Embracing the new, seeking quality initial training and practicing are keys It has been fun for me to be reintroduced into the world of pistols. As a helicopter pilot in the U.S. Army, my assigned weapon was the Beretta M9 (9mm) for my entire 26-year military career. I was reasonably good at shooting it on…
Recognizing a Runaway: Most don’t. Can you?
Nope, we are not talking about George Clooney and his band of runaway felons in the movie “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” In that movie the felons wore striped clothing and were easy to recognize. They ran across fields in chains, somehow found their way to a microphone to sing some really great music on…
Props Forward or Not? Know why you do what you do
Photos by Clint Goff Every King Air pilot has been there. We are on a stable approach, the gear is down, the flaps are down, the power is set perfectly and the approach speed is dialed in with a perfect torque setting. We then look at the Caution/Advisory Panel and see the RVS NOT RDY…
Shut Down the Engine?
As a designated pilot examiner, I get a lot of questions from candidates and potential candidates before and during the BE300 type rating. Most of them are thought-provoking and many require me to do some homework to find the answer. I love receiving these questions, and I believe a discussion of these questions and answers…
Power Rollback in a King Air?
I think I’ve got the best career ever. I wake up every morning, go to the airport and fly some of the coolest airplanes on the planet. In a typical year, I’ll fly every variant of the Piper PA46, the Socata TBM and the Beechcraft King Air. Whether it’s initial or recurrent training, flying one…
South Africa-Bound: Taking a B100 to the other side of the world
There aren’t many King Air B100 aircraft in the world. I think it is one of the better King Air models, but others love the mighty 3XX, 2XX and the various 90 models. The little known B100 was designed and built in the mid-1970s when Beechcraft anticipated a Pratt & Whitney employee strike could impact…
You Should Fly a King Air Across the North Atlantic: 10 Reasons Why
There was a seminal moment in my life about 10 years ago when I was in the throes of changing jobs; that moment changed my life. I was in the Army for about nine years in the 1990s and enjoyed it, but I knew I didn’t want to extend my service. I decided to join…