Search Results for: vfr

AVweb’s General Aviation Accident Bulletin is taken from the pages of our sister publication, Aviation Safety magazine. All the reports listed here are preliminary and include only initial factual findings about crashes. You can learn more about the final probable cause on the NTSB’s website at www.ntsb.gov. Final reports appear about a year after the […]

You never know quite what to expect from CubCrafters these days. The company started by the late Jim Richmond in 1980 grew conventionally enough at first, refurbishing the Piper Cub in its many forms and then seeking to improve the design with more modern materials and practices than could ever be envisioned by Piper during […]

AVweb’s General Aviation Accident Bulletin is taken from the pages of our sister publication, Aviation Safety magazine. All the reports listed here are preliminary and include only initial factual findings about crashes. You can learn more about the final probable cause on the NTSB’s website at www.ntsb.gov. Final reports appear about a year after the […]

Why No Love For The B-21? Frustrating as it is, there doesn’t seem to be any real alternative to the endless -and expensive- process of staying up with the defense technology wave. Curt LeMay could just as well have said “it’s ALL interim”. Technological advances can strike deep. The Navy problem Paul mentions was simmering […]

I received a call from the owner of a turbocharged, high-performance single who lives in the Great Lakes region, well-known for icing conditions in late autumn, winter and early spring. His airplane was equipped with an aftermarket TKS-style ice protection system and was not FAA-approved for flight in known icing (FIKI). The pilot wanted to […]

Pattern Wars: Part Deux Great article, Paul. You’ve hit the nail on the head with NORDOs and common-sense safety. If someone can splurge on an iPad for navigation, it’s safe to assume they can also afford a transceiver for communication. Now, on straight-ins—they’re not going away anytime soon. It’s important then, for everyone, especially at […]

Sigh. They’re back. The modern resurrection of the pattern wars. As an inveterate FAA jailhouse lawyer, I already know the arguments. “Discouraged doesn’t mean prohibited.” “Advisory circulars aren’t regulatory, that’s why they’re called advisory.” “The FAA has no clue what’s really going on in traffic patterns.” And so on and on and on. The occasion […]

Humans are really good at rationalizing. We do it all the time, every time when we cut corners, break rules or ignore evidence in pursuit of a successful outcome. We continue because it often has no consequences. The thing about rationalizing, though, is it can change our behavior. What once seemed wrong starts to feel […]

Many years ago I was flying my Cessna 182 from the San Francisco Bay Area east toward Columbia (O22) in the foothills of the Sierra range. This was right at the time all the various Northern and Central California approach controls were united in a single facility as they are now, all using the name […]

As we’ve watched aircraft and fuel prices skyrocket amid a “hard” insurance market, we’ve been wondering whether those variables are conspiring to push prospective pilots to work for a sport pilot rating rather than the private ticket and whether current pilots are downsizing to light sport aircraft and taking advantage of the more liberal sport […]