Articles

The much-coveted Schneider Trophy took pride of place in Sheffield Aero Club at Netherthorpe, my base airfield, after a fellow resident John Kelsall won the prize racing in his RV-7 back in 2004. Seeing the trophy sparked an interest in air racing, although an interest that I allowed to lay dormant, after all – air racing must be for the aces with fast aeroplanes. How could I possibly try anything so exciting, having only recently gained my PPL, and flying a Cessna 172? more...

Leia Fee reviews this year's Earl's Court event... more...

A day trip to an atmospheric museum of transport heritage... more...

Everything you wanted to know about the lighter side of aviation but were afraid to ask... more...

Richard Maxted puts the flying year into verse... more...

X-Plane is serious flight simulator. It uses a sophisticated aerodynamic model of airflows to provide one of the most realistic simulations available. So good in fact, that FAA has approved its use for ATPL training. But is it any good? David Forbes reveals all... more...

Fran describes the lesson during which she did her first unassisted take-off. more...

Simon celebrates his 100 hours total flying time with a bracing New Year flight... more...

Big, noisy, anachronistic -- no, I'm not talking about Phil, I'm talking about Justflight's RAF Vulcan add-on. Like Phil though, it's a bit frightening but a good laugh. more...

Leia Fee muses over the past year's flying escapades. more...

Richard Maxter reflects on the flying season. more...

Polly Vacher describes her 60,000nm round-the-world flight. more...

Leia Fee describes a somewhat sad but very enlightening day out. more...

Dave Hall reviews Teach-me Interactive's "Teach Me to Fly - Fixed Wing Edition" -- an interactive computer-based training tool for PPL students. more...

Richard Maxted reflects on a year of flying since getting his licence. more...

"At age eleven or so, I had my first flight in a light aircraft – a pleasure flight in a C172 from Rochester airport. Looking back, £7 was a lot to pay in the early seventies for a single circuit, but Mother knew how deep my passion was. I can remember the feeling as the pilot opened the throttle – the noise, the adrenaline rush as we accelerated across the grass, the vibration as the undercarriage absorbed most of the roughness of the ground. Then the feeling of elation as everything became smooth as we – no I – started to actually fly!" Colin Baxter recalls what made him start learning to fly... more...

Once upon a time there was a blind guy who loved flying, so he bought his own aircraft and got his girlfriend to learn to fly against her will. This is the story of Andrew Komosa, his now fiancé Debbie Plumb, their PA28 G-ATOO, and their first long distance trip from Goodwood in Sussex to Blackpool. more...

"As I drove around the airfield perimeter road I mused over what the day had in store for me. My palms were a little moist with nervous anticipation. The SOP’s I had been learning over the past few days jumbled themselves around in my head. Would I make the grade I wondered idly." more...

Serious learning tool, or pretty add-on for Flight Sim? Find out in our review of Justflight's UK VFR Photographic Scenery. more...

Psychologist Allan Wood gives us an insight into why we panic at a new airfield and what we can do to stop it... more...

On Sunday the 27^th July, I once again headed over to Full Sutton Airfield. The weather was generally fine, but Richard Hambly (resident flying instructor) warned me to be careful when on final approach for runway 22. He said that there was quite a bit of windshear just before the threshold, and that if I experienced a sudden drop in height at this point, then I was to execute a 'go around' without delay. He also warned me about a parachute-dropping zone near to the seaside town of Bridlington (one of my planned turning points), and so told me be careful when in that area, and if necessary, to avoid it.

Excerpt from Jason Smart's forthcoming book, "Learning to Fly (A Journey towards the UK PPL)" more...

It took weeks and weeks to decide to buy the three and a half year old Commander 114B. And once I had, it took yet more weeks to arrange 'everything' involved. The list seemed endless. The decision about the finance took more time than I thought, banker's draft's, transfers, foreign currency etc. It is based in Dubai so I had to decide about how to get it back to the UK. 'Have it sent round' or fly it myself. It seemed a long way, which is not too much of a problem, but it did involve flying across some very inhospitable terrain and some not so helpful countries more...

The first thought was 'Are you mad?' shortly followed by a feeling that I'd nicked the plane. I looked back and Steve was still walking towards the Flying school. Well at least he hadn't heard my radio screw up. And at least he wasn't running after me to stop me nicking the plane. Reality check! more...

Situated in The Control Tower Building, UK AIS is right in the heart of London's Heathrow Airport directly opposite Terminal 2. I was hoping for a landing slot but I think that it really was too much to hope for a SVFR clearance through Class A airspace to land visually in between Speedbird 358 and Virgin 546 'Heavy' in my little C172; Ah well, one day perhaps! more...

...so I looked down for the view of the farm that I have been using as a turning landmark. Now, that is strange - where has my farm gone? I have completed this climb out dozens of times and there is always the same view. Now the mind races as the heart rate increases and there is a distinct dryness in the mouth. I am about to say it "I'm lost." I have left the aerodrome and proceeded to get lost in the first minute of my first solo flight... more...

The first long distance flight in England was from London to Manchester by Frenchman Louis Paulham in his Farman Biplane. He landed in a field next to Burnage Station on 28^th April 1910 to claim the £10,000 Daily Mail prize for the first person to fly from London to Manchester. His 183 mile flight with just one stop was a greater achievement than Bleriot's 24 mile hop across the Channel nine months earlier more...

Phil Robinson describes a breathtaking mountain flight in the south of New Zealand. more...

'You can't possibly come to Bundaberg on a flying holiday without flying our new 4 seater’, said Rodney Stiff, Jabiru’s MD, when I bumped into him outside the Jabiru factory. ‘Jamie will be happy to give you a ride later this afternoon.’ What could I say but yes please? more...

An excerpt from ‘NOTES FROM A SMALL MIND’.

On the notice board was an advert for a share for sale in a Pa-28R Arrow 180... This witty first chapter from Rob Sawyer's book gives a valuable lesson about planning away-trips. more...

David Ginsberg gives a few pointers on transferring pilots and planes to the FAA system. more...