Matt Farrell

There's a single moment when the "teardrop" is the safest thing you can do. Every other time you reach for it, you're making the pattern more dangerous, not less. I'll just say it up front, because dancing around it would be dishonest: I don't trust the "teardrop" traffic pattern entry into the downwind. Not because it's illegitimate. It's in the book, and it has exactly one job it does well. But that one job involves specific circumstances and the rest of the time the teardrop is a maneuver...

The Blue Angels Crossing Maneuver at Sun N Fun 2025 The first time you lift off, everything shifts. You feel it in your chest: the rumble of the engine, the tilt of the horizon, the rush of lifting away from the earth. For a while, flying might feel like a solo act. But it doesn’t take long to realize: aviation is never a solo mission. The pilot lifestyle isn’t about just gripping a yoke or chasing clouds, it’s about the people who make flying feel like home. What keeps us coming back,...

After numerous years of reliable service, the battery in my Appareo Stratus 2 was starting to show its age. It had powered me through countless flights, delivering dependable subscription-free ADS-B traffic and weather to my EFB without fail. I trusted that little unit. Late in 2025, when the Aero-Mach booth was situated right next to Appareo Aviation at an Aircraft Electronics Association Regional Forum, I was able to spend time with Jordan Runsvold , Product Manager for Appareo Aviation,...