One of the consistent positive reviews always goes to the Cessna 140. Like so many Cessnas that followed it, the diminutive 140 is almost universally regarded as one of the best airplanes of its type and vintage. The 140 wins rave reviews not because it does any one thing better than any other model but because it does everything well. In short, its among the best at being average or better.
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The hard reality of twin-engine accidents is that the vast majority are a function of loss of...
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Night flying can be profitable. Back in the day when I was young and stupid, long before I...
Read MoreKeeping track of the time/speed/distance equation is only part of fuel management. It was the Christmas holiday, and I was on my way back from the Bahamas to Venice, Florida. Joe Ponte, public relations director of Piper, had...
Read MoreI have a friend who owns a 36 Bonanza, and though his airplane has always been a dozen or so knots faster than mine, he’s consistently envied my bird’s lower fuel burn. At max cruise settings, Bob’s A36 will truck along at a...
Read MoreCessna’s top-of-the-line high wing cruiser, now out of production since 1986, still merits a second look. My friends, the Cabots, formerly of Princeton, Massachusetts, have had a predilection for 210s since I met them in the...
Read MoreWhen I was learning to fly back in the 1960s, Wolfgang Langewiesche’s seminal book, Stick & Rudder, and William Kershner’s series of aviation training manuals were the standards by which other systems were measured. And they...
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Pre-war or post-war, the Airmaster refused to be ignored There’s something about round engines. I...
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Okay, okay, I understand. Few pilots would classify a $300,000, twin-engine, business airplane as...
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Cessna 182RG Specs and Performance Summary Cruise speed (knots)160Fuel (gal)92/552EngineLycoming...
Read MoreOne of the few Cessnas with a geared engine, the 175 may have been ahead of its time – or maybe not. I almost expected the gauge to jump out of the panel and land in my lap. Too many years of watching tachometers redlined at...
Read MoreNever mind the realities of aircraft production and a fickle marketplace; wouldn’t it have been nice if Cessna had built some of these? It doesn’t sound that different sitting on the ramp. The engine starts pretty much the same,...
Read MoreWhat happens when you transplant 195 hp onto the nose of a Skyhawk? When the world’s largest manufacturer of general aviation airplanes decided to bring out a new model back in 1976, you can bet they’d researched the market and...
Read MoreMake Way for the Chancellor! It may be a little hard to believe today, but there was a time when corporate piston twins were all the rage. In the early ‘80s, Piper, Cessna, Beech Commander, and Aerostar were producing a dozen...
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Cessna makes major upgrades to its Corvalis low-wing, composite single. Back in the ‘80s when I...
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Yes, your honor, I admit it. I was once and still remain a speed freak—the more the better! When I...
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Cessna’s post-war, art deco Businessliner was one of the most comfortable and defining general...
Read MoreLiving proof that if it looks good, it’ll fly well! There are a few airplanes that are nothing less than beautiful in flight. Never mind the paint job; any airplane can benefit from an artistically designed paint scheme....
Read MoreLearning to fly is a big investment, but the payback can outstrip the cost by a factor of several thousand. Pete runs a dental practice and learned to fly so he could transport his family back and forth to his vacation retreat...
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Forty years ago, the goal was 200 mph. Today, it’s 200 knots. Fast feels good. For those of us...
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