Plane and Pilot

MARCH 25, 2025

Although I havent spent much time around GB1s (except for drooling over them while they are on display and flying at airshows) I am always taken aback by how much larger the airplane appears to be in personparticularly, the tall, sweeping rudder that curves down to a sharp point with just enough ground clearance. Free and clear.

Knot 111

Knot Airplanes Runway Rudder 111

Plane and Pilot

APRIL 1, 2025

I lined up on Runway 27. The longest runway at Palm Beach County Park Airport (KLNA) is 3,500 feet, plus fields and open spaces would be ahead of me. Feet on rudder pedals. At 500 feet down the runway, the little airplane leaped into the air despite my plan to build more speed before taking off. First flight!

Runway 62

Runway Gross Weight Airplanes Crosswind 62

Plane and Pilot

NOVEMBER 10, 2024

In order to be flown by a sport pilot, the resulting airplane must still meet the current regulations—1,320 pounds maximum gross weight, 120 knots max cruise speed, for example—but how it gets there is up to the builder. The rudder hardly calls attention to itself outside of having plenty of authority. A nuance, perhaps.

Airplanes 98

Airplanes Knot Pitot Tube Gross Weight 98

Air Facts

SEPTEMBER 13, 2024

The instructor was able to complete the turn, but the airplane overshot the runway. The pilot flying wrote, “After completing the turn back to the field we saw the airport environment and we were located over the runway but more than halfway down runway 17. One checkout was at normal weight and c.g.

Gross Weight 98

Gross Weight Runway Airplanes Pilot 98

Pilot Institute

MAY 4, 2024

Not only must you fly unnervingly slow, but you also have to pick a spot on the runway and hit it. It’s a runway that is too short for a normal takeoff or landing but still usable with certain precautions. This allows them to safely operate into and out of these tight runways. You’re not alone.

Weight-Shift-Control 52

Weight-Shift-Control Runway Approach Descent 52

Plane and Pilot

OCTOBER 4, 2024

If you learned in a four-seater, chances are most of your flying was with only two people on board, with a nice cushion below max gross weight and with a mid- or forward CG. Every now and again, planes go off the side of the runway. The time to master those skills is at home base, likely with your CFI. Why might that be?

Crosswind 52

Crosswind Aileron Runway Gross Weight 52

Plane and Pilot

NOVEMBER 10, 2024

In order to be flown by a sport pilot, the resulting airplane must still meet the current regulations—1,320 pounds maximum gross weight, 120 knots max cruise speed, for example—but how it gets there is up to the builder. The rudder hardly calls attention to itself outside of having plenty of authority. A nuance, perhaps.

Airplanes 96

Airplanes Knot Pitot Tube Gross Weight 96