Features

If there’s one thing pilots are taught during their primary training, it’s to respect the limitations of the airplane they are flying. These can involve the detailed operating limits—especially airspeeds—found in the airplane’s flight manual, demonstrated crosswind capabilities, loading configurations, prohibitions against flight in known icing…the list is seemingly endless. Those limitations exist for a […]

By Laura Starkey Photos: Laura and Mike Starkey Years ago while we were living in Cameron Park, California, my husband, Mike, took an interest in a new design that was being spoken of. At the time, it was only a promise that it would someday come out. And when it did, it was the RANS […]

On the first day of 2020, I was flying from Phoenix Sky Harbor to San Francisco International Airport. There were bad rides everywhere and too many aircraft missing radio calls from the LA Center controller who had already mentioned several times how he didn’t have time for missed clearances, when I heard the following exchange: […]

One thing I’ve had a visceral reaction to over the years is when popular media describe a certificated pilot who flies for personal reasons as an “amateur.” Over the years, I’ve more or less accepted such usage but—when given the chance—point out that the type of operation has no bearing on pilot skill levels, and […]

Can There Be This Many Engines? Paul, a very interesting article. As an owner of a first gen Bonanza powered with an Continental E series 225hp E-225-8, I too wanted to know why so many variants of what appears to be the same engine. What I have learned is each series of engines address slight […]

It’s easy to see why the Piper Seneca after all these years still makes sense as a step-up twin. Arguably, it does nothing extraordinarily well—it’s not exceptionally fast or a joy to fly compared to other light twins, nor will it turn heads on the ramp—but it does a lot well enough. It obviously works […]

One of the joys of flying in the New York City metro area is listening to the controllers. In addition to being the best in the business, they deliver some good wisecracks, always with that unmistakable accent. We had just landed at Islip (KISP): Islip Tower: “Comair 234, take a left at the next intersection […]

AVweb’s General Aviation Accident Bulletin is taken from the pages of our sister publication, Aviation Safety magazine. 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 at www.ntsb.gov. Final reports appear about a year after the […]

Emergency Landings: Beach Or Breakers? Nice video. We just discussed this at our flight school–we fly out of W29 and the end of the runway is the Chesapeake Bay. Your video helps. Beach landings are as old as powered aviation. The Wright brothers settled on Kitty Hawk based on wind tables they obtained from the […]

You successfully executed the approach; the engine is shut down and the wheels are chocked. Another successful flight is over. Or is it? To me, every flight is a learning opportunity. Being safely on the ground is the best time to reflect on the latest dance with the elements. Just because you landed without incident doesn’t […]