Search Results for: vfr

In their older years, my parents were cheapskates. When I visited them in their Southern Texas retirement community, they always were delighted to share their favorite places, those with senior discounts, dollar-breakfast specials and cheap all-you-can-eat buffets. The same proved true when buying unleaded: I thought it odd they would drive six miles round-trip to […]

Fly-in procedures for this year’s EAA AirVenture show in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, are now available, along with additional resources. The FAA’s Notice to Airmen for EAA’s 64th annual convention, July 25-31, includes a list of changes from 2015 including radio frequencies and runway markings. Pilots planning to fly to Oshkosh are urged to study the Notam […]

A Cessna 172 that crashed in in Alaska in April, killing all four on board, had struck a bald eagle, the NTSB found in its ongoing investigation. The lead investigator said this week it appears to be the first U.S. fatal crash for a civil flight resulting from a bald eagle strike, according to an […]

I remember my first flight as left-seater in a TAA (technically advanced aircraft). Too. Many. Buttons. And each switch, knob and button had multiple roles, depending on my stage of flight and the information I wanted to pull up or program into it. And harmony? Well, other than the integrated glass panels available on then-new […]

A Beechcraft Bonanza crashed in a residential area on New York’s Long Island Tuesday after the pilot declared an emergency, reporting a failed vacuum system. All three people on board are dead and the aircraft appears to have broken up in flight. The Bonanza departed Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, about 12:45 p.m., heading for Plainville, […]

Let’s assume you had a cash budget of up to $160,000 to buy an airplane. Your short list of required equipment includes a glass cockpit with autopilot, a modern interior, plus a proven engine that’s easy to service and economical to operate. You’ll use the plane for local flying, short trips and perhaps some basic […]

As Sun ‘n Fun drew to a close, Aspen Avionics announced yet another encouraging development in the avionics market: compatibility with Garmin’s new line of ADS-B systems. Through a newly approved STC, Aspen’s Evolution-series PFD and MFD retrofit display systems can display ADS-B weather and traffic when connected with Garmin’s GDL88-series dual-band ADS-B receiver. The […]

It had been a fun morning. The heater had broken in the TRACON radar room. It was 20 degrees outside, not much better inside, and the hot chocolate I was drinking was losing its steam—literally. On top of that, busy last-minute holiday traffic had been giving our morning skeleton crew a kick in the teeth. […]

Certified drone operators may now fly small UAS, weighing less than 55 pounds, up to 400 feet AGL, the FAA said today, expanding the flight zone from the previous limit of 200 feet. The policy change follows a “comprehensive risk analysis,” the FAA said. Operators still are restricted to daytime VFR. They also must still […]

As the inevitable autonomy of everything looms just ahead, rock-star entrepreneur Elon Musk had this to say at a recent development conference: “You can’t have a person driving a two-ton death machine. It’s too dangerous.” And that’s to say the driverless car visionaries don’t just want to offer you an autonomous vehicle, they’ll insist on […]