Flying over the Midwest in a Falcon 50

An amazing sunset over the Midwest.

A Teterboro Sunset (KTEB)

This picture was taken by my friend Tom, a Falcon 50 pilot. He will be providing more images of the corporate pilot's life in the upcoming months. Check back soon!

5 Favorite Aviation Books

I was just looking over my list of books that I have read on Goodreads.com. Recently I was sitting around with a friend and we were talking about the five best books that we have ever read. It was a fun discussion and much time was spent questioning each others selections.

So now I will give you my selection of the five books that I think all pilots should have on their bookshelves. They are in no particular order.

1. Fate Is The Hunter by Ernest K. Gann

2. Stick and Rudder: An Explanation of the Art of Flying by Wolfgang Langewiesche

3. Chickenhawk by Robert Mason

4. Airplane Flying Handbook by The FAA

5. Flight of Passage by Rinker Buck

Bell 47 Crop Duster

The cockpit of a Bell 47 helicopter used for crop dusting.
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

Winter Flying

Living in the Northern Illinois area we get to spend a good part of the year dealing with cold weather.  Flying in the winter is one of those things that take a little extra work but is well worth the time and effort.  Some of the benefits include the increased performance, smoother air, lighter rental schedules, and the beauty of flying over the snow covered landscape.

On the flip side of winter flying is the extra time it takes to preheat the engine, the potential hassle of moving the aircraft around on snow covered ramp areas, and the sometimes painful task of doing a preflight outside.

If winter flying is new to you it is best to get the help from an experienced flight instructor who can help you do winter flying the right way. The FAA has a tip sheet on winter flying that is worth taking the time to read and study even if you are a seasoned winter flyer. Take a look at it here: FAA Winter Flying Tips.

Do not miss the chance to go out and enjoy the best that the cold weather has to offer, we will be complaining about heat and density altitude before we know it.