences to the surviving families. Oshkosh has enjoyed safe years with no loss of life, but when so many airplanes assemble, mathematical odds suggest that something is going to happen despite incredible efforts to make the event as safe as possible. In the heat of Oshkosh 2023, people proved adept at finding shade…

You were proud once. And why not? All eyes were focused on your pride and joy while it rested comfortably on the ramp in all its glory. Yes, your bird was once shiny and brightly colored with accent stripes that would cause those passing by to take a deep breath and sigh with envy. Now even the requisite resident mouse-hunting cat at your FBO won’t give it a second look. If the paint on your airplane is duller than a roomful of mathematicians, then maybe it’s time to think about getting some new feathers for your bird with a professional paint job to restore your aircraft to its, as Bruce Springsteen once sang, glory days. So as not to let it pass you by, let’s look at what it really…

Our GOAT Flying Boat I was pleasantly surprised to see the photo my wife, Ann Talbot, took of me unloading our seaplane at Vancouver International Airport [CYVR], British Columbia, in 1978, published in [Plane & Pilot’s] July 2023 [issue]. She is an iStock contributor, and I assume that is how [contributing editor] LeRoy [Cook] found it. We had just returned from a wilderness camping trip in Tweedsmuir Provincial Park. Our Lake [Buccaneer] flying boat’s useful load (fuel, two adults, and gear) without the rear seat is 1,080 pounds, giving us plenty of room for our inflatable boat. We used our 1965 Volvo wagon to tow the Lake flying boat (no retractable wheels) to the seaplane ramp on the Fraser River. It is the only seaplane Lake ever built and is…

It seems like you can get anything you want at EAA AirVenture. Or at least anything from a new airplane, old airplane, or toy airplane to a plethora of trinkets, books, T-shirts, and even aviation-themed skivvies (there’s a booth for that). NEW CESSNA INTERIORS Aircraft manufacturers also get a chance to show off their new toys, and Textron Aviation was on the scene showing off its newly designed Cessna 172 Skyhawk interior. The airplane is a “scout,” as Chris Crow, vice president of piston aircraft sales for Textron Aviation, put it in a video interview with sister publication AVweb. Crow added that the company expects the upgraded 172s to be available on the market sometime in 2024. The airplane from the outside is the classic 172 body we all know…

My conflicted relationship with Cape Cod dates to the 1970s when my family spent a series of summer vacations there. Mom and Dad would cram me, my two older sisters, the dog, and all manner of beach toys into the family car and drive for hours upon hours to the Cape in Massachusetts. And, yes, it was fun. My sisters and I still share fond recollections of meeting up with kids from other vacationing families and the resulting grade-school crushes, plucking clams and mussels from sandbars at low tide for appetizers, and listening to the local radio station, WRKO, which convinced us that FM was destined to rule over AM. The interminable nature of the road trip was a clear downside, though, and the stay never was long enough. While…

No one likes flying in turbulent air. It’s an annoyance to the pilot, requiring constant attention at the controls, and a concern for passengers, tossing to and fro in their strapped-in seats and beginning to debate the wisdom of air travel. As much as possible, avoidance of turbulence should be the goal, rather than stoic endurance. In my days as a purveyor of air taxi services, our sales brochure stated the company’s philosophy as “Safety, Comfort, Speed,” ranking a smooth, uneventful flight right behind the primary objective of a safe arrival. We tried our best to avoid turbulent air—dozing passengers meant we were meeting our goal. The rare occasions of inescapable bouncing risked an onset of mal de l’air and redecoration of the cabin interior. Staying in the smooth starts…