Features

Heard on Denver departure XXXX: “Just off Centennial” Center: “Squawk 6666” Center: “Umm, do you want another? We could give you a different one.” silence XXXX: No, it’s okay, we’ll keep that one.” John C. Lamb

Although a friend of mine in the Detroit area just told me it was so cold that he saw a dog frozen to a hydrant, there’s a rumor that spring—and its high winds—will be eventually put in appearance at airports north of the equator. Spring: that time of year when airport managers’ thoughts turn to […]

Whether for work or a heck of a lot of fun, if you’re in the market for a STOL/utility airplane—one that will let you commune with nature in the most rugged of backcountry airstrips as well as cruise at a reasonable speed and carry a little something—what’s out there and how do you choose among […]

Flying back from St. Augustine Fl (SGJ) to Stennis International (KHSA) just before Christmas, my destination was very low IFR. The whole region and surrounding airports were either very low IFR or Zero Zero. Planes were going missed at Gulfport (KGPT) and surrounding airports and tensions were high with the controllers. I was cleared for […]

AVweb’s General Aviation Accident Bulletin is taken from the pages of our sister publication, Aviation Safety magazine and is published twice a month. All the reports listed here are preliminary and include only initial factual findings about crashes. You can learn more about the final probable cause in the NTSB’s web site at www.ntsb.gov. Final […]

One of the side effects of the implementation of BasicMed and the longest-running period of economic growth in our country’s history has been that quite a few pilots who stopped flying because of medical and/or economic concerns have decided they can return to the sky. For those affected, it’s splendid news. But the good news […]

While the recently enacted tax cut legislation has economists and deficit-hawks scratching their heads because it came during a time of full employment, at the height of the longest economic growth period in our country’s history, is expected to bump the economy by 0.08 to 0.12 percent annually for the next few years and drive […]

When an aircraft designer is faced with the problem of tailoring control surface hinge moments as well as the effectiveness of and force required to operate those surfaces, she or he has several available design tools. Two of the most effective are types of aerodynamic balances—the horn and the external-airfoil balance. Horn Balances The horn […]

Pilots tuning into the ATIS at Raleigh-Durham International Airport on Saturday got a laundry list of closed taxiways, runway and frequency information, a bird advisory and an apology. ATIS: We apologize for any delay you might have today. Due to our elected leaders’ inability to effectively run (the) government, staffing is short. So sorry. Dilly […]

On Aug 22nd, 2017 while flying near Myrtle Beach, to Triple Tree Aerodrome, SC to watch the total solar eclipse, there was the following exchange. Experimental: Florence Approach, Experimental NXXXX Request. Florence Approach: NXXXX go ahead. Experimental: N7XXXX requests vectors to where the sun doesn’t shine. Florence Approach: Now that’s funny. Martin Heller