briefs

Yes, the election season is over, but TFRs are here to stay. This week, it’s New York’s celebration of New Year’s Eve that is closing down airspace. Aircraft are banned below 4,000 feet above parts of Manhattan from 8 p.m. on Friday until 1 a.m. on Saturday, affecting operations at several heliports and a seaplane […]

Most pilots have had the dream … the one where gravity melts away, and you can lift both feet off the ground and fly like a bird. It’s the ultimate in aviating, and while nobody yet has figured out exactly how to make it work for humans, you can get a taste of it at […]

The FAA released its Practical Test Standards for Sport Pilots this week, and they are posted online. The standards are crucial to flight training. “Flight instructors need to know to what [the standards are] to train their students,” said AOPA spokesman Rob Hackman in a statement yesterday. “Now that the practical test standards are available […]

The airlines had a rough holiday weekend, coping with winter storms, computer crashes, and staff shortages, and now they’re facing the fallout, including a federal investigation. Secretary of Transportation Norm Mineta wants to know why regional airline Comair, a subsidiary of Delta, didn’t have a backup plan when its scheduling software crashed over the weekend, […]

The FAA last week released its annual revision of its Flight Plan — the agency’s strategic plan for the next five years, originally published in 2003. The plan sets the agency’s priorities — increased safety, greater capacity, international leadership and organizational excellence. The revision reflects input gleaned from almost 1,000 comments and suggestions, about 80 […]

Local pilots at Fullerton (Calif.) Municipal Airport have complained for years that a 760-foot-tall radio tower just a mile and a half from a runway is a hazard, the Los Angeles Times reported last week. On Dec. 19, a Cessna 182 hit the tower at about 9:45 a.m. and crashed into a warehouse parking lot. […]

https://avweb.com/avmail/ Reader mail this week about airport security and photo ID; and lots of controversy about the controller retirement age.

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_______COLUMNS The Pilot’s Lounge #82: Integrity, Responsibility And The Lack ThereofIn a time of increasing challenges to general aviation, it is more vital than ever that pilots and lovers of flight stick together when threatened with yet one more airport closure or restriction. AVweb’s Rick Durden recently dealt with pilots who didn’t even support saving […]