Search Results for: vfr

Distractions are a dangerous element in flying, whether IFR or VFR. A distraction is the process of diverting one’s attention from a required area of focus or task— thereby hindering, or even completely blocking the reception of vital information or addressing a critical task. Mental interruptions may be caused by several things; the lack of […]

When I was a student pilot, I was lucky to have some grizzled mentors. There were a lot of “do this” and “don’t do that” admonitions, a lot of tips regarding shortcuts and rules of thumb, plus some sage advice about decision-making. A lot of that advice could be broken down into the old “It’s […]

As the only U.S. citizen in Iowa who’s over 35 and not running for president, I have the freedom and civic responsibility to bring up delicate topics and speak, perhaps too frankly, about their effects on all our lives. One aviation topic was not even alluded to in this year’s hit summer replacement TV series, […]

Every so often I’ll get a casual inquiry from a “usta” pilot, someone who has a pilot’s license but hasn’t flown for a long time. Quite often, they’ll have an instrument rating and several hundreds, or even thousands, of hours of professed time. The conversation will start with “I used to fly, quite a bit. […]

There I was, all strapped in with the engine running, sitting on the ramp at Class B International. I’d flown in a few minutes earlier for a stop, drop and hop, and my passenger was well on his way to the airline terminal for his human mailing tube home. I was looking forward to getting […]

It’s a beautiful morning and you just received a standard pilot weather briefing for a long cross-country flight—one that covers a day full of activity. The skies are calm, clear and worry-free right now, but the forecast indicates possible turbulence, icing or storm activity later in the day while you still expect to be in […]

The rise of the regional jet has displaced twin turboprops in the short-haul airline market and that, in turn, has relegated a certain term to the dustbin of dead words: puddle jumper. Remember it? Nervous passengers applied it to the unfairly maligned Beech 99 or Embraer Bandeirante poised on the ramp to whisk—OK, plod—them from […]

We’ve all been there: Stabilized on final, gear and flaps down, passengers in their upright and locked positions, when out of the hemp rows pops a damn unicorn! And it doesn’t just run across the runway the way, say, a sensible dog might cross a freeway after computing the odds. Instead, it stops, turns and […]

AVweb’sGeneral Aviation Accident Bulletinis taken from the pages of our sister publication,Aviation Safetymagazine. 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 atwww.ntsb.gov. Final reports appear about a year after the accident, although some take longer. […]

The Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) has announced that the AirVenture Oshkosh Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) for the organization’s annual fly-in convention taking place July 22-28 at Wittman Regional Airport (KOSH) in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, is now available. This year’s edition institutes several changes to past practices including new procedures for aircraft diversions to Fond du Lac […]