Features

The maturing support network for LSA models is building at least some confidence in their dispatch reliability. But for owners and flight schools looking for a simple and reliable trainer that’s easily supported on most every maintenance floor, it’s still tough to beat the familiar Cessna 150/152 series. That’s why old 150s are still flying […]

Letter of the Week:Personal Airspace I would register my drone prior to flying it above 200 feet AGL. I think it is clear from U.S. v. Causby (1946) that the FAA has no authority to regulate “the immediate reaches of the enveloping atmosphere” of my property, which in the Causby case is at least 83 […]

Things can go “bump” in the night. Daytime, too. Most of them either have been considered before or encountered by someone, resulting in a section of your AFM/POH labeled “Emergency Procedures.” But not everything that can happen is covered there: Pilots are constantly inventing new ways to screw up, and the aircraft themselves can present […]

The Weekender is on the road after Thanksgiving and found a few places to stop on SocialFlight. All pilots(current and non-current) are invited to share their experience with budding aviators at the St. Louis Science Center, where the Gateway Eagles will host nine simulator stations to introduce visitors to flying the Cessna 172. Volunteer instructors […]

Hi, my name is Bill and I’m a toolaholic… Very few aircraft builders are not tool hounds. These are the people who walk through the local tool stores with a glazed look in their eyes. They are thankful when their spouse gives them a wrench for a present, even if they already have 12 identical […]

NY Center:“Jetsetter 123, got time for a quick question?” JS123:“Sure.” NYC:“What’s the service ceiling on that bird?” JS123:“FL 510.” [A moment of silence followed.] Then someone asked:“Does that thing come with astronaut wings?” XY456:“Hey Center, what type of aircraft were you talking to?” NYC:“He’s a G6.” Some other regional jet driver then chimed in:“Man, I […]

As winter unveils its hand across the nation, it seems appropriate to take a look at one of the last of aviation’s “firsts,” the aerial circumnavigation of our globe via the Poles. The first flight around the world was made in 1924 by a U.S. Army team. The North Pole was overflown in 1926 by […]

Most pilots I know are lazy. Writing as one who has spent most of his career flying airplanes, that’s meant to be a compliment. The lazy pilot tends to accomplish the least work necessary in order to achieve the intended goal. This usually improves workload management and provides a greater reserve of attention. However, sometimes […]

SocialFlight’s calendar shows some last chances to for fall fly-ins, but The Weekender is also gearing up for the many informative seminars that will take place in the coming months. Stag Air Park in North Carolina has rescheduled its fall fly-in for Saturday due to runway conditions. Weather permitting, all are invited to land on […]

40+ years ago, on a busy busy day in the Schenectady County Airport traffic pattern. An older WWII-era pilot owned a Stinson L5 that he used for a little instructing and light aerobatics. In the pattern on downwind, this exchange occurred. Tower:“Stinson N1234, do a 360 for spacing.” N1234:“Vertical or horizontal?” Mark Wielt