Ed Kolano
Ed Kolano is a test pilot who's flown over 200 different aircraft types from ultralights to the B787. A CFI and former instructor at the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School, he's a recipient of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots' Spirit of Flight Award. His flight reviews, technical and educational articles have appeared in several U.S. and European magazines.
Buzzwords: Human Factors—The Basics
Small design considerations can have a big impact on comfort, convenience and safety.
Buzzwords: Adverse Yaw
Adverse yaw is usually defined as an airplane yawing in the direction opposite the intended turn direction when insufficient coordinating rudder is applied. True enough, sort of. But there’s more to the story. By Edward P. Kolano.
Buzzwords: Maneuvering Speed
Ed Kolano unravels some of the misconceptions of the oft-misunderstood term, “maneuvering speed,” and explains the implications for pilots of homebuilt aircraft.
Riding the Radial Rocket RG
The Radial Rocket TD already had a following, but with some tweaking and the addition of retractable gear, the new Radial Rocket RG is poised to take off. By Ed Kolano.
Buzzwords
Pilots compensate all the time for aerodynamic effects such as ground effect, often without being conscious of it. By Ed Kolano.
Buzzwords
Ground effect, or changes in airflow when flying a wingspan distance above the ground, affects longitudinal stability, elevator effectiveness and possibly even your airspeed indicator. By Ed Kolano.
Alternate Pitch Control
When elevator control is lost, there are ways to get the plane on the ground safely using power and trim.
Buzz Words: Understanding Dihedral Effect
While certified airplanes have to meet Part 23 requirements for positive dihedral, amateur-built airplanes are exempt. Ed Kolano looks into the details of dihedral, and how you can use it to your airborne advantage.
Kitplanes Magazine Looks at The Sherpa
Kitplanes Magazine contributor Ed Kolano took a first look at the Sherpa utility aircraft at the Arlington Airshow recently.
In Case You Missed It
What’s New
The Jabiru LSA was certified, a new Sport Hornet is introduced, Vertical Power offers climate control in the cockpit, Cirrus is taking orders, an old favorite book title is back in print, the PT-6 firewall-forward package is now on a Turbo Grizzly, and an LED pilot pen lights the great write way; edited by Mary Bernard.
Hands On: Spray Painting
Mike Loehle shows us the process of prepping both metal and composite surfaces prior to painting as well as applying color and clear coats.
Archive: January 1992
The pointy, provocative nose of the Berkut punctuated our heavily processed cover this month....
Ask the DAR
DAR Mel Asberry clears up airspace restrictions for homebuilts during flight testing and discusses how the original builder of a homebuilt design remains the builder unless the airworthiness certificate is surrendered, which has implications for reselling an aircraft.