Doc's Survival Rules

Reexamine your flight plan in this practical survival guide on airmanship from a seasoned pilot and former airman.

James E. Palen M.D. got his first taste of flying in 1959 in a Cessna 150, and he was hooked. But like many young people who began flying for fun, he had no idea how aviation would come to impact his life. After graduating from medical school, he began a serious program to improve his flying skills, starting with a multi-engine plane and graduating to instrument training in a Cessna 310K, before settling on the purchase of a Cessna 421C Golden Eagle. He made aviation a part of his medical practice becoming an FAA Aviation Medical Examiner and served his country in the United States Air Force as a chief flight surgeon. And after logging 9,000 hours of flight time over the course of sixty-five years as an airman and a civilian, he has learned a thing or two about flying.