Search Results for: vfr

My passions are skiing, flying and flying to skiing destinations as a way to combine the first two. My fly/ski destination of choice is the Truckee Tahoe Airport (TRK) in Truckee, California, a GA facility nestled in the southern end of a valley in the central Sierras, 15 miles from Squaw Valley. Squaw Valley averages […]

As AVweb recently reported, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) issued a Safety Recommendation to FAA Administrator Jane Garvey on September 24 suggesting that action be taken to address inadequate responses by air traffic controllers to emergencies relating to VFR flight into IMC and instrument or vacuum system failures. Although it is clear from the […]

You are an experienced pilot and you are about to tackle a tough winter flight in your Bugsmasher II which (except for pitot heat, carburetor heat, and a 5-inch by 7-inch “storm window”) has no icing protection. Being inexact as usual, the area forecast calls for occasional light to moderate rime and mixed icing in […]

The FAA’s Airport and Aircraft Safety Research and Development Division, Aircraft Safety Research and Development Branch, issued a fact sheet on September 6, 2000, which begins: “Aircraft icing continues to be one of the major safety threats to aircraft operations during hazardous weather conditions and can result in catastrophic accidents unless adequate precautions are taken.” […]

I‘ve flown with a number of CFIs over the years. I’ve always claimed that every CFI, regardless of experience and style, has something to teach every pilot. At least, that had been my experience up until one day recently. It was then that I had to do something I’d never done before. I had to […]

It had been one of those lovely, late fall mornings. You got up, looked out the window at a nearly clear sky and decided to fly the 70 miles to visit an old friend for coffee. The forecast said nothing below 4000 feet and four miles vis, so off you paddled. Coffee consumed, you shot […]

Just as in the car industry, if the notion of sure-thing profit exists in the world of general aviation, its in high-dollar airframes, not entry level two-place designs. Thats one reason why new trainer production came to a standstill during the 1980s and 1990s and why the volume in this market continues to be low. […]

I was sitting in one of the big chairs here in the pilot’s lounge at the virtual airport when I read that the president, on June 6, 2002, had signed an executive order dictating that air traffic control is no longer an inherently federal function. That act was a significant procedural step toward imposition of […]

Bounce Trip: Sun ‘N Fun Participants Eager For Both Resiliency Of Grass-Roots Aviation On Display At Lakeland The Sunday morning balloon launch kicked off Sun ‘N Fun 2002. LAKELAND – As the sun set here Saturday evening, a feeling of imminent exultation seemed to permeate the grounds of Sun n Fun EAA Fly-In, edition 2002. […]

Click any photo for a larger image. The FAA recommends an annual inspection for youravionics and we recommend it highly as well. Well give you the gist of it andthen some in the words that follow. Next month, well also give you somelow-buck alternatives for test equipment to perform more detailed avionicssystem checks. By the […]