AVweb Classics

The pilot lounge in Newark is larger than most but otherwise is the same as all of them. Lazy Boy recliner chairs are scattered about the brick-walled windowless room like the remnants of a close-out furniture sale. Some of them are broken down by hundreds of desperate toss-turned nights spent by harried (and cheap) commuters. […]

The elevator dinged its announcement that I had arrived safely in the hotel lobby. Does it really matter where I was this layover? Whether I am in Newark or Paris, all hotels have the same qualities – clean, yet unimaginative rooms with inexpensive copies of art on the walls. Toilets sanitized for my protection and […]

“Mind if I ride along with you guys?” an old friend and captain named Dave asked me the other day as we prepared to launch for San Antonio. “I’m heading down to Texas and the back is full. I’m hoping to get the jumpseat.” Dave grinned and handed me the usual licenses, jump seat passes […]

Ice tinkled in glasses. Large screen TVs blared and you could hear the subtle sounds of country music wafting over the sour smell of warm beer and tattered dreams. I was at the bar in the layover motel once again. Many people suppose that airline pilots are drug-crazed loonies; otherwise, why would we be made […]

I rolled my suitcase over the entry door hump, unhooked my flight bag from its strap and heaved it in one swift motion onto my left-hand seat in the cockpit of a rapidly aging MD-88. My suitcase went into the cockpit coat closet and like a good pilot, I strapped it in using the canvas […]

Frankly, I never dreamed this series would last for five or six columns! It has been an incredible effort, and an interesting journey for me. Now that I’ve gotten you up to altitude (see “Pelican’s Perch #34“) – and left you there for a month – it’s time to set up for cruise. Mar 12, […]

This column is a continuation of previous columns about manifold pressure(MP), props, mixtures, and engine management techniques. They are listed here for your reference. Reviewing them might be a good thing to do before venturing further into this one! PP #15: Manifold Pressure Sucks! PP #16: Those Marvelous Props PP #18: Mixture Magic PP #19: […]

Now that previous columns have littered the runway with theory and attempted to explain manifold pressure, propeller RPM, and mixture, I’d like to present some suggestions for in-flight techniques to extract better performance from these engines. Some of it will be a little repetitive from prior columns in an attempt to make this column more […]