Video: crop dusting in a turbine Ag-Cat

Being a professional pilot means so much more than just flying from New York to Boston in a regional jet. In this unique video, ride along with Scott Palmer as he sprays some bean fields in his turbine Ag-Cat. It's a demanding type of flying that rewards precise speed control and total focus, but as Scott explains it's also a lot of fun.

Video: practicing spins

/
1 Comment
Spins are not a required maneuver for the private pilot certificate, but if you're planning on earning a flight instructor certificate you'll have to perform them for the checkride. As this video shows, that doesn't have to be a scary experience - in fact, spins are a lot of fun. Ride along with an instructor from the Patty Wagstaff Aerobatic School as he demonstrates spin recovery in an Extra 300.

Video: a very remote $100 hamburger

The $100 hamburger is a favorite of pilots - take off, fly somewhere and enjoy a meal with fellow pilots. For most pilots that means a half hour flight to a paved runway and an airport diner, but not in Alaska. In this fascinating video, you'll fly into a remote strip in Alaska to visit the Skwentna Roadhouse. It's not your everyday lunch flight!

Video: flying a DC-3 across the Atlantic

The Douglas DC-3 is one of the most famous airplanes in the history of aviation. From its days as a pioneering airliner to its work as a mainstay of the cargo fleet, this brawny twin has taught many pilots the finer points of flying radial engines and tailwheels. Ride along with Matt Guthmiller in this video as he flies one across the North Atlantic to celebrate the 75th anniversary of D-Day.

Video: first airplane out of Oshkosh

Flying into Oshkosh is a lot of fun, but leaving the world's largest air show is part of the experience too. In this video, ride along with JP (aka @the_candourist) as he hitches a ride with legendary air show announcer Rob Reider in an RV-7A with a glass cockpit. There's no better way to get to know a pilot than to go flying with them!

Video: when ATC doesn’t go according to plan

Most of the time, Air Traffic Control works like a well-oiled machine, with ground control moving airplanes to the runway and tower keeping the runways safe. But sometimes, due to traffic or weather, things don't go according to plan at busy airports. In this amusing collection of ATC conversations, listen to airline pilots and controllers go off-script for some unique requests. It's a great reminder that behind every callsign there's a human being.

Video: tailwheel checkout on a grass runway

Learning to fly a tailwheel airplane is challenging, but incredibly rewarding. While they are less stable than tricycle gear airplanes, they are a lot of fun and open up a whole new world of flying. As this video shows, you can land on grass runways in the middle of farms and connect with flying the way it used to be.

Piper Cub on the farm

/
1 Comment
There's nothing quite so pure as a yellow Piper J-3 Cub on a grass strip; the airplane just wasn't meant to be flown over big cities and landed at towered airports. In this fun video, you'll ride along in a 1945 Cub, from hand propping to low passes over the farms. No avionics, no airspace, just fun flying.

Video: getting IFR current

Been a while since you logged actual IMC time? Ride along as JP bores holes in the clouds during some practice IFR approaches, including an ILS into Cincinnati International. You'll see him knock off the rust in a Cessna 172, and see the Garmin G5s, Garmin GTN650, and Stratus 3 portable ADS-B receiver in action.

Video: Reno Air Races from the cockpit

It's the fastest motorsport event in the world - the National Championship Air Races in Reno, Nevada, features everything from homebuilts to jets racing each other around pylons, sometimes at over 400 miles per hour. In this behind-the-scenes video, you'll ride along for some incredible racing in a Sea Fury and a P-51 Mustang, and see the precise flying it takes to compete at Reno.