There are few things as useful in this world as a good sharp knife. Humanity’s second oldest tool behind a large rock used as a hammer I never leave the house without one. For pilots who might find themselves needing to escape from a downed aircraft or just cut some new tie-downs for their aircraft the Benchmade Triage 915 (or the current equivalent) might be a good choice.
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I’ve found that pilots appreciate well designed and specialized tools. Heck, some pilots still lug around their E6B flight computer because it works and it works well, even though the same thing can be done with an app on their phone. I was looking for a similar solution to my writing needs, a single tool able to draw on my tablet touchscreen and still write on the actual paper paperwork for each flight without breaking after a handful of uses. Enter the Smith & Wesson SWPEN3BK.
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My girlfriend and I had just spent a week in Cape Cod visiting friends and family. It was our first long distance flight in my Piper Cherokee, and things had gone fairly smoothly so far. I had made the trip the previous year and learned from the mistakes I made, ensuring that this time I brought a tarp to cover the airplane and prevent the water logged radios that plagued me on the last trip. But on the flight back things were about to get much more interesting.
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Not everyone has the cash to buy and maintain an airplane. For those of us who just need to borrow a set of wings every couple weeks it makes more sense to rent our aircraft by the hour. But how exactly does that whole process work? Let me try and break it down for you.
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I just recently checked something off my bucket list that I had honestly thought would take me a lot more time to get around to doing, namely acting as Pilot In Command for an aircraft flying around the Alps during the winter. This was an amazing experience, and something that every pilot should try to do at least once in their life, in my opinion. I’ll try to document as much of the experience as possible here in a couple articles to hopefully make it a little easier to check this box for y’all as well.
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There are some products that are so pervasive and ubiquitous within a community that you almost can’t picture a situation without them. Graphic designers and Macbooks. Hipsters and rolled up sleeves on a buttoned down shirt. Pilots and David Clark headsets. But just because something is common doesn’t mean that it’s the best idea.
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It seems like I’m the last one to know about cool air shows in the area, so when I heard about a new air show happening in San Marcos this coming May, I wanted to make sure I shared the good word as far and as wide as possible.
This is the first time this group has put on an air show, but all signs point to it being a potentially huge success. From the high profile acts they’ve signed up to the great central Texas location they’ve secured it sounds like a blast.
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There used to be a question about whether Android or Apple iOS based devices were the best to buy when looking for an Electronic Flight Bag or EFB. For the moment that debate seems to have been settled with the iPad clearly winning, but Android tablets are still a less expensive and attractive alternative to the increasingly expensive Apple devices. So the question then: if you go Android, are you missing anything?
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For my 30th birthday my amazing wife bought me an afternoon in the Concorde flight simulator at the Brooklands museum just outside London. Being based in Austin, Texas however meant that we needed to book a trip to London. My wife already had enough miles to meet her status goals for the year on American, and after doing the math we figured that a round trip in economy would be enough to get me to crack that dollar spend requirement as well.
Tests. Some pilots love them, some pilots hate them. The thing with the biennial flight review (BFR) is that it really isn’t a test, but it still feels very much like one. I just completed my first one this year, and I figured it would be a good idea to share what I learned about the process in case anyone else was feeling apprehensive about their first BFR.
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