Innehållsförteckning för December 2025 från Flying

In the more than 30 years the Pilatus PC-12 has been in service, its unique combination of speed, load-carrying ability, massive cargo door, large, flat-floored cabin, operating flexibility in high-density terminals as well as the backcountry, and fuel efficiency has caused it to acquire several flattering nicknames, including, and perhaps most accurate, the “Flying Turbine Suburban.” However, after two days of flying the recently released PC-12 Pro, with its new Garmin G3000 Prime integrated flight deck (customized for Pilatus) and another 100 pounds of useful load, I came away unable to stop thinking of the title of Carlos Santana’s 1971 hard-driving rock song, “Everybody’s Everything.” With well over 2,000 PC-12s in the field worldwide, the PC-12 Pro is the culmination of years of listening to operator feedback, tweaking the airframe…

THE FIRST Cirrus sure has matured since its introduction in 1999 as the SR20 G1. While the SR20 was generally looked at as a trainer, it has plenty of performance to work as a personal traveling airplane. That’s why later-model SR20s—sporting nearly identical cabin ergonomics, avionics, and aesthetic styling as the faster SR22—sell for a price premium. When The Aviation Consumer looked at the market for used SR20s a few years ago, we found the airplane was in huge demand. Although inventory appears to be slightly better, and there are various configurations of OEM and retrofit avionics (plus two engine options), you won’t find any smoking deals. In fact, expect to pay top dollar for any SR20 that’s worth buying. American Success Story It’s been told ad nauseam, and the…

WHEN I left off last month, my wife Dawn and I were crewing for our good friend Sylvia Grandstaff as she competed in the 13th FAI Women’s World Gliding Championships (WWGC) in Zbraslavice, Czech Republic. Unfortunately, the first 10 days of competition had only yielded three flying days, thanks to a low-pressure system that had parked itself over the Baltic Sea and lashed central Europe with relentless bands of low clouds and rain. Furthermore, all three tasks had featured thoroughly marginal soaring conditions, and Sylvia had “landed out” each time, with commensurately poor scores. The last three days of the contest, however, promised the belated return of good weather, and August 6 looked the best of these—strong sunshine, a cold and unstable air mass, moderate wind, and puffy scattered cumulus…

WHY DO we fly? Late comedian “Professor” Irwin Corey always responded to this type of question by breaking it into two parts: Why? This is a question that philosophers have been pondering for centuries. Do we fly? Yes. But perhaps the real answer is in how we use our license. Commercial aviators fly from Point A to Point B so that they can put food from Point A, the plate, to Point B, the mouth. Private pilots have more varied reasons for their hobby including visiting family, unique vacations, and personal challenges. Which leads to the second paraphrased question: Are pilots born as pilots or made to become pilots? As a child I often looked up at passing airplanes while playing, but those around me never gave them a glance.…

WHEN YOU tell someone you are a pilot and live in a state that has predominantly IFR conditions November through March, they inevitably make a reference to all flight training ceasing in the winter because of the weather. And there is some truth to this, as I learned as a student pilot in the Pacific Northwest. Seattle leads the nation in cloudy and foggy days, according to weather statistics gathered by Currentresults.com, coming in with 226 cloudy and 165 foggy days per year, followed closely by Portland, Oregon, with 165 cloudy and 125 foggy. Combine a low ceiling with a low freezing level, and you will find a great many general aviation pilots opt to stay on the ground, planning to fly on a better weather day. Although winter brings…

F0R METEOROLOGISTS, one of the big indicators that marks wintertime is the enormous increase in wind speed and atmospheric momentum in the Northern Hemisphere. At the jet stream level, winds across the U.S. during July average about 20-40 knots, but in January these speeds rise to 60-80 knots and often much higher. This significantly increases the energy available to weather systems. There’s a southward shift in the jet stream as well. July finds the jet stream across the Gulf of Alaska, Canada, and the Canadian Maritimes. By January, however, the jet stream is fully rooted in the United States and the adjoining oceanic areas. This brings a smorgasbord of weather systems during the cold season, ranging from weak, transitory upper level disturbances to well-developed frontal systems. Winter also brings greater…

FROM PATTERN circuits to longer cross-country trips, FLYING’s holiday gift guide highlights practical and fun gifts to match every flight plan. We’ve also got you covered for inevitable no-go days, whether you’re stuck on the ground for weather or other reasons. (Note: Prices are listed through October 31). Explore even more aviation-inspired gear, apparel, and accessories at shop.flyingmag.com. You’ll find plenty of options that will make any pilot’s season brighter. IN THE PATTERN BOSE A30 Price: $1,299 www.bose.com Bose, the company that first introduced the active noise reduction (ANR) headset, continues to improve upon the product. The Bose A30 is FAA TSO and EASA E/TSO-C139a certified, equipped with Bluetooth, and offers auto clarity with active equalization. The wide headband and face-conforming ear seals are designed to provide exceptional comfort. LIGHTSPEED…

THE FAA has taken major strides toward the safe integration of advanced air mobility (AAM) aircraft such as drones and electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) air taxis. A special federal aviation regulation (SFAR) for powered-lift pilot training and operations, guidance for powered-lift certification projects, a proposal for beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) drone flight, and more have been introduced in recent months. An eVTOL Integration Pilot Program (eIPP) is set to begin next year and conclude in 2028—a year the FAA anticipates AAM operations scaling up in major U.S. cities. But states are not waiting until these aircraft hit the skies to take matters into their own hands. “We think about, from a small [uncrewed aircraft system] all the way to eVTOL, how do we make sure that…

BETWEEN SEVERAL weeks of downtime at the avionics shop and a bunch of personal distractions, my piloting skills had accumulated a layer of rust back at the end of 2023. By then, what I and a few million of my closest friends had hoped would be a dry and benign Florida winter turned soggy, overcast, and windy. It was OK weather if you wanted to climb to altitude and go somewhere, especially somewhere downwind with better conditions. But the kind of flying I needed wasn’t the straight-and-level-in-cruise kind. Instead, I drastically required some basic pattern work, along with a few more approaches, all of which is done down low. It took a while for the weather gods and my schedule to agree, but I finally managed to remove some of…

FLYING TO ANGEL FIRE ISN’T your average cross-country trip. The rugged terrain and high-elevation airport demand thorough preparation and respect—with unforgettable outdoor adventure waiting upon your arrival. You’ll find the Village of Angel Fire in the southernmost section of the Rocky Mountains in New Mexico. Its high elevation of nearly 9,000 feet msl and sweeping, mountainous terrain creates a world-class winter destination. The same terrain that makes Angel Fire postcard worthy also makes it a challenging place to fly—and caution must be exercised. The vistas are so distinct that the settlement was named for the stunning views seen over the surrounding mountains. The indigenous Ute Tribe initially referred to these striking sunsets as “fire of the gods,” which over time was similarly described by other groups as “fire of the…

IT WAS the last day of the hunting season. Tanks of fuel stashed at a remote Alaskan airstrip had to be retrieved. Time was short since a storm was approaching. A Cessna 206 landed on a gravel bar in the Porcupine River, and the pilot began loading 15-gallon fuel containers into the plane. To save time, she asked two hunters, who were waiting there for a different airplane, to empty two of the containers into her wing tanks. The whole operation lasted 12 minutes. Seconds after the 206 became airborne, its engine sputtered. It banked steeply, and its right wingtip struck the surface of the river. The airplane cartwheeled before coming to rest, partially submerged. The powerful current and icy water of the river prevented the two hunters from getting…